Estate Agent wants mortgage survey asap

FataVerde

I had an offer accepted on a flat and plan to begin with an independent survey so I communicated this to the EA. The EA is fixated on getting the 'mortgage survey' scheduled asap. This house has been on the market before, disappeared when it got an offer, then reappeared two weeks later, which is when I saw it and put an offer. Is it likely there is something wrong with the flat evaluation by the lender? It looks in good condition, in a desirable area, etc. but the EA's insistence on this particular step makes me worry. Or is this typical? I mean I get it that the EA wants things to move fast and me to show commitment, but scheduling the independent survey is a way of already committing money to the process. Not sure why the mortgage insistence. 

MaryNB

My sellers wouldn't mark the house SSTC until I had a mortgage offer. Generally it's best to get your mortgage sorted as soon as your offer has been accepted. 

Maybe the previous buyer's lender downvalued it and they want your lender to value it asap in case it does get downvalued again, you pull out and everyone's just wasted several weeks/months.

Thrugelmir

FataVerde said:

Not sure why the mortgage insistence. 

Are you planning on buying with a mortgage? 

NameUnavailable

Maybe they are wondering if the lender will ask for an EWS1 form?

london21

FataVerde said:

I had an offer accepted on a flat and plan to begin with an independent survey so I communicated this to the EA. The EA is fixated on getting the 'mortgage survey' scheduled asap. This house has been on the market before, disappeared when it got an offer, then reappeared two weeks later, which is when I saw it and put an offer. Is it likely there is something wrong with the flat evaluation by the lender? It looks in good condition, in a desirable area, etc. but the EA's insistence on this particular step makes me worry. Or is this typical? I mean I get it that the EA wants things to move fast and me to show commitment, but scheduling the independent survey is a way of already committing money to the process. Not sure why the mortgage insistence. 

They likely want to see commitment from your side.

might be a good idea to get a mortgage survey in case there are issues getting a mortgage.

there might be some information the estate agent is hiding.

kingstreet

Please can we stop with the word "survey" related to a mortgage report & valuation. It muddies the waters, particularly for future readers.

macman

The EA doesn't work for you: his contract is with the vendor. He can 'request' whatever he likes from you, whenever he likes, but ultimately it's up to you to proceed at the pace you wish to, based on whatever you and the vendor agree on.

steampowered

It's very normal of the EA to want to get the mortgage valuation booked in ASAP.

It demonstrates commitment to the deal.

And if you have a problem getting your mortgage because your lender downvalues the property, and that means you have to renegotiate the price, the vendor will want to know that now rather than in 2 months time.

Why would you wait? Unless you are waiting for the vendor to find another property or something like that, I'd get it booked in straight away.

Anyanka1

Yes but, as above, it is a mortgage valuation, not a survey.  A valuation pretty much states the property is there and as described (detached/semi/terraced/flat/whatever)  A survey is actually supposed to investigate the property's condition so let's not confuse the two.

steampowered

Anyanka1 said:

Yes but, as above, it is a mortgage valuation, not a survey.  A valuation pretty much states the property is there and as described (detached/semi/terraced/flat/whatever)  A survey is actually supposed to investigate the property's condition so let's not confuse the two.

Yes, but in many ways the mortgage valuation is more important to the vendor, because that dictates whether the buyer is able to pay what they want to pay - and is more obvious grounds for price renegotiation.

FataVerde

Some clarification: This is what the EA said so I used their terms "we just need a mortgage survey/ valuation booked in as soon as you you can".

The process was delayed because all solicitors were just too busy until June 30 and the legal pack has not even reached my solicitor. Now that the solicitor has some time, the mortgage broker has left on a one week vacation. But the mortgage broker told me that the bank will do a basic 'survey' very late in the process because I put down 40- 50% deposit. Instead I arranged for an independent surveyor to do a Homebuyer's report for me. This costs me more so it should essentially show more commitment.  That's why I worry that there might be something wrong with the house, but my lender won't be too serious about the valuation because of the high deposit.