Pushy EA - AIBU?

[Evergreen101]

Had offer accepted on a house 3 weeks ago, Natwest had a long backlog so only completed the mortgage valuation last week, which came out fine. So, broker says the final mortgage offer should be ready by end of this week. In the meantime, the estate agent is being really pushy about booking in the structural survey and how I should have ordered searches already.

I told him from the get go that I'm not going to do this until after the final mortgage offer has come through. We secured our interest rate before all the rate increases, so if this mortgage application is denied, we won't be going ahead with the purchase. AIBU?

In case it's helpful, we were the only offer on the house, even after it had been on the market for 4 months and reduced twice.

EAs will be exceptionally nervous about chains collapsing atm, and trying to do anything to reassure vendors that everything is on track, i.e. surveys booked.

However, it's important you know you have the funds before spending money, so you are not being unreasonable.

They're hardly going to walk away if you don't start til next week.

You are being perfectly reasonable. I highly recommend you then pay whats usually around £500 to £700 for a level 3 survey, and use it to adjust your offer, if it shows anything you weren't aware of. There is a very real danger of overpaying at the moment as interest rates are continuing to rise which will certainly cause prices to fall.

From a buyers point of view it's perhaps quite sensible to do parts of the process sequentially as it protects you from having wasted money on searches and surveys if you find your mortgage is turned down.

From a sellers point of view it's incredibly irritating and drags the process out for far longer than it should really take.

The agent is probably just responding to their client hassling them.

The agent is doing a good job for their client, the Seller.

You don’t need to listen to them though, nothing wrong with the way you are doing things if you’re not in a hurry.

Personally, I don't do the survey until I have received the sellers information packs and got the searches back. Either could result in me not wishing to proceed.

Sellers would be best advised by their EA to get these ready as soon as going to market, to demonstrate good faith and motivation.

Yes, I know that buyers traditionally order and pay for searches, but it's a buyers market now. They call the shots on most deals today.

Thank you! Very helpful. Good to know I'm not being unreasonable here.

Totally understand that the EA is doing their job and looking out for the seller, but this is why we need to look out for ourselves and not get pushed into something we're not comfortable with.

Good to know I'm not being unreasonable here

You're not, but just be aware how the signals you're sending may be interpreted by the seller.

True but it’s a buyer’s market not a sellers’s market.

That doesn't necessarily change the fact that it's better to have clear communication with the seller about everyone's expectations. This avoids accusations from the buyer that the seller (or their EA) is being 'pushy' or from the seller that their buyer is 'dragging their heels/playing games.'

There also isn't just one 'market'. There are hundreds and hundreds of different localised markets where things behave a little differently. Depending on the property and where it is in the country the pendulum may be very strongly in the buyers favour, or other cases where it remains with the seller.

Just tell the EA, in whatever level of friendly to firm language you prefer, to back off with the pushiness or they will find themselves with no sale. You might add that you are not so desperate and mad about the house that you will put up with any EA nonsense, and that even so you fully intend to continue to proceed in a timely manner if not harassed. The only way to deal with pushy EA is to push back. They are used to it, they have thick skins. I wouldn't recommend it if you have really competed with another buyer to get your offer accepted but it's a buyer's market at the moment if you can get the finance.