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Original poster

Estate Agent asking for mortgage in principle

18 replies

Freixene · 01/08/2023 11:34

Viewing what feels like about a thousand houses at the moment but one estate agent won’t let us view until we have sent over by email to them our mortgage in principle. They already asked for a huge amount of information that other agencies haven’t asked for including the name of both me and my partner, our current and previous addresses and DOB. When they asked for the mortgage docs to be sent, I asked them to send over their data privacy policy first. At which point they were silent for a few moments and then said they would check with the vendor and get back to me about whether I can view or not.
I know they need to check that people are serious but surely that’s a bit over the top??

OP posts:

mollibu · 01/08/2023 11:35

In the process of a sale going through right now... and was asked for an Agreement in Principal before viewing a few properties! Not as far as a Mortgage in Principal though.

KievLoverTwo · 01/08/2023 11:41

I would be more worried about previous addresses than an MIP, which makes sense to show you are financially sound. Are they running credit checks on you without your permission? I can’t think of any other reason for asking for previous addresses.

hahahahahahahahahah · 01/08/2023 11:53

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This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Twiglets1 · 01/08/2023 11:55

I believe an Agreement in Principle is the same thing as a Mortgage in principle and wouldn’t have a problem with sending an EA proof I have it.
Not sure why they need to know your previous addresses though - maybe ask them the purpose of that?

hannahcolobus · 01/08/2023 12:12

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This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

CinnamonBunAndCoffee · 01/08/2023 12:17

I think it’s probably because the housing market is slow and people who have their houses up for sale are desperate to move and don’t want time wasters to delay things further. I know people who view houses as a hobby. They see one come up in their local area and they go and view it to spend a few hours.
If you put in an offer they would take all of the info you have stated anyway.

angieboo1 · 01/08/2023 12:42

This happened to us too. The vendor didn’t want time wasters viewing and wanted to know that we were in a position to buy

SuddenlyOld · 01/08/2023 12:50

Thing is none of it shows that one is a serious buyer or able to proceed. A buyer can have a MIP or AIP and changes can happen anytime after an offer is made. The mortgage can fail at the final hurdle; buyer has changes that negate the mortgage. Survey might raise issues etc. So not sure why the EA is putting viewers off.

Loverofoxbowlakes · 01/08/2023 12:50

Most of the hours an estate agent works is unpaid

OK, you do know they work on commission and get iro 3% for each house they sell? My EA took 10 photos, uploaded them to their own website and Rightmove and then answered a few calls over 3 months. Earned nearly £8k. I'm sure they factor in their down time...

Sanch1 · 01/08/2023 12:53

This is fairly standard now. We werent able to view any properties with any agent until we had provided them our Agreement in Principle. Surely you can see that they want to see you are a serious buyer with the funds in place to potentially buy the properties? rather than a time waster out for a nice Saturday afternoon?

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 01/08/2023 12:56

It’s fairly normal to prove your intentions that you’re a serious prospective buyer and not just sighseeing and then if you do want to make an offer it weeds out the time wasters who don’t have a mortgage, etc. if you were the vendor you’d be happy. Also some vendors will tell the agent they won’t have viewings unless the agent has seen the mortgage in principle and that they have no house to sell/they have an offer. So it may be the individual vendor.

MistyMorningMelons · 01/08/2023 12:58

You can get an agreement in principle online in a few minutes though, so I'm not sure it filters out many time wasters. The numbers aren't verified either, so there's nothing to stop you inflating your salary.

I wouldn't have been interested in providing all the other info you say they've asked for, but wouldn't object to AIP. The ones I've had previously just confirm the amount you can borrow. There's nothing juicy on them.

LadyLapsang · 01/08/2023 12:58

Are they not letting you view any properties or one particular property? If the latter I would be concerned they are trying to sell it to someone they know. I certainly got that feeling from an EA years ago when a property was prominently displayed in the window but they made excuses when asked for a viewing.

Surely if you have a mortgage in principle they have checked you out, the EA doesn’t need to do it too.

There are timewaster fantasists out there though, so EAs need to vet them out.

Original poster

Freixene · 01/08/2023 13:16

Just to add that they asked for the link to our property as well which is currently on the market - so they can see we’re not just looking for the fun of it

OP posts:

electriclight · 01/08/2023 13:34

They act for the vendor, not you.

This is the level of commitment their customers want before allowing strangers to view their home.

Obviously, you can say that you don't have it, or don't want to provide it, but I don't know why you're surprised or indignant as it has become increasingly common.

TrianglePlayer · 01/08/2023 13:36

Loverofoxbowlakes · 01/08/2023 12:50

Most of the hours an estate agent works is unpaid

This is absolutely not what an agent does! There is so much work involved. Obviously there are regional differences too but 3% is literally unheard of where I am.

Twiglets1 · 01/08/2023 14:08

Freixene · 01/08/2023 13:16

Just to add that they asked for the link to our property as well which is currently on the market - so they can see we’re not just looking for the fun of it

I can understand that. They are doing a good job for their clients.
Still wouldn’t give out the information about previous addresses though. That’s no use to the Vendors so I would be suspicious about why they wanted to know.

Catopia · 04/11/2023 09:59

This has been fairly normal since covid. We couldn't even get through the door without an AIP, and indeed many wouldn't let us view without us being under offer. Neither agents nor sellers want time wasters who aren't in a position to move - the constant cleaning and tidying of the property to make it show-worthy, and coming into contact with or having masses of germy people tramping through your home just because it's on the market is no longer de rigour. Some agents also wanted evidence of our finances etc. before we could view with them. It was all incredibly stressful.

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