Won't Formally Accept Offer until we have seen Advisor

dunstonh

Before they start, tell them you are a compliance officer for the FCA. Watch the person go very pale and backtrack from everything said to you so far

Nelly321

If only I could keep a straight face...

katejo

ACG wrote: »

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/estate-agents/ea-buying.pdf

Read page 3
Might even be worth taking it with you.

They cant force you to meet their broker. They can qualify you as a buyer but that should be nothing more than seeing proof of deposit and/or an agreement in principle.

On a side note, could be worth reporting them. Theyre effectively blackmailing you to try and sell their mortgage/insurance services to you.

EDIT: There is nothing wrong with seeing a broker, but it really should be a choice you make, not something your being pushed into.

Yes! If you do already have a mortgage offer/mortgage agreed in principle, just tell them this. If they still fail to cooperate, contact the current owner directly. When I bought my first place, I did have an interview with the adviser who attached to an estate agent. She tried to pressure me into having an endowment mortgage and I refused. I wanted a repayment. So i walked out and arranged my own mortgage elsewhere.

ValHaller

I take the view that qualification should only take place on an accepted offer. Otherwise the Agent knows too much about your means during negotiation.

holly_hobby

The estate agent is employed by the Vendor, and part of their remit is to qualify offers, it may be the Vendor's request that no un-qualified offers are forwarded to them.

What that essentially means is that they are checking the potential buyers position (ie do they have a house to sell etc), if its a cash pch, and if a mortgage is reqd if they have recd formal mge advice/AIP, so that they know they can actually proceed on the offered figure.

Now, if the OP already has a mortgage agreement in place, whilst the EA still has to verify all of the above, this can actually be done by the negotiator, they don't really need to see the Mortgage Adviser, and if they take the name of their own MA or a copy of their AIP, then job's a goodun.

So whilst yes it is a business opportunity for the branch, it also fulfills the contractual obligations they have with the Vendor (re qualification of offers)

Hope this helps

Holly

Nelly321

Right, been to see him...

First off, he looked at our wage slips and AIP and said yep, no problem with affordability/how much you can borrow. He checked the deal from Natwest I provided and said if we were to ask him to arrange a mortgage he would be able to match it. (Santander I think).

He was honest and said, legally he is only advising, and that there would be a £399 fee on acceptance of mortgage.

He said that if we can let the EA know Monday what our final offer is and what mortgage route we want to take then they will immediately contact the vendor to wrap up the sale.. The other offer is cash, and so the EA has no control which must be in our favour.

He did tell us what the other offer was and what he thought would be accepted if we were to change...

I also got the opinion that if we chose the EA's MA to look after the mortgage that would put us in a better position for the Vendor...

ValHaller

Nelly321 wrote: »

I also got the opinion that if we chose the EA's MA to look after the mortgage that would put us in a better position for the Vendor...

You have been mentally mugged.

If I was vendor, I would want to know all about this and I would not be pleased at the Agent. It is not in Vendor's interests and it is not in Buyer's interests for the Agent to be strong arming Buyers into taking out a mortgage through the Agent.

In fact I would go so far as to say that the single measure which would do most to clean up Estate Agency would be an outright ban on Agents selling any kind of financial or legal service whatsoever to Buyers.

Having got into this position, I suggest you get your offer accepted and then you drop the agent's mortgage service.

Nelly321

When I say opinion, I mean he basically said it... I knew it would end up like that.

I think we may offer the higher price but stick to my bank as a lender.

holly_hobby

If there is a cash offer on the table, you may find that even if slightly lower, they may accept that, if they want a quick sale.

Aside from that, whether you use the EA's adviser, or your own, this will not influence who's offer is accepted (well didn't when I was an FA for Abbey Nat, and later how our branches worked when I was a regional trainer and QA for Halifax EA), , nor somehow impress the Vendor ! (how ridiculous, and I've heard them all !) The buyer's position does this, ie cash/no chain is generally always preferred by the Vendor, over a mortgaged app or those in a chain - just becuase of potential complications ... ie a mge application falling out of bed, a chain collapsing etc ... etc

If you feel better, do as Van suggests, just play the game until the offer is accepted, then just advise you've elected to remain with NWest, or whomever you wish. If you have an adviser with the bank, you could get them to ring the EA, if you feel uncomfortable delivering the bad news !

Hope this helps .. good luck

Holly x

Nelly321

Thanks Holly,

The FA said that cash offers can sometimes be a problem if the buyer is also looking at other properties and could pull out easier without committing financially.

We are FTB so no chain and they are moving on 5th Oct to rent so no chain either way.

I am thinking that I will just tell the EA that we will be staying with NWest as the advisor couldn't beat our offer...

Hopefully the price/no chain will be enough