"Seller" insists on us using the estate agents mortgage broker

MrsNibbles

Hi,
We put in an offer on an amazing house the other day and the estate agents came back and said it was slightly low and the sellers asked if we would up it by 4k. I said absolutely so long as the house came off the market. The EA said great, they'd just need us to do a financial verification with their mortgage guy to check we could afford to buy as a way of helping the seller feel more secure in our offer and once that was done he would go back to the seller and confirm everything.
Now we expected the mortgage guy to try and sign us up but what happened was we were told that the seller had said they'd prefer it if it was all done under one umbrella so they wanted us to use the connells mortgage guy the same as them. We told him we'd probably just use our own IFA as usual and he said he couldn't make us use them, and I didn't think much of it and passed the mortgage guys test and he fed back to the EA that we could afford it. When we rang the EA to confirm that our offer had been accepted we were told that the sellers insisted we agreed to use their mortgage people and wouldn't put forward our updated offer unless we agreed.
We did eventually agree on the phone to make sure we secured the house but later looked up the 1974 estate agents act which says they're not allowed to refuse to put forward offers like this. The issue might be that they're insisting that the seller has said this is their condition(rather than it being the EAs condition) but I'm assuming they pushed the seller into agreeing to that. I meant we had a MIP for more than the agreed price and who cares where someone else gets their mortgage from so long as they have passed affordability checks?
Is there anything we can do without risking losing the house we want to buy?
The EA mortgage figures weren't too far from what we expected but we wanted to look at longer term mortgages which they don't do and the whole thing seems underhand. 
Thanks for any advice

FaceHead

I'd just pay lip service to using the EA's mortgage broker for the time being. Once the offer is accepted, and yours and the sellers solicitors are in touch you can cut the EA, and their mortgage broker out of the picture, and use whatever funding you want to complete the purchase

MaryNB

My seller used Connells and I was in a similar position. I was told to use their mortgage broker to make my offer look more appealing to the seller. I refused. I was then told for my offer to be accepted I needed to go through a financial check, which turned out to be just a mortgage advice session and sales pitch. 

To use their services it would have cost me £600 (which I could get back off the EA fees if I sold my house with then later down the line). Told them no (£600!!!!). Still got the house. 

AdrianC

So spend half an hour with the broker. You don't have to take a mortgage from them - but you might get a better deal...

teachfast

They are trying it on. I doubt very much the vendor has said this and, if they have, it's been construed by the EA. Quote the act at them. Give them the offer and tell them you expect it to be passed on without delay and if they still stall, put that in writing through the door.

tasticz

I read on facebook BTL groups that connells are notorious for doing things like this, as the EA have mortgage broker and solicitor quota targets and if you dont use their in house mortgage broker and solicitor you most likely won't get the property...

I would just drop a note through the letter box with your offer price and contact number and tell them you are happy to proceed. Seller will still have to pay EA fees though.

JS21

The house we're in the process of buying also has connells as the vendor's EA. We did viewings and once we put in our offer, had to have a call with their broker to check affordability even though we had our own broker and a MIP in place. The call lasted 20 mins and we gave vague details of our joint income amount and the amount that the MIP was offering. It was just a sales pitch and they offered to waive fees if we sold our house with them later down the line. We just said we'd think about it and then carried on with our own broker.

Once offer was accepted, the connells broker called again to see what mortgage offer we had and mentioned one or two deals they could give - we pointed out he'd just told us that the only saving he could make between his offer and our brokers was £200 over the course of a 35yr mortgage. We politely declined and said we're happy with our broker and that was it.

They can't force you to use their brokers - its a sale pitch as they probably have quotas to meet. Just do the call, yes yes your way through unless you're genuinely liking what they offer and if not just decline. If they continue to insist, post the offer through the vendor's door with your contact details and say you're offering £X and are ready to proceed.

JJR45

How old is the house?
If it is fairly recent (last 10 years) and a small development, it could be that it only has a architect certificate on it.
Not all lenders accept them, so they maybe trying to avoid that issue.
Most big lenders require a 10y structural warranty.

moneysavinghero

You know where the vendor lives. Pop round and verify the EA's story and while you are there point out you have DIP in place and your offer is x. You might even find out that the 4k was invented too.

NameUnavailable

The EA's are targetted on mortgage referrals so will put pressure on you to speak to their broker. I am looking for property at the moment the hate when I have to contact a new agent as most of them just want to talk about mortgages and set up meetings with their brokers. That's before they've even spoken about the property I'm enquiring about let alone arranged a viewing!

I tell them I'm happy to have that conversation if/when I have an offer accepted and I have already had an AIP via my own bank.

Play their game, speak to the broker and say you will use them if you proceed. If you do agree an offer and instruct solicitors then you can tell them you found a better offer for the mortgage and they're not going to lose the sale. I honestly doubt the vendor cares at all where you go, as long as you can fund the purchase.

ciderboy2009

When an EA tried this on with me I asked them to confirm what they were saying to me in writing.

About an hour later I received a phone call informing me that the vendor had decided to drop this condition "as a favour to me".