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

[HouseIsOnFire]

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???

So to get round the fact the estate agents can’t legally require you to use their FA or mortgage broker to buy a house, they are getting round this by requiring you to jump through the FA sales pitch in order to be shown new houses on their books.
Totally feels like a good old Which?/Watchdog campaign is coming …. I’m not sure I’d be happy with this as a seller as not likely to get as many offers if they’ve narrowed the pool they market to when it’s fresh to market.

I wouldn't like this either. It also doesn't always prove the person is in a good position to buy as it's possible to be asset rich but income poor when buying a property- I've been in this position before with cash to use from another sale but working part time so actually not much money coming in on a monthly basis at all. I'd be happy to show proof of the funds available or a mortgage agreement in principle but not share the ins and outs of my monthly financial affairs as that wouldn't be relevant.

It’s their usual approach. I didn’t like it when we were house hunting. It’s difficult to fight against as you don’t want to give EA impression that you are a difficult person. We were not chosen for one house and I felt that it’s exactly the reason.

Once I gave up and went to see EA’s FA before our viewing. Tbh I knew that it won’t change my offer and the house looked perfect on Zoopla so I gave it a go. The lady was really nice and sensible she didn’t tell anything new but for inexperienced buyers it would be helpful, she didn’t try to sell anything either. We’ve got mortgage in principle at that point and knew what we could and would pay. I didn’t tell her this however the house turned out to be not so good so it’s all died away.
We’ve bought our house without any hassle with FAs but it’s a small local agency and they didn’t have any advisors or whatever. They just looked at our mortgage in principle.

I'd agree say "an appointment with your FA will be a waste of time for both of us, but if you insist..."
Then turn up for appointment, stick in earbuds and listen to a podcast!

@BruceAndNosh

I'd agree say "an appointment with your FA will be a waste of time for both of us, but if you insist..." Then turn up for appointment, stick in earbuds and listen to a podcast!

Bahahah! Alas I cannot multitask like that and would end up spouting the podcast at them!

I'll just have the call and give them the absolute minimum- the ea buying them in question, I can't imagine many people would pick them to sell with: when they came to value my house they said nothing about the house nor how they would market it, and instead focused on slagging off their competitors! And on top of that, were 1% more expensive with no Rightmove featured or professional photos!

I wouldn't be happy with this whatsoever. I've viewed with 12 different agents this year and nobody has asked for anything in order for me to view, other than a verbal conversation about us being FTBs. When we've made offers we've had to provide our AIP and ID - even then nobody has asked to see payslips or bank statements! A couple of agents have told me about their in house financial advisors but when I've said that we are happy with our own broker, they've not pushed any further.

I'd talk to my solicitor, and let them confirm my financial status through them in whatever way my solicitor thought proper. I certainly wouldn't be giving my payslips to any estate agent.