Estate Agent won't put forward my offer until I talk to their mortgage people

Liesje

Hi

I am in the process of buying a house and have put forward an offer for one which I like but have been told that until I come into the estate agent's offices in person to discuss my financial situation with their mortgage people then they will not put my offer forward to the vendor.

Obviously I am concerned to disclose my finances ahead of negotiating a sales price as this puts me in a weak position. The estate agent (Bairstowe Eves) has said that this is company policy and that the vendor has ticked a box on their registration form to say that they only want offers put forward from bidders who have been vetted.

Apparently vetting includes bank statements to prove my deposit!!!

I have suggested that they call my mortgage broker (London & Country) but was told that this wouldn't do; it had to be their mortgage broker who made the decision. They have of course assured me that it would all be independent from the estate agents.

I am not sure what to do as I really like the property but I think this is a really dodgy practice and I thought that estate agents were obliged to put forward any offers they received?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

PS I have also had a conversation with Clarke Hillyer and they have said the same thing if I were to make an offer on one of their properties.

poppysarah

Are they a member of a trade body?

Ring them up and ask for the official line on this issue. Put the number in your mobile and take the name of the person.
Go to the EA.

Don't argue when they say "blah blah" just ring the number and say "hello X, this is me again I'm at the EA - can you tell them what you told me earlier" and hand them the phone.

JimmyTheWig

I'd put an offer in writing to the estate agents and say in the letter that your broker can confirm that you are good for the money.
I'd then put a copy of that letter through the door of the property you want to buy.

Grimbal

I'd be tempted to call their bluff. Pop a note through the door explaining that you'd be interested in opening negotiations on their property but are not willing to be financially vetted before an agreement has been reached.

FireWyrm

It really annoys me when I hear about this and frankly, it sounds like it annoys everyone else. I would never agree to speaking to their mortgage advisor and my funds are my business and between my solicitor and the vendor. Tell the EA where he can stick it and then go round and knock on the vendors door. Be sure to tell him that his EA is actively obstructing sales and ask whether they are serious about selling their house since in a buyers Market, they can I'll afford to be quite so stroppy with potential buyers.

I'd also tell the EA that he's in breach of regulations since he is required to pass on your offer to the vendor. Perhaps he would prefer to explain himself to the vendor when you tell them how the EA is making your life difficult. The cheek of these people! EAs are glorified bulletin boards and should mind their own business, which is advertising. They have zero say in the house sale beyond whether you have a pulse.

**woody123**

I had the same trouble as the OP, but with Connells!!

I couldn't even enter negotations until i visited their office. I made an appointment to go and see them but had to cancel.

If i thought the house was really worth the hassle and had seen them for mortgage advice i would have said "thanks, but no thanks" and rejected their advice.

I wonder what the vendor makes of all this.. I wouldn't be too happy if a prospective buyer wasn't allowed to offer on my property for sale.

Southend1

I had this problem with Haarts. I eventually agreed to let the mortgage consultant call me and when she did I politely said "thank you for calling. I don't wish to discuss mortgages with you but I was told a conversation with you was part of your company procedure. Now that we have spoken, please instruct the agent to put forward my offer to the vendor or I will make my offer directly to him".

I then followed up by putting my offer in writing to the agent with a hand delivered copy of the letter to the vendor.


There's no way I would weaken my negotiating position by discussing my finances with someone working for the vendor!

mandi

I'm assuming that BE are members of NAEA . If so tell them they are braking the law . They MUST submit your offer as soon as is reasonably possible & the offer has be confirmed in writing to the vendor.



http://www.naea.co.uk/media/29526/oeacodeofsales-2.pdf#search=

By law you must not discriminate, or threaten to discriminate, against a prospective buyer of the seller’s property because
that person declines to accept that you will (directly or indirectly) provide services to them.

i

My advice would be to advise them of this . If they refuse then advise them you will contact the NAEA without hesitation .

You can check if they are members here

http://www.naea.co.uk/

BTW this is a deliberate ploy by the agent to try to secure a mortgage deal . You do not have to make the appointment .

**Juice**

We weren't even allowed to view a property we wanted to without speaking to the estate agency mortgage brokers first - even when I explained that our mortgage broker was a family friend, we'd already had credit checks and that he would be doing all the work for us. Luckily we found that the house was also advertised with another estate agent who had no problem with us viewing the house....that we subsequently went on to purchase.

We made a point of making sure that it was no longer advertised with that agent from then on, and ensured that the key was taken off them.

DannyboyMidlands

I had the same request from an EA but politely told them to get stuffed. A few weeks later they tried again but with the line that I needed to be vetted to get on their "preferred buyers list". I declined again. A week or so later they had given up completely and were begging me to view properties.

DVardysShadow

mandi wrote: »

I'm assuming that BE are members of NAEA . If so tell them they are braking the law . They MUST submit your offer as soon as is reasonably possible & the offer has be confirmed in writing to the vendor.

Correct, except for this:

Liesje wrote: »

... The estate agent (Bairstowe Eves) has said that this is company policy and that the vendor has ticked a box on their registration form to say that they only want offers put forward from bidders who have been vetted.

The usual response is to drop note round to the vendor, stating that the Agent has refused to forward the offer.

But here, the vendor wants buyers to be vetted. The intent is reasonable, but you cannot help but think that the Agent has played up the vendor's fears and it is probably company policy to get the vendor to tick the box by now.

In this case, I think a variant on the note through the door is required. A note to the vendor, stating that you are prepared to make an offer, but find that the Agents vetting process is unduly intrusive and that you prefer to verify funds to cover an agreed price through your solicitor.