Estate agent wants me to attend meeting for in-house mortgage advice

kingstreet

Perhaps a little note through the vendor's door;-

Dear Mr Vendor,

I'm trying to purchase your property, but your estate agent appears more interested in forcing me into a mortgage through its adviser than it does in securing a sale on behalf of you, its paying customer.

I have a mortgage agreed in principle and am anxious to negotiate a purchase price acceptable to us both.

Please contact me on xxxxx xxxxxx

Yours faithfully.

or perhaps even knock on the door and explain this to them face to face.

steve1980

Corporate agents are a nightmare for this. Tell them that your mortgage has been agreed in principle, the number of your broker, and tell them to put the offer forward to their client (the one paying them!). If they don't then either call their bluff or a little note through the door of the vendor always help.

KateLiana27

Just say no.

Then note through the door, as above.

By the way, the reason they do this is that estate agencies make a huge amount of money from brokering mortgage deals. Proportionately far more than from the actual sale of the house. It's no different from all the electronics shops doing the hard sell for an extended warranty that you'll never need.

SecondLegDownIsTheBigOne

Tell the EA to whistle.

davevincent

Thanks again. I am about to decline seeing their mortgage specialist but I just want to run a few more additional details by you before I do. The agents have told me there is another couple who have seen the house who have put a similar offer on to me. The agent said that they want to do the mortgage interview so give the vendor confidence that the deal wouldn't fall through at a later date. I am worried that the estate agent thinks they might be in a strong position as they have 2 interested parties and that it is in their interests to use this to make sure we attend an interview. My problem is that I really like the house.

Despite this I am going to call the agent at lunchtime and say that I wish to decline the interview, stating that I already have an AIP and that this should be enough for the vendor. I am going to say that my offer stands until 5pm after which I will withdraw it. I am also considering telling the agent that I am considering contacting the vendor to let them know my reasons. I'm not sure about this last bit, as I don't really want to make it appear that I am threatening them!

Thoughts (and forecasts of what will happen)?

hazyjo

Getting sick of these EAs who basically say 'we have another party interested, but if you see our broker or whatever, we'll recommend you over the others'. It's total BS and IMO they should be fined for doing so! Honestly, how many times do we hear this line? Arghhhh. It makes me so mad that EAs like these give others a bad name.

Don't fall for it. Chances are the other party doesn't even exist - seems to be such a common line. If they do indeed exist, they might not be in a proceedable position anyway. EAs like that have a way of wording things.

How long has this property been on the market?

Jx

rwharram16

The simple answer is go and see an independent mortgage broker and tell the agent that you want to use somebody of your choosing and remind them that they are legally bound to put your offer forward whether you have a mortgage agreed or not or whether your are a cash buyer. I have come across many occassions where people state they are cash buyers only to end up obtaining a mortgage.

pinkteapot

Seriously, EAs are not supposed to force you into any of their tied services. See rule 7(c) of the Property Ombudsman's Code of Practice:

http://www.tpos.co.uk/downloads/Code%20of%20Practice%20for%20Residential%20Estate%20Agents.pdf

They will use language with you as close as possible to "you must do this", short of actually saying that. By law, they must pass your offer on to the vendor (unless the vendor has told them in writing not to pass on offers below a certain amount).

Resist them, politely. If they keep hassling, start mention the Property Ombudsman or National Association of Estate Agents (if they are a member).

krlyr

We got offered the in-house service from the EA. We just decided to go along with it and see what they could offer incase there was anything our independant FA couldn't get - different offers are available to different people. Ended up being a bit of a waste of time as the software kept glitching, printer broke and the poor guy hadn't been with the company long so didn't know what to do, in addition to it having been arranged after the office closed because we couldn't make any other time. Whoops! However, it didn't kill us to spend an hour of our life just listening to what they had to offer. They won't do any credit checks without your permission so it won't affect you applying for a mortgage elsewhere.
When they got the software working they phoned up with the cheapest products available and they couldn't beat our FA's products so we didn't go with them anyway. They've since tried to sell us everything else - buildings & contents insurance, life insurance, even offered to get quotes for utilities in the new house, they definately like to try their luck but we've just got their quotes, compared them to others and said thanks but not thanks. If you have the 5 minutes spare to get the quotes then at least you've explored all your options, even if you go elsewhere.
I have had friends in sales jobs and know that it's just part of their job description to push their luck so I tend to give them a chance, or at the very least politely decline, because if I ever ended up having to do that kind of job (as a last resort, for me!) I would appreciate it. OK, lying to you about it being essential is wrong and don't let them bully you into it but if it's just strong sales tactics I'd either consider it or just be firm and say thanks but no thanks.

davevincent

Cheers!
It's only been on the market 2-3 weeks. I think it's a pretty good property, having seen about 25-30 now, and my offer is close (~3%) to the asking price. But sod it, I'm a FTB and in a good position really I think.