Estate agents dirty tricks? asked to speak to their financial adviser after making offer

[Artygirlghost]

I view a property last week and made an offer today. The property has been on the market for a month or so and the agent stated that the owner was keen to sell and would accept an offer so I made a fair offer but below asking price.

Now they want me to speak to their mortgage broker/financial adviser to get me ''financially checked'' so they can ''put me in the best financial light'' to the buyer and are saying that they are doing this because of the current state of the mortgage market which I am finding really off-putting.

I already told them I had my own mortgage broker (who already arranged the mortgage on my current property) who I trust and that most of the purchase is from the sale of my flat anyway.

Should I :

• speak to the adviser but simply state that I am financing the purchase from the sale of my property and leave it at that. I have no intention of sharing anymore financial details than that at this stage
• refuse to speak to the adviser and ask them to pass on the offer as they are legally obliged to and risk them not doing that.

I am really disappointed in them because they had so far been really good when it came to viewings and this is one of the biggest and most well-known estate agents in the areas where I am looking.

Any advice?

I am seriously considering giving up on the buying process in England and purchasing somewhere else...

Not at all, they may well be an independent broker! We are! those that work with estate agents do not get an "exceptionally large commission" from certain lenders this is an awful myth to be perpetuated! Check the company out, check out their reviews, in all likelihood they are absolutely brilliant.
For peace of mind it never hurts to have a quick chat with another broker, they are all very different, some have high fees for example that you might want to avoid!

I've had EAs wanting me to use their brokers and lawyers!

I had a small broker once who was absolutely tied to a range of banks. Town and Country had alot more to offer and much better rates.

This happened to me. I ended up paying £900 for a mortgage that does not suit my needs and now I am stuck with it and I’m paying an enormous surcharge. To have a subprime mortgage which I never needed but presumably they pay more commission.

Connells Estate Agent it was and I’m more than happy to name them. I would never deal with them or countrywide. I believe the parent group is called ever again. I have lots of stories. I could tell you about the Rental side of it too.

That sounds super strange.
They always try to pass you to their mortgage broker/financial adviser.
But
An agreement in principal is all you need which can be completed online with whatever bank you are with. Literally done in the space of ten mins.
I have spoken to so many estate agents and solicitors ensuring the house buying process and it's always mortgage in principle that is required.

Oh
All banks have a financial adviser and mortgage adviser free of charge.

Estate agents get commission from referrals so will push. Stay firm and say that you have arranged a meeting with your own financial adviser and mortgage advised and send them across your mortgage in principle.

I used the following mortgage broker.
https://homekeymortgages.co.uk/
They were recommended but a friend who is a property developer.
They charged £700. They provided a mortgage that was cheaper than what the banks were offering at the time as banks offer better deals to brokers sometimes.
Plus even though there was a cost of £700, there was no one off product cost which usually ranges from £700 to £1200.
Iso I would recommend mortgage in principle and then proceed to mortgage offers. All the banks added a product fee of over £700.
Plus a mortgage broker is so much easier as they do all the faff of paperwork and all that side of things.

Have you complained officially? I would recommend it. You should also have been supplied with a "suitability letter" which explains the mortgage product chosen and the reasons for it. Please complain, its not too late- this is the only way shoddy practices will be stopped.

I have a complaint about my estate agent - Robinson Jackson. Just to give a brief, when we gave in our offer, they accepted it quickly since they knew the flat we were selling was already under offer and that conveyancing had started.

The sad thing is that the buyer of our flat pulled out, so we had to take some time to rearrange finances. About 2 weeks back, the estate agent called and I explained our situation and let him know that we were still going ahead with the purchase and were 100% committed to it. The only change happening was that we would pay lesser deposit to have enough for the excess stamp duty on a 2nd home. I told him we were renting out our flat to pay off the 1st mortgage. He got agitated and said that if contracts weren't exchanged before Xmas they were pulling out. I believe this has happened because their broker who we're working with told them that our financial circumstances had changed. Prior to this we never had any pressure from the agent and suddenly he was pressurising us. We explained that we were not intentionally delaying anything. So we have been trying to get the best mortgage offer for us, and the lender will do an in-person survey of the property we're looking to purchase. I got a call from the agent that the seller was pulling out if an in-person survey was going to happen, and they would not have surveyors coming in before Xmas so the deal wouldn't go through.

I told him is there something to worry out if a person visits the property? He said no the seller doesn't want to go ahead if you're doing an in-person survey and that it's not him. Our previous valuation happened quickly because it was a desktop valuation and we were paying a larger deposit.

I'm tired of everything and want to make sure the agent doesn't mess anything up. I don't know if he's being unethical or not and whether he will allow surveyors entry. Our survey the one for our flat happened within a day and the valuation came in 2 days.

I don't know what's happening and I'm sick of the estate agent putting pressure on us.