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Original poster

Being vetted as a buyer by estate agent - a step too far?

32 replies

HouseIsOnFire · 22/11/2021 22:56

Hi all, I received a call today which has left me disgruntled and would like to know if I'm unreasonable?

I am currently hunting for a house and one of the larger local firms rang to tell me they were being bought by a national firm (who I personally don't like by reputation).

They said a new list was being set up and you could be added and would get alerted before properties went on the market- great. The only condition is you need to talk to their financial advisor, a drag but fine.

Then, they said I would need to provide a bank statement and a payslip! I'm happy to provide proof of funds after an offer is made, or providing an AIP, but think bank statements and payslips are sensitive information and a step too far??? Especially before I've even seen a house to arrange a viewing!

Am I paranoid, or do you think this is cheeky too???

OP posts:
PlanDeRaccordement · 22/11/2021 23:00

Meh,
I did this years ago and I was only renting through an estate agent. If they have all your supporting documentation on hand, then you are much more likely to get your offer in first.

If you don’t trust that particular estate agent, fair enough. But I don’t think it’s cheeky for them to offer this to you as a way for you to get first bite on any new property coming available.

Original poster
HouseIsOnFire · 22/11/2021 23:11

I guess I'm a bit nonplussed being expected to handover sensitive documents for no reason (I don't even know if the houses they will be marketing will be suitable), especially as when it comes to negotiations they won't be on my side and it feels like showing your hand?

OP posts:
CasperGutman · 22/11/2021 23:52

I'm with you. It feels wrong.

At the end of the day, though, when you negotiate even if they know you can afford more you need to be confident and give them a clear signal you know what you're willing to pay and won't go higher. They can't make you pay more than you want to, if you just say no.

Rogue1001 · 22/11/2021 23:57

Connells???

MarieG10 · 23/11/2021 06:29

You are not being vetted but reeled in for the hard sell on financial,services

Glasspen · 23/11/2021 06:40

I would be very pissed off if the financial advisor tried to sell me financial products.

Redsquirrel5 · 23/11/2021 06:43

I wouldn’t be happy either.

flashbac · 23/11/2021 06:46

Contact the ICO. Sounds like the estate agent is breaching GDPR. Write an anonymous complaint to them too.

Sparkai · 23/11/2021 06:51

I had this, but I just said that I would do it when I made an offer. I wasn't added to their "special" list, but I wasn't bothered by that because I wasn't looking for anything in particular or niche.

I find that house buying is an awful lot of doing what you don't really want to do as a means to an end

PurBal · 23/11/2021 06:53

Definitely not on. I was asked this once and I refused. Frustrating as there was a house we wanted to see but we found something with a different agent. I have a financial advisor, I have a mortgage broker. I don’t pay them so everyone’s time can be wasted chatting to the one in the agents back pocket.

Sparkai · 23/11/2021 06:55

@flashbac

Contact the ICO. Sounds like the estate agent is breaching GDPR. Write an anonymous complaint to them too.
I doubt it's breaching gdpr, although if pushed you could argue it stretches the data minimisation principle slightly. I think the agency would be able to push back on that too, although OP could use the words as a scare tactic to get the agent off her back
Buddywoo · 23/11/2021 06:58

Estate agents do not make a great deal of money from selling houses though probably more in the fast market we have at the moment. They make their money from financial services i.e arranging mortgages. Their main aim is to sell you a mortgage.

maofteens · 23/11/2021 07:02

I don't care about their 'special list'. I also get annoyed at shops asking for my email to send me a receipt.
It's one thing asking for proof of funds when you submit an offer but having to see their finance people is just not necessary.

SolasAnla · 23/11/2021 07:21

@Sparkai it would be a breach as the estate agent works for the seller.
They have no contractual obligation with a buyer and so no reason to collect financial data from every potential buyer.
What they need for a sales pitch on any property is a potential buyers name, contact details, a price range and area. A confirmation of funds before communicating an offer to a seller of a specific house would be reasonable but not a pay slip.

They are attempting to sell the OP a product other than a house and the data collection will geared to that aim.

whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhy · 23/11/2021 07:26

@SolasAnla but they are using consent as their legal basis. Anyone can give anyone anything with consent?

I'm not saying it is a good idea, I'm just being a data geek about gdpr, but I am rusty.

SW1amp · 23/11/2021 07:26

Agree that you’re not being vetted as a buyer. You’re being held over a barrel to try and be a potential customer for their side business so they can make money from both sides of the sale - commission from the vendor of the house and commission from the provider of your mortgage

Hadalifeonce · 23/11/2021 07:26

Surely, the EA is contracted to the vendor, not the buyer?
I would tell them that I have an FA, so have no need of theirs.

NoBetterthanSheShouldBe · 23/11/2021 07:31

Had this years ago with an agent. They wanted to see proof of funds, and insisted that I talk to their mortgage advisor before they would take an offer, although I was a cash buyer.

Happily there are plenty of other agents in town and I ended up buying a different property.

ikeptgoing · 23/11/2021 07:37

The GDPR has principle of data minimisation. All the estate agent needs is confirmation from your own financial advisor stating you have mortgage of up to X go ahead ready and are in position to purchase house to accept an offer, when you have found house. They can pre vet you with consent to ask for letter from FA if want to put you on a special list of early notification of properties but they are getting into asking for unnecessary data as they work for vendor. They can't demand the rest copies of bank statements etc, and are trying to make you thier EA's FA client and make it ok that they are asking- no you don't give copy if your bank statement to EA. It is worth considering if they need to have report to ICO as it is against principle and definitely is a hard sell of their FA. I doubt they've advised their vendors that they are putting off potential buyers in this way.

SolasAnla · 23/11/2021 08:05

[quote whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhy]@SolasAnla but they are using consent as their legal basis. Anyone can give anyone anything with consent?

I'm not saying it is a good idea, I'm just being a data geek about gdpr, but I am rusty.[/quote]
It's not about consent because the EA is the seller. They are in the position of power so the buyer is under pressure to gain access to a need/want.
The question is what is the minimum amount of data collected which will satisfy the stated reason for the collection.
Any data over and above that has to be justified by the collector before collection.
The question would be to show a house, (which is in contract terms an advertisement a buyer makes an offer) why would I need a payslip, bank statement etc
Pay slip data
Y/N Employee name & address
Y/N Employer
Y/N NI number
Y/N Salary YTD & current
Y/N Tax band & payments
Y/N Deductions including voluntary
Y/N payed by cash bank transfer
Etc
A current account bank statement has an opening balance plus what you paid for, from where, when plus the same for inward payments.

With the 2 items requested I could probably get your electricity transferred from your existing provider to a new provider or find you at your favourite pub on the correct day.

Original poster
HouseIsOnFire · 23/11/2021 08:16

@Rogue1001

Connells???
Oh... erm... I couldn't possibly give names Wink

I agree, I think it is a breach of GDPR on account of only collecting the minimum data necessary, and I most definitely won't be providing them with copies! I will be seeing if I can argue myself onto the list regardless (which surely they should want as I'm chain free and already have a mortgage agreed from a purchase that fell through which can be transferred to a new property, so a pretty solid position??)

I just wanted to know if I was an oddball or not for not sharing the documents!

Quite sick of being treated as a mouse by EAs: I know it's a seller's market but they are all so dismissive!

OP posts:
GOODCAT · 23/11/2021 08:24

I would refuse and say you already have a mortgage in principle. Also refuse to use whatever conveyancer they suggest as they will also get a payment for that or will own it. They will no doubt tell you that their seller insists on this. In my view these are all tactics that in a fair open market economy should not happen.

FlipFlops4Me · 23/11/2021 08:25

@maofteens

I don't care about their 'special list'. I also get annoyed at shops asking for my email to send me a receipt. It's one thing asking for proof of funds when you submit an offer but having to see their finance people is just not necessary.
I have two email addresses. One I think of as "mine" and it's the one I give to people I don't mind hearing from. The other is "shops" and is the one I give to shops/whatever when they insist on an email addy but I think they'll spam me. Once a week I go and bin all the email in the account....
gogohm · 23/11/2021 08:38

We had to prove we were able to buy so mortgage in principle and proof of identity. It's to to stop (or help stop) time wasters and those up to no good

Original poster
HouseIsOnFire · 23/11/2021 08:38

@flipflops4me I really wish I'd created a second email before this whole process, my spam has increased 10 fold!!

OP posts: