Estate agents won't send offer through until I have spoken with their mortgage advisor

Jt146

I am about to place an offer on a house. The estate agent told me that I will need to speak with someone to asses my affordability before they send the offer through. I told him I have a certificate from my mortgage broker stating how much I can lend (I will get them to do one for this the mortgage I'm going to need on this one), but he said they still need me to talk to them and they are 'not trying to get me to move over or anything'. The house we want to purchase is a fair amount less than what we can borrow. I don't want disclose this to them as I feel like they'll know we can budge up and manipulate this. I read reviews on them and they are not great, he seemed like a BS'er too. I haven't had this before and I have previously made some offers on houses. Any suggestions?

tom9980

As a seller I want a buyer vetted.
I want to know they have a good deposit, ideally 15%+ and fees etc.
I want to know if they were furloughed and what line of work they are in.
I want to know if they are using a mortgage broker or applying direct and to which lender.

The problem at the moment is a lot is uncertain so I won't be accepting offers until I have the above information because an offer is worthless unless a mortgage application is likely to succeed. Sellers and estate agents are more concerned with getting a sale completed than milking you for a few grand more at the moment.

eddddy

You could put the offer in writing (email), and say that if the seller provisionally accepts the amount of the offer, subject to satisfactory evidence of affordability - you'll then go along for the affordability assessment.

Because you don't want to waste everyone's time (including your own) with an affordability assessment, if the seller is going to reject the amount of your offer anyway.

(And if you want to tantalise them a bit, you could say that if the offer is provisionally accepted, you'll let them see if they can find you a better mortgage offer than the one you already have. But you can later change your mind about that.) 


Edit to add...
It might turn into a bit of a game of bluff... so clearly check with the EA by email if the amount you've offered has been communicated to the seller, and whether the seller has agreed to accept that amount - subject to affordability assessment.

AnotherJoe

Just go in show the certificate (for reasons in toms post above) and stonewall any attempts to switch you to their mortgage offers (unless of course they are better)

You need have no fear about the larger amount you could borrow being used against you to increase what you'll pay because first of all the EA is in trouble if they let the vendor know what you can afford if that happens, and secondly and more importantly as long as you didnt intend to use the weak excuse "i cant afford any more" but just be resolute with "thats the max we'll pay" it doesn't matter you could afford more.

princeofpounds

Yes, the EA should 'qualify' you as a proceedable buyer - they have that duty to the seller. And yes, they often try to turn that into a cross-selling opportunity. 

They can ask you to demonstrate that to anyone they like internally, even if it's the mortgage adviser. That does not (or should not) mean that you need to tell them all the information you need to apply for a mortgage; it really only requires some proof of deposit and mortgage AIP.

If they are getting unreasonable about what they are asking you to disclose only then should you think about working around them to let the vendor know they are stalling your offer.

HOWEVER.... (caps for drama)...

You appear to have one important problem. Most agents will not accept an AIP from a broker. There is actually a good reason for this - a broker is not a lender, and they will not do a credit check on you. You aren't really proceedable if that's all you can show. So you need to go through the process with a selected lender first.

MaryNB

I'm having the same conversation with an EA. I made it extremely clear I would not be using their mortgage broker to choose my mortgage. I kicked off a bit when they kept trying to get me in with their advisor, even after my first offer was rejected and I hadn't yet made a second (agent probably thinks I'm a bit mental, but I don't have a high opinion of him so, whatever). They said this would only be a financial check, I wouldn't pay any fee and I would be under no obligation to go through mortgage options with their advisor.
They said that they cannot trust an AIP (even though mine is from my bank) because (as they said) anybody can fill in a form online. Due to the enhanced affordability checks by lenders because of Covid related concerns, the seller wants to ensure I am proceedable as I say I am. 
I did ask if the offer had been put to the vendor and he said it had been and the offer would be subject to financial checks before they could accept it.

AdrianC

tom9980 said:

As a seller I want a buyer vetted.
I want to know they have a good deposit, ideally 15%+ and fees etc.
I want to know if they were furloughed and what line of work they are in.
I want to know if they are using a mortgage broker or applying direct and to which lender.

As a seller, none of that is your business. The only question that matters is "Can they afford it?"

The EA should be mollified simply by proof of affordability. Anything more than that is them wishing to sell their own mortgage services. But... Would spending half an hour be a bad thing, if it results in an EA more willing to pass on your offer...? And it might even result in a better mortgage offer...

eddddy

MaryNB said:

I did ask if the offer had been put to the vendor and he said it had been and the offer would be subject to financial checks before they could accept it.

Which is fair enough - and how the system normally works.

I recently accepted an offer on a property - but the property stayed on the market until the EA checked the buyer's affordability etc.

If I had rejected the offer - the EA would have no reason to check the buyer's affordability.

(And as it happens, the buyer was a fibber/dreamer and didn't have funds in place, so the property stayed on the market with no interruption)

jon81uk

We're buying a new build with help to buy so it is a little different. But we were asked to speak to the builders approved broker first who asked questions to determine affordability.
It took about 10 minutes on the phone. I would just go ahead and do it, there is then no obligation to use the broker.

Thrugelmir

Jt146 said:

I don't want disclose this to them as I feel like they'll know we can budge up and manipulate this. 

You are not buying the propertry from the EA though. The vendor decides what's acceptable. EA's prefer actual sales to drawn out out negotiations where their time costs far more than the additional commission earnt. 

tom9980

AdrianC said:

tom9980 said:

As a seller I want a buyer vetted.
I want to know they have a good deposit, ideally 15%+ and fees etc.
I want to know if they were furloughed and what line of work they are in.
I want to know if they are using a mortgage broker or applying direct and to which lender.

As a seller, none of that is your business. The only question that matters is "Can they afford it?"

The EA should be mollified simply by proof of affordability. Anything more than that is them wishing to sell their own mortgage services. But... Would spending half an hour be a bad thing, if it results in an EA more willing to pass on your offer...? And it might even result in a better mortgage offer...

I have already been messed around by one buyer pulling out at the last moment after 2 months for frankly ridiculous reasons relating to the survey. I wont be wasting time on offers that are not likely to succeed getting a mortgage and wasting more time when I would like the whole process done and dusted by the autumn budget statement.

So far two viewers who made offers have been rejected because they would not get a mortgage in the current climate. The simple fact is not being on furlough during covid, having a deposit bigger than 15% and using a broker are all important factors that increase the chances of completing the sale. Those are my terms, their individual situation will affect me if they waste my time so if you don't like it you wont be buying a well priced property that is in good order.