Dodgy mortgage advisor and estate agents

[Chocolatelover333]

Hi guys
Just wanted to get a bit of advice from people.
I applied for a flat last week on a shared ownership basis. The seller got 3 offers. The estate agents said I will need to refer you to the mortgage advisor to check you are eligible. MA calls and says ok will get you a MIP ( I was not aware that’s what the call was going to be about - I have been speaking to my own MA)
Emailed the estate agents who told me they would be able to sell my offer better if I use the guy they recommend and I would need a really good reason to not use him. im Aware I don’t need any reason as I can use whoever I wish..
4 days later I receive a call from estate agents sayingthey have received financial checks and I have passed. The MA has applied for a MIP for me( without even asking/ sayingwho the lender is). I assumed this would be a joint process and we would look at lenders together?. The MA is also refusing to tell me who the lender is as he ‘ does not need to disclose this information’

To make things more complicated the estate agent called to say the credit checks came back fine for all 3 offers and the seller ( apparently) wants to know if I would commit to using their mortgage advisor for the mortgage and their solicitors(I don’t even have the name of them??) because if so this may help my offer and they can push my offer more to the seller.

I’m quite disappointed in both the MA and the estate agent who are obviously working together.
Do you think I should make a complaint?
And can a mortgage advisor apply for a mortgage in principle without telling me who the lender is first, and then refuse to tell you who the lender is once you find out they have applied?

Any help would be greatly appreciated !

 

[Lulu Goss]

Hi guys
Just wanted to get a bit of advice from people.
I applied for a flat last week on a shared ownership basis. The seller got 3 offers. The estate agents said I will need to refer you to the mortgage advisor to check you are eligible. MA calls and says ok will get you a MIP ( I was not aware that’s what the call was going to be about - I have been speaking to my own MA)
Emailed the estate agents who told me they would be able to sell my offer better if I use the guy they recommend and I would need a really good reason to not use him. im Aware I don’t need any reason as I can use whoever I wish..
4 days later I receive a call from estate agents sayingthey have received financial checks and I have passed. The MA has applied for a MIP for me( without even asking/ sayingwho the lender is). I assumed this would be a joint process and we would look at lenders together?. The MA is also refusing to tell me who the lender is as he ‘ does not need to disclose this information’

To make things more complicated the estate agent called to say the credit checks came back fine for all 3 offers and the seller ( apparently) wants to know if I would commit to using their mortgage advisor for the mortgage and their solicitors(I don’t even have the name of them??) because if so this may help my offer and they can push my offer more to the seller.

I’m quite disappointed in both the MA and the estate agent who are obviously working together.
Do you think I should make a complaint?
And can a mortgage advisor apply for a mortgage in principle without telling me who the lender is first, and then refuse to tell you who the lender is once you find out they have applied?

Any help would be greatly appreciated !

I’m not 100% sure on some of the stuff you’ve mentioned, but don’t feel pressured into using solicitors (or mortgage advisors) by the estate agents. This happened on my recent sale/purchase and the solicitors were terrible - so bad that I’ve taken a formal complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

I should have known better because the same thing happened with my first home - we used the solicitors recommended by the estate agents because there were two other people with offers, so they said if we agreed to use their solicitor our offer would be the one accepted.

I would definitely get a second opinion on what you’ve mentioned though before you agree to anything

 

[thatstupidcat]

The old “we are not going to put you forward for a property if you haven’t spoken to our mortgage advisor” scheme.

You don’t need to use an estate agent’s mortgage advisor for a mortgage. I wouldn’t even use them for an MIP because there would be a conflict between them representing you versus their loyalty to the estate agent who passes them work. Notwithstanding they would be pushing mortgages that gain greater commission not ones necessarily that are appropriate to you.

I don’t know your circumstances and I don’t know how far along you are. In your shoes, I would walk away especially if you haven’t signed anything that properly ties you in (but I don’t know what documentation you may have signed, check everything you have been given) If you have the marker that a mortgage has been applied for on your credit, you may need to wait a while before applying for a mortgage elsewhere.

1. You can make a complaint. You can complain to the estate agency’s manager and then the ombudsmen if they are apart of a scheme. I wouldn’t count on it going anywhere. The Financial Ombudsman is good for the mortgage side complaint. If the mortgage advisor is part of a accredited body, I would complain about his conduct if he has applied for financial products on your behalf without permission.

Estate Agent complaints:

How to complain about your property agent - Which?

Are you dealing with a nightmare property agent? Don’t despair. If you're unhappy with the service you receive, there are steps you can take.

www.which.co.uk

Mortgage complaints:

Financial Ombudsman Service: our homepage

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free, fair and easy-to-use service that settles complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

2. In the past, I have heard of ”whole of market” financial advisors being cagey as to their clients to prevent customers contacting them directly for a better deal. Also heard of financial advisors pushing clients to the wrong product because of the commission. So “yes”, I have heard of that but it’s dodgy as duck and usually best to avoid such advisors. Because you’re going shared ownership, that may mean a specialist mortgage firm is required, but again, don’t know your circumstances. You really need independent advice so you should also look at the citizens advice bureau website for help:

Citizens Advice

Online free advice from Citizens Advice to help you find a way forward, whatever the problem. Our research enables us to campaign on issues affecting people's lives.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

 

[BettyCrocker]

Walk away - too many red flags here and it all sounds ropey.

 

[Chocolatelover333]

I’m not 100% sure on some of the stuff you’ve mentioned, but don’t feel pressured into using solicitors (or mortgage advisors) by the estate agents. This happened on my recent sale/purchase and the solicitors were terrible - so bad that I’ve taken a formal complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

I should have known better because the same thing happened with my first home - we used the solicitors recommended by the estate agents because there were two other people with offers, so they said if we agreed to use their solicitor our offer would be the one accepted.

I would definitely get a second opinion on what you’ve mentioned though before you agree to anything

Thank you I will. That’s my worry with using estate agent recommended services. I’m not sure how I can possibly agree over the phone without knowing anything about the solicitors. Sorry to hear about the troubles you went through! X

 

[Lulu Goss]

Thank you I will. That’s my worry with using estate agent recommended services. I’m not sure how I can possibly agree over the phone without knowing anything about the solicitors. Sorry to hear about the troubles you went through! X

That’s exactly it - both times I made a quick decision because I really wanted the properties but in hindsight I should have done a bit of research about the solicitors myself before agreeing. You’re much better off finding your own - the estate agents get a finders fee of some sort (I think) and in my experience they didn’t really care when I told them how crap they’d been!

Plus that sounds odd that they’d gone ahead and done a MIP for you without you actually agreeing to it - sounds like they’re just trying to railroad you into it. Hope you get it sorted! X

 

[Lauz666]

Walk away from this one

Always use your own solicitor and your own mortgage advisor.

 

[WhippetGood]

Hi I work for a bank so know a little bit in regards to applying for a mortgage. Mortgage brokers tend to not want to tell you who the best deal is with that they can get you as they don’t want you going directly to that lender as you’d be cutting them out and they wouldn’t receive their commission/fee as they are essentially a middle man. The estate agent is probably pushing you to use that mortgage advisor as there will be some sort of commission there for them. Getting an agreement in principle should not have affected your credit score - if I were you I would start with your own bank and get an agreement in principle from there. Most banks have an online mortgage calculator you can use to get an agreement in principle and you can then speak to their mortgage team either in branch or over the phone. As someone mentioned above if it’s shared ownership then it might not be as straight forward as not all lenders will offer mortgages on this so you might need to see an independent mortgage advisor who can get offers from different places. I would definitely take a step back from that estate agent and subsequent mortgage advisor as they sound like they’re trying to force you in to something for their own gain

 

[MaxieMoo]

Doesn't sound like they are going about this very well.

You are completely free to use whoever you want. I used to be a serial mover and we would buy / sell / move every few years. The current house that we live in was the only time that we used the MA and Solicitor recommended by the Developer. This was a strategic decision because we really really wanted this house. Low and behold when there started to be delays through the process and the sales team would call me up I just bounced it back on them because they were the ones that recommended / pushed us into using them.

So perhaps, if using their MA etc means you will secure the property and not be worse off than using your own then it's worth considering. Personally I would make it very clear to them how I feel about the way they are going about things.

 

[Fizzwhizz2020]

I think you should walk away. The estate agents are clearly getting a commission from their broker. Nothing wrong with using your own. I got a much better deal than the bank gave me using a broker as I was buying on my own. But he was a whole of market and came back at each step to tell me all the deals he has found and I got a super cheap deal through my own bank via him. Go with your gut because there’s no way what they’re doing is ethical and I would report them and also check the FCA register

 

[Definitelyme]

So dodgy! You have the right to sit with a mortgage advisor (clue is in the name, not a mortgage dictator!) and look through various mortgages to find one which suits you. I absolutely would not be signing up to a mortgage I knew nothing about, especially not even who it’s with! Definitely walk away.

 

[Chocolatelover333]

Thanks everyone. I got a call from the estate agent on the weekend to say the seller went for a different offer in the end.. I can only assume one it was someone that went with the suggested mortgage advisor and solicitor. I think I had a lucky escape.

 

[WilmaHun]

I work in conveyancing. Unfortunately this is all too common with estate agents as they agree referral bonuses with both advisors and solicitors so can be extremely pushy with clients. Definitely do not feel pressured to use ANYONE the estate agent recommends. If you have your own preferred advisor or solicitor then you can use them and they cannot stop you. Obviously if the seller intends on using the same solicitor as you then one of you would have to find another to avoid a conflict (or you could use a different solicitor within the same firm) but don't ever feel pressured to use someone they tell you too.

It does seem a bit strange that they won't tell you who the lender is... That's pretty key information which I would most definitely want to know!

I'm glad to see you've had a lucky escape though.. Hopefully the next offer you put in goes much more smoothly!