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

timmyt

Liesje wrote: »

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.

you need to provide your 'mortgage agreed in principle' letter, or a bank statement showing all the funds available.

do not see anyone other than the estate Agent, and put the offer in writing addressed to them but clearly mark it to the owner and hand deliver it through the door.

make the point in the letter than you find it terrible that you feel they wont put your offer forward unless you take the Estate Agenmt's mortgage advice.

maninthestreet

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 1979 Estate Agents Act overrides any company policy or vendor request:

"You must not discriminate against potential buyers because they don't want, or might refuse, to take services from you or a connected person.
For example, you must not:

• refuse to provide information about a property to these buyers
• take longer to send property information to these buyers, compared to others
• set additional requirements, as a condition of passing on an offer, eg, forcing them to have a mortgage survey before you will pass on their offer to your client. "

Trollfever

Information about how to make a complaint about an estate agents

http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/estate-agents/estate-agent-complaints

to treat prospective buyers fairly by not discriminating against them because they do not want to take any services from the agent eg arranging a mortgage, insurance cover

DVardysShadow

Trollfever wrote: »

Information about how to make a complaint about an estate agents

to treat prospective buyers fairly by not discriminating against them because they do not want to take any services from the agent eg arranging a mortgage, insurance cover

I know full well that part of the reason for the discussion with the financial people is to sell services. But the Agent has plausible deniability here, in that they are purporting only to verify proceedability

mandi

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I know full well that part of the reason for the discussion with the financial people is to sell services. But the Agent has plausible deniability here, in that they are purporting only to verify proceedability

Dvardy it isn't up to the agent .

As the law stands all offers must be submitted to the vendor & confirmed in writing . Failing to submit an offer because they do not know the proceedability of the purchaser would be classed as discrimination .

All the agent must do at the time of offer is to take reasonable steps to find out the position of the prospective buyer IE if the sale would be cash or mortgage or a combination of both .This does not include a mortgage interview .

In the case of the OP . The agent will inform the vendor that the OP has a mortgage agreed but they are unable to verify it .

It would then be up to the vendor to decide if they wish to proceed with the offer .

geoffky

And they wonder why they are classed as scum...

DVardysShadow

mandi wrote: »

Dvardy it isn't up to the agent .

As the law stands all offers must be submitted to the vendor & confirmed in writing . Failing to submit an offer because they do not know the proceedability of the purchaser would be classed as discrimination .

All the agent must do at the time of offer is to take reasonable steps to find out the position of the prospective buyer IE if the sale would be cash or mortgage or a combination of both .This does not include a mortgage interview .

In the case of the OP . The agent will inform the vendor that the OP has a mortgage agreed but they are unable to verify it .

It would then be up to the vendor to decide if they wish to proceed with the offer .

mandi, of course it is not up to the agent - and I never said it was. It is up to the vendor.

And all of the rest of what you say is rendered moot by the vendor having ticked the box:

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.

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.....

And the box thus ticked, the vetting process is whatever the agent decides it is.

LudaMusser

I wanted to view a certain property when I was hunting last year. I remember ringing the estate agent and I too was asked to come into the office and meet with a mortgage advisor. I said I`m ringing up to arrange a viewing and I don`t want to speak to a mortgage/financial advisor. I got quite angry with the guy on the phone, at this point he dropped trying to get me to come in. I can`t remember if I ever did view the house, it`s certainly not the one I`ve bought..

The house I bought was the second house I made an offer on. The first house was with an estate agent`s who really did`nt seem to care less about selling the house. Not sure if it`s because they had lost interest, it had been for sale for ages (stupid price) I made a cheeky offer which was refused and then a second offer, as I had little faith in the estate agent I also put the second offer in writing thru the letterbox just to be sure he knew about it. How do I know they passed on my offer? It again was refused and stayed on the market for another 6 months. Popping a letter the the letterbox is a good idea IMO

mandi

DVardysShadow wrote: »

mandi, of course it is not up to the agent - and I never said it was. It is up to the vendor.

Which is exactly what I said . The vendor can tick as many boxes as they like but regardless it is against the law not to disclose all offers .


I'll give you an example . Lets just say that the vendor has four offers all in the same position as the OP , would you realistically expect the agent not to disclose any of the offers to the vendor ?

DVardysShadow

mandi wrote: »

Which is exactly what I said . The vendor can tick as many boxes as they like but regardless it is against the law not to disclose all offers .


I'll give you an example . Lets just say that the vendor has four offers all in the same position as the OP , would you realistically expect the agent not to disclose any of the offers to the vendor ?

If the vendor said "I do not wish to see offers which do/don't fulfil criterion X", I would expect the agent not to forward these. It is only against the law for the agent to disclose where the vendor has not specified that offers which do/don't fulfil certain criteria are not to be passed on.The vendor in this case has apparently ticked the box.