Agreement in Principle and putting offer on a house

Greymug

Hi I am on the lookout to buy an additional property and I have a viewing scheduled for tomorrow for a property I like so there is a chance I will make an offer on it.
BUT, I do not have an Agreement in Principle in place as mortgage brokers in my area are pretty busy and I only have an appointment with my broker in 2 weeks time.

Is it possible to make an offer on a property without having an AIP in place? In theory it should not matter as you'd still need to go through mortgage applications with lenders, but I would like to know if legally possible.

Also, I noticed that a few banks offer you the opportunity to get an AIP yourself, without having to go through a broker. Will my credit rating be impacted if I get say 2-3 AIP from different banks? Also, which banks would be good to get an AIP from? When I bought my first property I remember my broker got my AIP from TSB. This case it would be a joint mortgage, second property, one of the applicants is self-employed and the other is in permanent employment.

Thanks for the help

shakAFC

Could you get one from an online broker? At least you have it to show the estate agent. 

Greymug

You mean from something like Habito?

shakAFC

Yeah or L and c.

[Deleted User]

you can make an offer on a property anytime you want.   Some estate agents will want to know you have checked your ability to get a mortgage and ask for AIP. Some wont care too much.   Some might say that your offer is acceptable subject i financial verification and then you just get your broker appointment done.    I wouldnt sweat about it.  

You can get an online one if you are getting pressure but the case sounds quite complex so i wouldn't try DIY the whole thing if possible

Greymug

Deleted_User said:

you can make an offer on a property anytime you want.   Some estate agents will want to know you have checked your ability to get a mortgage and ask for AIP. Some wont care too much.   Some might say that your offer is acceptable subject i financial verification and then you just get your broker appointment done.    I wouldnt sweat about it.  

You can get an online one if you are getting pressure but the case sounds quite complex so i wouldn't try DIY the whole thing if possible

Thanks, this is very helpful.

So, my partner and I had an initial meeting with our mortgage broker a couple of months ago. In this meeting we went through some very high level questions and he told us roughly how much we'd be able to borrow. The properties we're looking at are way below the number he told us. The broker just said to schedule another appointment whenever we were ready to buy and we left it at that, without getting an AIP.

I guess we'll just go and view the property, and in case we decide to make an offer, we will get the AIP online. Is there any particular online broker you would recommend?

[Deleted User]

Greymug said:

Deleted_User said:

you can make an offer on a property anytime you want.   Some estate agents will want to know you have checked your ability to get a mortgage and ask for AIP. Some wont care too much.   Some might say that your offer is acceptable subject i financial verification and then you just get your broker appointment done.    I wouldnt sweat about it.  

You can get an online one if you are getting pressure but the case sounds quite complex so i wouldn't try DIY the whole thing if possible

Thanks, this is very helpful.

So, my partner and I had an initial meeting with our mortgage broker a couple of months ago. In this meeting we went through some very high level questions and he told us roughly how much we'd be able to borrow. The properties we're looking at are way below the number he told us. The broker just said to schedule another appointment whenever we were ready to buy and we left it at that, without getting an AIP.

I guess we'll just go and view the property, and in case we decide to make an offer, we will get the AIP online. Is there any particular online broker you would recommend?

I do that all the time.  Sometimes its a waste of time getting an AIP as rates change every day and lenders dip in and out of the market. If youve been doing the job long enough you can easily say to someone that they will get a mortgage and then sort the finer details later. 

I didnt realise you had already had an appointment with someone so If i was you, make your offer and give your brokers details for the estate agent to verifiy financials if they want to.  If they ask for an AIP just say 'my broker is dealing with all that, here are his/her details'. 
I wouldnt be surprised if the broker found some time between appointments to get your AIP sorted when they realised you are seriously trying to buy a house and they might make some money at some point soon.    

sully1311

I’ve viewed around 10 houses at not one EA has asked for an AIP upfront.

[Deleted User]

sully1311 said:

I’ve viewed around 10 houses at not one EA has asked for an AIP upfront.

how many have you put offers on?