Agent insisting I use a mortgage advisor?

eddddy

It's worth bearing in mind that if the vendor has agreed that every viewer must be pre-qualified by a mortgage advisor, the EA is not breaking any rules.

And the EA may be persuading their less knowledgeable vendors to agree to that.

Dird

I would rage and explain how you don't want to waste 1 hour chat when you'll only spend 5-10 minutes viewing and may decide you're not interested.
If they still refused I'd ask for their manager & repeat it
If he confirmed I'd ask where this requirement is stated & how nobody else requires it.
Eventually I'd mention checking it over with TPOS/obudsman

Running_Horse

I remember the good old days before pre-checks, when someone offered on my house and we accepted, then the agent was completely unable to contact them ever again. They had no idea who was visiting my house or whether they were in a position to buy it.

I wouldn't go as far as making viewers see their mortgage advisor, but the next time we sell I will be insisting the agent make sure they are serious buyers with finance in place. If not,they don't get to enter my house.

pinkshoes

Arrange a meeting then refuse to give any financial details stating that the EA works for the vendor and not you, so you do not want to give this financial info away.

kingstreet

When I was an EA advisor, qualification was a 5 min phone call and it need be no longer than that today.

The 1979 EA Act is silent on qualification methods, but it was certainly never intended to be a revenue generator for estate agents.

Ask your lender/broker to give you an agreement in principle certificate for the amount you need together with a statement showing your deposit and certified ID/PoA. Give them to the EA and repeat these words;-

"It will be a rainy day in hell before I use the services of an EA advisor who can use my personal data against me. Here is what you need and if you fail to arrange my viewing/put forward my offer, I will report your methods to Trading Standards, the Property Ombudsman Scheme (of which you are a member) and the FCA."

skintpaul

eddddy wrote: »

It's worth bearing in mind that if the vendor has agreed that every viewer must be pre-qualified by a mortgage advisor, the EA is not breaking any rules.

And the EA may be persuading their less knowledgeable vendors to agree to that.

Does vendor get a cut from any mortage sold, or reduced selling fees..?

stator

skintpaul wrote: »

Does vendor get a cut from any mortage sold, or reduced selling fees..?

No, their fees remain the same. They are just sweet talked into it. ie 'if you sign this it'll help us weed out the time wasters'. They don't say 'this will put off some of your potential buyers'.

ReadingTim

stator wrote: »

No, their fees remain the same. They are just sweet talked into it. ie 'if you sign this it'll help us weed out the time wasters'. They don't say 'this will put off some of your potential buyers'.

Aren't these 2 sides of the same coin? As long as it weeds out more timewasters than genuine buyers, many vendors would probably take that risk, even when explicitly stated. Furthermore, a truly genuine buyer would go along, play the game and use the methods stated above not to disclose any info and weaken their position.

Rambosmum

We felt forced in to such an appointment. We went and as another poster said, said we weren't prepared to disclose financial information and that we already had a AIP for xxx amount. The man was very abrupt and asked why we'd wasted his time and we told him straight that the EA had refused us a viewing until we made an appointment with him. We did buy the house eventually but it took a while and the EA was very shirty with us. Unfortunately the house was vacant and we couldn't contact the vendor directly.

Flugelhorn

invoice them for your time