Estate agent wants to "substantiate" our offer before passing it to the vendor- WTF is going on here?

[JessieMcJessie]

DH and I made an offer on a house yesterday; I put it to the EA in writing by email this morning. No response till about 5 pm when some "senior negotiator" at the agent calls me to tell me that this particular agent has what he described as a "trademark process" of ensuring that buyers can " substantiate" an offer before passing it to the vendor. I am to expect a call from his colleague tomorrow who just happens to be an independent mortgage broker.

We already have an agreement in principle via London and Country for way more than the amount we need to borrow, and are putting in a 50% deposit. We are chain free. I told the tosspot this but he said that his mate would need to ask me some more questions.

It's a scam on two fronts isn't it? First, get some bloke to ask me a load of financial questions to work out how much more we have to spend and force us to up our offer. Second to drum up business for their broker.

Can I just tell him to fuck off and remind him that they are legally obliged to pass on the offer to the vendor? Perhaps send him a pic of my parents' grave to prove the source of the deposit?

Has anyone else come across this?

Oh and to cap it all, just before he put down the phone he said "Ciao".

Totally normal now, he's not going to sell you anything. He just wants to know you've got it sorted. He may try to say he can get you a better deal but you just say no thank you, happy with your offer etc

No idea, but saying ciao makes him a cock.

Is this for real? He said Ciao?

Re: establishing finance, my parents accepted an offer on their house from a couple who said they had finance in order. A little way down the line, the EA called them to say they'd been "over-optimistic" in their salary declaration, and they were unlikely to be granted a mortgage on the property. Fortunately, there was another buyer lined up, who was good to go and offered more.

Jeff, I have already confirmed we have AIP. Any other info I give him will just be used to try to manipulate us into paying more.

And I am not convinced that their professional regulations permit them to place conditions on passing on the offer to the vendor.

Many vendors want to ensure that a purchaser has proof of funds before accepting their offer. Totally normal these days.

If you were selling a property and had been messed around by people who weren't serious/couldn't get a mortgage then you'd probably ask for proof of funds before offers are put forward.

If you already have an AIP then just tell them that you have it sorted.

I used to work in an estate agent (was in Bridgefords that your going through?) and we were told how to phrase things when accepting offers so that they basically thought it was mandatory that they came in to see our financial advisor. We had to pass a certain number of referrals to them to hit our bonus's and, if the mortgage advisor could convince them to go through them, we would get a payback for it.

We would tell people who's houses we signed up that we were providing them with a more reliable offer by doing this and that it was better for them - but, to be honest we could just see proof of their mortgage offer to fulfil this obligation.

They are legally bound to pass on all offers, I would cheerily remind them of this and say you will happily give them a copy of proof pf mortgage offer should they accept your offer and you were going ahead to buy the property.

Ps can I just say, please don't shoot me down for being an ex estate agent. I only lasted 6 months there

Thanks twirly glad you got out alive! That confirms what I suspected.

maitai I did already tell them we have it sorted but they want to know more.

I fully appreciate that vendors don't want to find that some fuckwit made an offer on their house without first checking what they had to spend. Equally as a buyer I would like to know the house is structurally sound but I have to pay a surveyor to check that for me after I have had my offer accepted. These risks are just part and parcel of the process.

To be clear, I have absolutely no objection to proving we can fund the offer AFTER the vendor has been told about it but before they accept it.

I don't see the issue with providing a copy of your AIP before the offer is put to the vendor. Is it for more than you are prepared to offer on this house?

But finding out that the vendor does have the means to buy the property s/he is offering on is a pretty avoidable risk. Read the property board regularly and there are no end of posters complaining that someone made a cash offer and, several months down the line, it turns out that they need to sell/have to secure a mortgage which they can't seem to do etc. There may be more than one offer on the property so the agents are trying to find out who is the most "proceedable".

I see where you're coming from the ea should pass your offer on they are legally obliged to do so. Then you give proof of mortgage offer. They shouldn't be able to use your mortgage offer to negotiate the offer higher.

Oh god I think we dealt with the same estate agent

Massive palaver putting the offer in, needed to offer blood from our first born to prove our trustworthiness, and then we offered over, had it turned down, and whatever one they accepted fell through anyway as it was back on the market within six months.

Buying and selling houses in the south seems to have taken on pantoesque qualities now.

Thanks twirlypoo, that's good info to have in the back of one's mind.

I've already offered to send the AIP! They want to ask questions about our salaries and source of the deposit, questions that are frankly none of Mr Ciao's business.

Yes scary we are in London so may well have been the same one...

We had this. I refused but said I would provide the estate agent with my written mortgage agreement in principle. They said that wasn't enough and asked to see 3 months worth of payslips and evidence of deposit (which in our case was our mortgage statement). I tried to refuse but they would not 'entertain my offer' without this. So I had to speak to their own mortgage adviser/broker. I found the whole thing annoying and intrusive. And if I hadn't so desperately wanted the house would have told them to bog off! The mortgage broker/adviser then somehow managed to take out buildings insurance on the property we were purchasing in our name, despite us asking her not to, when we noticed we asked her to cancel, she didn't. So we insured a property we hadn't even exchanged and completed on, merely had an offer accepted on and I am still trying to get my money back almost 3 months after completion. I will be happy if I never have to deal with an estate agent ever again.

I was thinking of reporting the whole experience to someone... I don't know if there is some kind of estate agent ombudsman.

I just told them that it was private family finance through my family bank - I think they thought I was loaded!

What a nightmare Snoop. But at least you got your house .

Yes, there is an EA ombudsman. Buying a financial product in your name without your consent is serious stuff, may be worth speaking to them about it.

Thanks OP I might just do that. Part of me feels like writing the whole thing off as a bad experience, the other part of me wants to kick up a massive stink about it with the powers that be!
Good luck with yours.

KFH?

We had this with them when trying to buy a house and it was very frustrating.

However we did end up using them when we sold! Not sure what that says about me and my house-buying morals.

This seems to happen a lot & in theory it's a good idea if that's what they were actually doing & not just trying to sell you a mortgage. although no reason why they shouldn't pass the offer on then start there ever so helpful substantiating process
When we encountered this problem my husband said he has his own financial advisor & there's not a chance he's going to waste his time talking to them & he wasn't born yesterday so just pass the offer on or there would be trouble

We had this. I said the offer had to be put in otherwise I'd knock on the door and tell them myself, that we have xyz situation and we would be happy to prove it after the offer was accepted but I was not giving personal information to a random salesperson before that.

Funnily enough I sold my flat to a very wealthy old establishment chap who paid cash. The purchase was part of tax planning and he had a shit hot solicitor too. He made the offer during the viewing whilst the EA stood open mouthed, then he cut the EAs out of the whole process and dealt direct. He was so wealthy and influential they were stumped and intimidated and just let him get on with it.
But with most people they think you're weAk/ stupid enough to believe their flannel so they try it on. Be firm and remind them of their legal obligations and don't give them anything until you have a accepted offer. Good luck!

They'll be targeted on referrals to their affiliated broker.
Just say no, you have an AIP and yes remind them they are obliged to report the offer, here's what the OFT have to say about it:

"Keeping clients informed about offers
You must give your client written details of all offers received from
potential buyers - except those which the client has told you in writing
need not be passed on (for example, those below a certain price). You
may find it helpful to keep a written record of all offers received.
This information must be passed on promptly. It can be sent by hand,
post or fax."

and their views on bias:
"Avoiding bias
You must not discriminate against potential buyers because they don??t want, or might refuse, to take services from you or a connected person, or someone from whom you or a connected person may receive financial benefits.
For example, you must not:
refuse to provide information about property to these buyers
take longer to forward property particulars to these buyers than to others
make additional requirements of these buyers as a condition of passing on an offer - for example, make them have a mortgage survey before you will
pass on their offers."

I just bought a house and this didn't happen to me. Called up to make an offer, was asked if I had an agreement in principle, said yes, and then my offer was passed on.

All agencies I contacted for viewings did try to get me to meet their broker though, some were quite pushy.

Bought a house a few years ago. I offered cash and was asked to prove I had the cash in the bank. Fair enough.

Just hand over your AIP and documentary evidence you have the cash in the bank or in liquid investment form.

They don't need your salary etc.

Just write direct to the vendor with your offer at the same time as the agent outlining your sources of cash.

I always write to the vendors direct. It just cuts out all the game playing and potential miscommunication.