House-Hunting Help!

physichull · 24 May 2012 at 07:31

Disclaimer: Please excuse the naivity of this post, I am a first time buyer!

I have currently just started the search for a house and have obtained a mortgage promise from Halifax in order to do so.

With most estate agents I have contacted I have been able to get viewings without a problem, in fact most don't even bother asking about whether I have a mortgage promise or not.

The problem I am having with Bridgfords Estates (nationwide estate agents) is that they won't let me view ANY of their properties without having first had a meeting with an independant broker that they provide as a free service who will "assess" our case and make us another mortgage promise. They also require that I take in my mortgage promise on the day to show him, which I am not altogether comfortable about.

I don't especially want this "free and independant" advice as I am happy with the current deal that I have been presented with, all I want to do is view houses!! Does anyone have any advice on how to avoid this meeting altogether and still end up viewing the properties?

One bit of advice that my mortgage advisor gave was to just drop a note through the door of the houses I wished to view, informing the vendor that the estate agents was blocking my viewing and if possible would it be acceptable to arrange a private viewing?

Edit: I have just seen this, many complaints about such an issue but no solutions!

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews95122.html#Reviews

Richie · 24 May 2012 at 07:52

I would do what your advisor suggested. I don't think the sellers would be happy that their property is not getting full market exposure because their agents are being tools

physichull · 24 May 2012 at 07:55

Richie said:
I would do what your advisor suggested. I don't think the sellers would be happy that their property is not getting full market exposure because their agents are being tools

Exactly, the downside with that is that you would STILL have to negotiate through Bridgfords if you wanted to put in an offer.

Some of the reviews on that website are saying that the mortgage advisor actually quoted a much higher sum that you could borrow, which would make me even more nervous because I have already thought through well what my limits are and the maximum I am willing to spend (which is MUCH less than what Halifax mortgage promises state, i.e. you would never borrow up to the maximum that your mortgage promise states, as rates could go up and you would end up in a position where you couldn't pay the mortgage!).

neodude · 24 May 2012 at 07:55

Richie said:
I would do what your advisor suggested. I don't think the sellers would be happy that their property is not getting full market exposure because their agents are being tools

This. I would be livid if my agent was doing this with a house I was selling.

Beans on toast Dave · 24 May 2012 at 07:56

Richie said:
I would do what your advisor suggested. I don't think the sellers would be happy that their property is not getting full market exposure because their agents are being tools

+1
i can understand the estate agent asking for a mortgage promise, but insisting you need to see their adviser :rolleyes:

physichull · 24 May 2012 at 08:00

challengedavid said:
+1
i can understand the estate agent asking for a mortgage promise, but insisting you need to see their adviser

Obviously, you would never show your mortgage promise to anyone other than the trustworthy (independant) people at Halifax. So to take it in to one of their branches for "approval" certainly seems amiss to me. :confused:

NotAGolf · 24 May 2012 at 08:33

Our estate agent asked us to see their mortgage broker but only after we had viewed the house. We could have just refused tbh but it was opposite my office so I went over there one lunchtime with my mortgage offer and essentially said "beat that". They could only match it so since I already had everything in place they said thanks and of I went.

Kutter · 24 May 2012 at 09:27

typical scumbag money grabbing estate agents.

CircleFaust · 24 May 2012 at 09:30

doofski said:
typical scumbag money grabbing estate agents.

i was about to say that too!

ci_newman · 24 May 2012 at 10:45

physichull said:
Exactly, the downside with that is that you would STILL have to negotiate through Bridgfords if you wanted to put in an offer.

Why is this the case? The home owner may still need to give Bridgfords their commission if they've signed an exclusivity contract, but you are well within your right to negotiate with the owner directly.

physichull · 24 May 2012 at 10:48

ci_newman said:
Why is this the case? The home owner may still need to give Bridgfords their commission if they've signed an exclusivity contract, but you are well within your right to negotiate with the owner directly.

I'm not sure actually, it was a guess. Am waiting for a call back from the woman I was dealing with to discuss the issue. I'm hoping that maybe its just a case of sit there for half an hour and see what deals he can come up with, then just state that we are happy with our current arrangements, then view the houses. It just feels like unneccessary hoops to jump through.

Beans on toast Dave · 24 May 2012 at 11:01

physichull said:
Obviously, you would never show your mortgage promise to anyone other than the trustworthy (independant) people at Halifax. So to take it in to one of their branches for "approval" certainly seems amiss to me.

I suppose it proves you can afford the property rather than just dreaming you can afford it. But really I would Only show it not let it be copied

physichull · 24 May 2012 at 12:07

Just got a call from them and it seems like its to ensure that I aren't a time wasting carpet treader. I'll go there with an open mind, view the houses and then go from there I think.

On another note, how many houses did people here view before stopping the search and deciding which property to go for? I hear about 1-15 is the average, by Monday I will be through about 8 of the houses I have filtered out as worthy of a viewing.

Ev0 · 24 May 2012 at 12:12

ci_newman said:
Why is this the case? The home owner may still need to give Bridgfords their commission if they've signed an exclusivity contract, but you are well within your right to negotiate with the owner directly.

You can negotiate and buy direct through the seller, but the seller would still likely need to pay the agents commission as technically they introduced you to the property and stuff.

I despise agencies like this who make you see their advisers, we had the same trick pulled on us when buying, I went in and basically told the guy it was none of their damn business when they started asking about our financials. I said we've got a mortgage offer in place and that's all they need to know.

As always I'll say that not all agents are like this, find a local independent family run type place and they are fine, it's largely when you add in all this corporate balls from the big chain agents that they turn into snakes.

a1ex2001 · 24 May 2012 at 12:23

physichull said:
Just got a call from them and it seems like its to ensure that I aren't a time wasting carpet treader. I'll go there with an open mind, view the houses and then go from there I think.

On another note, how many houses did people here view before stopping the search and deciding which property to go for? I hear about 1-15 is the average, by Monday I will be through about 8 of the houses I have filtered out as worthy of a viewing.

Don't show them your mortgage offer as they will then know your budget and it is never a good idea for an estate agent to know too much about your finances. I'd also give them a load of false information just to get through the meeting.

Looking at houses isn't about quantity it's about a feeling believe me you will know you are done searching as soon as you walk into the right house.

Blue160 · 24 May 2012 at 12:26

I've had estate agents get a bit pushy about seeing their mortgage guy, but never actually insist on it before allowing viewings. Seems mental cutting down the amount of people viewing a property just to try and get more commission for their mortgage broker.

We bought a house earlier this year, and did all our viewings based on a phone conversation with our mortgage company about how much we could borrow. Never had a problem arranging a viewing (I don't think any of the estate agents even asked if we had a mortgage agreed).

Edit: In answer to your other question we viewed five houses before making an offer

physichull · 24 May 2012 at 12:34

The only reason I ask, is because I have currently only seen 2 properties and the second one was amazing and well within budget! It just felt right but it would be wrong not to view others so I'm going ahead with about another 10 viewings on potentials. Its actually quite exciting, but nerve wracking at the same time as you have to make the correct decision! Only slight downside is that I am trapped into my current rental place until end of October which is quite annoying.

a1ex2001 · 24 May 2012 at 13:05

If I had seen a property that gave me 'that' feeling even if it was number one I would have started the purchase process you can always pull out if you find something better I would rather not risk missing out on the one!

shoes · 24 May 2012 at 13:35

physichull said:
Exactly, the downside with that is that you would STILL have to negotiate through Bridgfords if you wanted to put in an offer.

Not true. There is no obligation to negotiate through bridgefords.

The best thing to do is to write to the owner of the house, easy enough if it is still occupied and request a private viewing citing your problems with Bridgefords as the prompt for going direct.

Explain that you are very keen to view the property and that should you wish to make an offer you will require this to be done directly or through an alternative third party.

shoes · 24 May 2012 at 13:38

a1ex2001 said:
If I had seen a property that gave me 'that' feeling even if it was number one I would have started the purchase process you can always pull out if you find something better I would rather not risk missing out on the one!

This. The mrs and I spent weeks looking at property online and eventually went to see one which appeared on paper too good to be true ((details). We went to see it and fell in love with the property and immediately got the ball rolling, completing a couple of months later.

If you can get to see the property and you want it, get on with it - don't feel you must view other properties.

That said, we had very specific requirements and this ticked all of the boxes with no apparent drawbacks. We've been there almost two months now and regret nothing!

Best of luck OP!