Estate agent etiquette

PatriciaHooper

I requested a viewing of a house . The agent  "requires" proof of funds before a slot can be booked. I feel this is outrageous but as it is a while since I was in this position wondered if this is common practice. The agent informed me that this is new company policy  (did not imply it was at the vendor's request). As the address is obvious on the advertisement, what would be the legal implications of bypassing the agent?

yllop1101

You can't bypass the agent. The seller would still have to pay any agency fee particularly as you've seen the house as a result of the agents advertising. If they were to accept your offer the agent would still do due diligence to check yoh we're proceedable. What's the objection to showing proof of funds? 
I've had to do this but where I'm seriously interested in the house it hasn't bothered me 

MaryNB

It's been common recently for the estate agents to ask for an AIP before viewing. My friend bought about 2 years before Covid and he needed one in order to book viewings. I wasn't actually asked for one when I was viewing two houses last summer with two different EAs but I did need to provide an AIP and a proof of deposit before my offer was accepted

Seashell517

There's a pandemic on. Responsible agents are only showing houses to proceedable buyers. It's not the time to be letting anyone who fancies a look into other people's homes.

PatriciaHooper

 Thank you for your response . I realise the vendor would still have to pay the agency but  to bypass the agent to request a viewing ? I am not sure the agent is representing the vendor's interests. 
Of course, I understand that once I knew I was interested I should have to show proof of funds; but to make that first step???
The house usually looks very different to the virtual viewing.

Thrugelmir

PatriciaHooper said:

 I am not sure the agent is representing the vendor's interests. 

The vendor doesn't care what your opinion is. They've chosen the EA to market and help sell the property. Given these difficult times it's no doubt extremely well organised for all parties concerned. At the very least weed out timewasters. 

lookstraightahead

I viewed a property just before Christmas - I didn't have an AIP but it was in progress. By the time an offer was accepted, I had my AIP. The agent would have lost my sale had they asked for one first.

lookstraightahead

Seashell517 said:

There's a pandemic on. Responsible agents are only showing houses to proceedable buyers. It's not the time to be letting anyone who fancies a look into other people's homes.

An AIP doesn't mean you have a mortgage though. I think EAs lose buyers on this basis, as per my previous post.
i would prefer proof that there's no chain from the buyers side - reduces risk much more.

As there's a pandemic on, maybe people should stop putting their houses on the market if they don't want people wasting their time. There are some nightmare vendors too who aren't willing to move, thus wasting buyers time by pretending that they are serious. 

MaryNB

PatriciaHooper said:

 Thank you for your response . I realise the vendor would still have to pay the agency but  to bypass the agent to request a viewing ? I am not sure the agent is representing the vendor's interests. 

They are if they are weeding out potential timewasters. A lot of sellers find viewings to be quite disruptive (but an obviously necessary part of the process). Covid has made this more of an issue because it's not just the inconvenience, there's an added risk. 

Seashell517

lookstraightahead said:

Seashell517 said:

There's a pandemic on. Responsible agents are only showing houses to proceedable buyers. It's not the time to be letting anyone who fancies a look into other people's homes.

An AIP doesn't mean you have a mortgage though. I think EAs lose buyers on this basis, as per my previous post.
i would prefer proof that there's no chain from the buyers side - reduces risk much more.

As there's a pandemic on, maybe people should stop putting their houses on the market if they don't want people wasting their time. There are some nightmare vendors too who aren't willing to move, thus wasting buyers time by pretending that they are serious. 

The OP said 'proof of funds'. That doesn't always mean a DIP. But if you need a mortgage then you're going to need the DIP to put an offer in anyway, so what's the difference to the viewer in getting it before the viewing? If they're serious about buying then they'll need one pretty soon anyway. 

MaryNB

lookstraightahead said:

Seashell517 said:

There's a pandemic on. Responsible agents are only showing houses to proceedable buyers. It's not the time to be letting anyone who fancies a look into other people's homes.

An AIP doesn't mean you have a mortgage though. I think EAs lose buyers on this basis, as per my previous post.
i would prefer proof that there's no chain from the buyers side - reduces risk much more.

As there's a pandemic on, maybe people should stop putting their houses on the market if they don't want people wasting their time. There are some nightmare vendors too who aren't willing to move, thus wasting buyers time by pretending that they are serious. 

Where I live houses go SSTC pretty fast so it would have been a case of cutting off my nose to spite my face if I refused to get an AIP before a viewing. It look less than 5 minutes to do one. In the end they didnt ask for it before the viewing (I did tell them I had one). The EA did do a much more thorough check of my finances before accepting (it was partially a ruse to get me to use their mortgage advisor though). They wouldn't mark it SSTC until I had my mortgage offer. 

There is an option between zero viewings and excessive viewings. A homeowner may accept the risk of viewings but attempt mitigate that risk by getting the EA to vet buyers. The fact that nightmare vendors exist has no bearing on vendors trying to manage timewasting viewers.
In May I was renting and on a joint tenancy and we had to find a replacement tenant. We wouldn't allow anyone to view without a skype chat first. We did urgently need to find someone but still didn't want loads of people trekking though the house during the first lockdown.