Do you need a mortgage in place to put in an offer on a house?

[Aberforthsgoat]

Probably a very stupid question but just trying to get my head around things.
We have seen a house we love, we have a 30% deposit but no mortgage in place. No debt, no committed spends.
Just need to work out what type of mortgage we think will be best and apply for one.
In order to put in an offer would we need a mortgage in place? Is a mortgage in principle just something to show you CAN get a mortgage rather that a set mortgage?

DH thinks we do, but he's been talking to brokers who just want to get him in to chat to them so aren't really answering his questions but being vague and saying hthey can help.

Thanks in advance.

You can put in an offer - it’s subject to survey which takes time and you can organise the mortgage. They may ask to see the deposit figure as proof you are keen.

You may want to outline your current position of being in rental or living with parents so chain free etc

When I put an offer in for a house , the estate agents wanted to see a mortgage in principle pretty quickly. Luckily I had one in place, but even then they were hurrying me up to show proof.

Agreement in Principle max. I'm an ex mortgage advisor. Speak to a whole of market brokers like London & County when your offer is accepted.

Generally you need to show proof of funds either before or pretty damn quickly after offering. As such, an offer in principle will be required. 30 percent deposit doesn't prove you can buy the house or that anyone will lend to you

You can ger one pretty quickly ie even over the phone.

We had to have an AIP in place to make the offer. The agent also wanted proof of funds for the deposit and photocopies of our ID.

AIP in place before being able to make an offer ‘position to proceed’.

Personally if I was selling and someone offered I'd only accept if they had mortgage in place and ready to go. If you haven't sorted one you have no idea what your offer will be and therefore are not in the position to be offering on a house you have no idea if you can buy.

In fact I'd go as far as to say not in a position to go no viewings. All the pics are available online etc so I'd only want to go to that time and effort for serious potential buyers.

Thanks this is all really useful.
We've been upfront with agents each time about our circumstances, and we have previously had a chat with our bank and a broker to get a top lending figure which we don't intend to go anywhere close to, we only want to borrow half of what we've been offered. I appreciate nothing's for certain until we actually HAVE a mortgage in place but estate agents have been very happy for us to still go to viewings.
Is an agreement in principle an agreement for a specific mortgage or just an agreement that you can get a mortgage?

It's for a specific mortgage from a specific company. You don't need to go with them ultimately but you need to show you can get a mortgage.

thank you @bluntness100 I'm aware I must sound like a complete idiot, I'm just trying to get to grips with everything!

It's not for a specific mortgage at all.

An AIP is how much a lender will lend you based on your income and committed spending (loans!) Subject to the proper checks.

I have bought 3 houses in 4 years so definitely know what I am talking about.

You can apply for an AIP online on most lenders websites. Halifax have always done us good. Decision in seconds and print off.

Good luck x