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House Valuation - Pressure from Agent

Hi All,

We are currently in the process of purchasing a used property. Our lender did a desktop valuation last week which was around £10k under the agreed purchase price. For context the property was advertised at £625,000 and we agreed a purchase price of £612,500.

We contacted our broker to try get a copy of the valuation report. Our broker was unable to obtain this and suggested we ask our solicitor. We then asked our solicitor who also has advised they are unable to obtain the valuation as the lender (NatWest) has advised the valuation is for their internal use only.

We contacted the estate agent to advise them of this down valuation and they have asked for written confirmation of the down valuation from our broker before they will approach the vendors. They have then said they can help us appeal.

This request for an email from our broker seems quite strange given the fact they do not seem to believe our word. We feel quite pressurised by the estate agents to provide this. Is this normal practice? We had assumed we did not need to share our brokers details with the estate agent as our broker is acting for us.

Any guidance would be highly appreciated on how to deal with this or any past similar experiences you may have had with estate agents.

Kind Regards
Charlie
«1

Comments

  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,612 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 6 October at 7:54PM
    There is almost zero chance of the lender being influenced by the estate agent.

    Your choice are;

    A. Stick by your original offer which will hesn s higher deposit and potentially different rate if the LTV drops 

    B. State that is the lender's valuation and you will not exceed it.

    C. Meet somewhere in the middle 

    D. Find an alternative lender and potentially end up in exactly the same position.

    D is the worst option.  If you can't go something between A and C it does not bode well for any other negotiations that might still be required.  



    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • user1977
    user1977 Posts: 18,276 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Do you need the lender's valuation to match your own? £602,500 and £612,500 are in the same, very small, ballpark.
  • Charlie1985
    Charlie1985 Posts: 119 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    This is what we thought. Apparently the estate agents are advising before any renovation they need this down valuation in writing from our broker.
  • Wonka_2
    Wonka_2 Posts: 949 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    This is what we thought. Apparently the estate agents are advising before any renovation they need this down valuation in writing from our broker.
    Great negotiation technique - they might ‘like’ it but they certainly don’t ‘need’ it. 

    This is where your power and how much you want the property comes into play. 
  • dannim12345
    dannim12345 Posts: 427 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 6 October at 9:38PM
    How did you get told about this valuation figure? I would hope an email (forwarded on) from the mortgage company/broker or your solicitor would be enough ‘proof’.   As others have said I don’t think you need ‘proof’ though - if you want to negotiate say ‘based on our mortgage valuation our offer is reduced to X’. It doesn’t mean they will agree. 
  • Linton
    Linton Posts: 18,333 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Hung up my suit!
    Does a difference of £10K in the lenders valuation really change whether you can afford to buy the house? If not and you want the house why should you get a lower price?  You have agreed a price with the vendor and the vendor will expect you to stick to it.  If you suggest a drop in the price what would you do if the vendor says no?

    I suggest the best thing to do, again if the £10K is a real blocker, would be for you to tell the vendor that you are £10K short and so will have to pull out.  Then leave it with them to put the house back on the market or say they will drop the price by £10K.

    If £10K in the valuation does mean you can no longer afford the house could it be that you taking too much of a financial risk anyway?
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,612 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    To add to the above, 10k over the life of the property ownership is quite trivial.  And potentially less expensive than a collapsed chain.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 18,161 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper


    Any guidance would be highly appreciated on how to deal with this or any past similar experiences you may have had with estate agents.


    In simple terms, the estate agent is asking you to help them renegotiate the price.

    The estate agent probably isn't comfortable going back to the seller simply saying "The buyer says..."

    The estate agent wants to be able to say to the seller "I have an email from the buyer's mortgage broker...", or "I have document from the buyer's mortgage lender..."

    That sounds much more credible. It's more likely to convince the seller.



    Realistically, the estate agent just wants the sale to complete in order to get their fee - the estate agent won't care whether it sells for £612k or £602k.

    (To the estate agent, the difference in fee isn't worth the time / hassle this is causing them.)



    FWIW, when you eventually get a mortgage offer document from the mortgage lender, it will probably show the valuation - so you can wait until you get that, if you want. Then discuss it further with the estate agent.


  • saajan_12
    saajan_12 Posts: 5,254 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    We contacted the estate agent to advise them of this down valuation and they have asked for written confirmation of the down valuation from our broker before they will approach the vendors. They have then said they can help us appeal.

    This request for an email from our broker seems quite strange given the fact they do not seem to believe our word. We feel quite pressurised by the estate agents to provide this. Is this normal practice? We had assumed we did not need to share our brokers details with the estate agent as our broker is acting for us.

    e
    Well what are you asking the agent / seller for? If you're proceeding at the agreed purchase price, then ignore their request. If however you are asking to lower the price, this is what the seller / their agent are asking for. You can refuse, but they can also refuse to engage. 

    Negotiation is all about knowing who wants something more. Right now, you want to renegotiate the purchase price. 
  • Charlie1985
    Charlie1985 Posts: 119 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi everyone quick update. So we have agreed a reduced price with the agents to meet in the middle. The issue now is the estate agents are saying they want exchange in 4 days time. We have replied to say this is not realistic due to the below:

    1. Our solicitors still has several responses to queries they have raised pending. Note estate agent advised us today many of our solicitors queries are unessesary

    2. Lender needs to process this revised sale price and reflect on our offer

    3. For peace of mind our solicitor has advised to get a RICS survey done. We have told the agents and they have said why has this not been done already (we are 8 weeks into the process). They are trying to steer us away from the survey

    We advised we can exchange and complete by end of the month to allow time for these remaining items. Agent is refusing to send a revised sales memo until we agree to their unrealistic timeline for exchange.

    Anyone had any similar experiences with pushy estate agents setting unrealistic timelines for exchange?
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