Unable to view a property without an AIP

SuperJen11

Hi there,

This is my first post on here, be gentle!

We have been house searching for almost a year now, since last March roughly. We found a property in April but unfortunately it fell through as the Sellers wanted more money. Following this we have seen a large number of houses, probably in the 10's now.

Lately it has seemed much more difficult to book viewings. The most recent one, just this week, has taken a week of back and forth with the Agent. They seem to need written Agreement in Principle to demonstrate that we can borrow enough money BEFORE we even view the property. This is majorly frustrating. Our Lender no longer provides these as they did previously and they will not accept anything from us or a verbal confirmation. It's ridiculous!! We only want to view the property, we may not even like it enough to try and buy it!!

Last night I'm afraid I snapped and I left a note through the door of the seller, with a copy of the email conversation.

Has anyone else experienced such behaviour from an EA?

After some research online it does appear to be a Countrywide thing but I worry that others may start doing this and we'll be at their mercy and will have to disclose our finances to their in house Mortgage Advisor.. :sad:

Any experiences or advice welcome!

Thank you.

stator

This practice hasn't spread to the South West yet, I'm glad to say you can still book viewings. I think you did the right thing letting the seller know, then they can pressure the agents into stopping this ridiculous practice

BJV

100% I can see your point of view. Why would you want to waste your time getting your mortgage company to agree to lend money for a house you do not know if you like.

BUT - I can see the other side. We hope to move in about 18 months and I was talking to a someone who said they have been looking for over 2 years. At first they really did want to move but know they almost see snooping around other peoples houses as a family day out. So I could understand if the buyer has had a lot of time wasters and day trippers.

So sad in the end you may both end up loosing out the buyer on a sale and you a house that could be everything you want.

maskerade

Get an AP from a different lender? You don't have to go with them. We got one from Britannia but eventually decided to go with HSBC

NobodysChild

Does seem a bit daft as they could end up losing out on viewers, and potentially sales. However, I can see the other side too. Estate agents and vendors don't want timewasters.

Have to admit that this is the first I have heard of this! (I lead a sheltered life. )

I guess you will have to get an AIP.

Sorry, and all the best to you.

theartfullodger

Write to the seller (not agent) explaining you are keen, ready & able to purchase but you are being prevented by the agent, are not trying to exclude agent & not do any any deal behind their back, just wish to view the property.

And what would the agent say if you were buying for cash? (Which btw is, if at all possible, a great way to buy: Buy for cash, quick, then raise mortgage - possibly before completion).

martin1959

An Agreement In Principle is NOT carried out on a particular property, it just shows the individuals ability to borrow a certain amount of money. Assuming of course they have given the correct info at the AIP stage, as income etc is not actually checked until a full application is made.


I can certainly see the reason the EA is asking the potential buyers to be able to confirm they are not time wasters, or living in the dream world.


Bearing in mind, for the viewer, a viewing is only 30 mins out of their day, but for the vendor, they may have to spend time....


Cleaning the house
Arranging time off work
Arranging for Children/animals to be looked after during the viewing.


So all in all, I do not think it unreasonable for an EA to at least make sure the viewers are serious.

mrginge

Another practice which is designed to enforce EAs value adding (and therefore higher price) argument over online agents.

SplanK

My house is on the market and after giving it some thought, I would prefer my EA spent a small amount of time before bothering us with the person wanting to view. I don't agree with trying to force the potential buyer through the EA's own mortgage service (in fact, we chose an agent who didn't have this tie in!), but as long as there is a reasonable assumption that they can afford it and are not tyre kickers or want to fill their weekend. It shows that the buyers have at least done some research, they know what they can afford, or what the bank is willing to lend them assuming that everything is good.


Having 2 kids (1 just shy of 4 weeks old) it takes time to organise the house into a suitable viewing position, so would prefer to know that the buyers had done some homework in what they can afford before going to look at houses.


An AIP does not take a huge amount of time, in fact I managed to get one with a sub 15 minute phone call to my existing lender! My AIP was then sent in an email as a PDF.

stator

I think Virgin offer immediate decision online agreements in principle, so maybe that's a good route for you?

ben_m_g

I can understand your frustration, but getting an AIP isn't hard you can get it from any bank and most are more than happy to do so.

It does show sellers that you are serious and able to progress with a sale, having sold a house before and having a sale fall through (because of a buyer not being able to get a mortgage) so I can totally see why sellers would like this.