Show home viewing AIBU?

[Loopylala7]

I had a bit of a shock earlier. DH & I have been talking about moving for a while and there is a new development nearby that would potentially suit our family.

I rang up to request a visit to their show home to gauge if this might be for us. Was told that if we wanted to visit and possibly part exchange (which in theory we like the idea of) we would have to see their financial planner before they would accept us for a viewing of the show home. I felt a bit uneasy with this. To know all our financial details before we even know if we want to make an offer. Is it just me, or is a bit of pushy system?

Tell them you've just come into some money so you'll be paying cash....

I remember going to a show home just for a nose ( it was in the 90s) and being turned away ! Maybe they just do it this way now to stop people just showing up without any intention of moving ? Don't want time wasters? Could be because if COVID too but probably more to make sure people can afford it as new places are so much more expensive to buy!

It’s possibly done to try and stop people show home surfing. When we viewed the show home on our development the sales advisor was shocked when we approached her looking for info as on a Sunday 99% of people through the door were only there for a nose and openly admitted they had no intention of buying. I guess they want to limit viewers to those who are serious about buying.

That’s the frustration though. We are genuinely interested, and have bought off plan before. I just don’t think they should be allowed all our financial information until we’ve even seen a potential home. Maybe I am being unreasonable?

I bet they will use COVID as an excuse also because of the current work situation too. They probably want to make sure you could afford one of their homes. I understand why your fed up but many places are changing how they work and with many more new places springing up they don't want people who are just bored or want a nose about on a Sunday morning wasting their time.
With this in place , only the ones who are serious will bother to turn up.

Just tell them that you’re more than happy to see the financial planner if you like what’s on offer.

have they actually said that "seeing the financial planner" means them "being allowed all your financial information" though, or have you just decided that's what it means?

It could just be a five minute chat before the viewing where the planner asks for your current address so they can look up the estimated value, and then asks you how you plan to make up any difference, in order to weed out any timewasters and also keep their staff safe by limiting numbers. Even if you did meet them they won't be "allowed" any more information than that you make available to them. They are not able to start delving into your bank accounts or credit history unless you choose to give them your details.

I mean if you want to part exchange it's fairly clear why they would want some idea of your financial background fairly early on, as that could represent more of a risk to them than someone who is a cash buyer or who has a straightforward MIP ready to go. If you're not happy with the idea, fair enough but they can decide on whatever terms they like, so if you like the home is it worth cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Pretty sure it's just to weedle out time wasters and therefore also decrease numbers of people looking around in this covid restricted world. Don't take it personally, I'm sure it's more of a general chat than going through your bank statements.

@thevassal, you sound like you know a lot about the system which makes me wonder if you work in this industry?

It just seems crazy to have to be probed before we’ve even crossed the threshold of a property as to whether we are serious. We could get there having answered all the questions and 2 minutes in decide it’s not what we’re after. It just seems a bit off in my opinion.

We have previously purchased a new build and this didn’t happen. Different developers though.

I imagine it’ll be CV related. We’ve just accepted an offer on our house, but the estate agent required proof of ability to proceed/funding before viewings could be booked to limit the amount of people through the door to only those that were serious buyers.

We viewed a house - not a new house - last week and didn't have to show proof of funds or give any financial information so it's not universal and not Covid related.
If you don't want to go through your finances with them , email saying you want to arrange a viewing but you have your own independent financial planner so don't need their planner's services. I doubt they will put in writing that viewing is dependent on speaking to their planner.
The FCA is very strict on planning, advice and impartiality so I'd be interested in their view on this.

For a show home you're not being unreasonable.

But for a normal sale - there is nothing worse than spending hours cleaning only to find that the alleged buyers are in zero position to buy the house.

So the estate agents are not being unreasonable. They just want to know if this is a serious proposition, before they spend theirs and their clients time.

I think different estate agents have different rules as when we were looking to buy some EAs insisted on our house being on the market before allowing us to view. I explained to one lady that 2 properties in our street had sold in less than a week which she was able to verify but she didn't allow us to view as it was their policy.
Maybe ask them what the financial adviser needs to see/ know and take it from there

I think that anything property related will tighten up hugely in the next few months.
I did read that people receiving any money from parents won't be allowed towards a deposit or something bonkers like that! Whole other thread.
I suppose new home sellers will be even more stringent with 'rules ' too.

Some people look round show homes as a hobby. It's often suggested as a way of getting ideas about interior design.

Covid and social distancing means they will want to limit people looking round and make sure one group has left before the next group goes in. Of course they don't want to potentially refuse a genuine customer for someone who isn't really in a position to move for a while, or who is just wanting to mooch around a new house.

I’ve bought two new builds and looked at loads of showhomrs it’s not normal. However, due to Covid they are trying to reduce the number of people going through the Showhome and are only letting serious buyers in,a lot of people just like a nose around (I loved it).

I think some mortgage providers allow you to get a pretty much instant decision in principle online. It might be worth asking whether this would be sufficient for them to allow a first viewing. The cynic in me would think them wanting you to see their own financial planner would be mostly so they can try to sell their own mortgage products for the extra commission.

@Stefoscope

I think some mortgage providers allow you to get a pretty much instant decision in principle online. It might be worth asking whether this would be sufficient for them to allow a first viewing. The cynic in me would think them wanting you to see their own financial planner would be mostly so they can try to sell their own mortgage products for the extra commission.

^ This. This is why they're doing it.

But also, you said that it was needed if you were planning on part exchange. If you weren't, would they still need you to see their planner?

We're about to complete on a new build, whole process post covid. We didn't have to verify our details to view, but we did have to speak to their independent mortgage advisors before they would accept a reservation

By fluke this was the same broker as we were already using so it was straightforward. They didn't disclose much, just that the property was within our financial capacity.

I imagine with covid they are probably trying to reduce the amount of people nosing around the house for hygiene reasons so are amping up their requirements pre-visits. Be careful with new builds theres been some dodgy stories coming out on quality and land leases etc.

I lived near a huge new building project in the 1990s but being turned away that one time put me off looking anymore plus the man was very sniffy about it for some reason.
I could have had my dream place on a fraction of what they are now if it wasn't for him not letting me near his ' show home!'
Still bitter about that and it was years ago.
Don't be put off going. They do tend to like pushing their own people and products too!

We will definitely consider the viewing still, but I can’t say it hasn’t left a bitter taste.

The last time we bought, we asked if we could put in an offer as opposed to go in straight with the full asking price. The salesperson was really sniffy about it and practically laughed in my face which I found really rude. When we put in an offer for 10k less, it was accepted straight away, so I’m not totally put off by their antics. If anyone is looking to buy, make sure you try for a discount!

I think a combination of making sure you can afford and covid control. They also are probably keen to get you to use their own advisors as will earn commission from mortgages, surveys etc. I don’t think you need to give them a huge amount of detail other than equity in your home, savings plus earnings. They certainly can’t run credit checks or anything like that without your permission and they can’t force you to use them other than for this initial meeting/call.