Estate Agent wanting to know how much mortgage approval for!

I was asked to provide proof of funds but only after my offer had been accepted. I didn't mind sharing the loan offer at that stage as the price had been agreed. Wouldn't dream of showing it before then. The only thing you can control in this whole process is how much you bid and when you bid.
 
Sunny said:
Why shouldn't they know how much you can in theory bid for a property. Properties at the moment are going up thousands in hours never mind days or weeks. I would expect any decent estate agent to make sure that people were only making bids that they can afford. People are desperate. They will go over what they can afford hoping that they can get the extra cash somewhere which can waste everyone's time. Nobody is forcing you to make a bid at any level. If you don't think the property is worth what the estate agent is asking, then don't pay it.
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Because their job is to get the highest price for the vendor. if I am bidding, my job is to get it at as low a price as I can. Letting the EA know I can go higher means they can make phantom bids in an effort to squeeze more money. It's not by accident that EA's phone people rather than email. No trail.

Sunny said:
If you are suspicious by the actions of an agent, then simply walk away from the property. The Agent either has other buyers lined up or he doesn't. If he doesn't, he will come back to you. Whether you want to deal with him at that stage is up to you...
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I wouldn't walk away from a property because I don't like the agent. It's the house I want, the EA is just someone who is selling the house on behalf of the vendor.

Sunny said:
Also, most estate agents are not crooks. They don't need to be in this market to maximise commission. Having sold properties without using agents, I really struggle to see the value they provide unless there is something unique about the property or the we are in a poor market. But at the moment, a child could sell a property in a couple of days. That doesn't mean I think they are corrupt.
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They get paid 1.5% of the value of the property. You don't have to be a crook to know that the more you get for the vendor, the more you get paid. "People are desperate" so if the EA knows how much they can afford, they can prey on that desperation and push for the absolute maximum that the buyer can afford.

Even a simple "go €10k over asking and it's yours" will work for these desperate people. Quick sale, move on.
 
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PebbleBeach2020 said:
In my experience, two of the largest estate agents in the country, one made up false bids trying to compel me to big higher.
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f you have evidence of that you should report them. That kind of behaviour could see them lose their license.
 
Steven Barrett said:
Because their job is to get the highest price for the vendor. if I am bidding, my job is to get it at as low a price as I can. Letting the EA know I can go higher means they can make phantom bids in an effort to squeeze more money. It's not by accident that EA's phone people rather than email. No trail.


I wouldn't walk away from a property because I don't like the agent. It's the house I want, the EA is just someone who is selling the house on behalf of the vendor.


They get paid 1.5% of the value of the property. You don't have to be a crook to know that the more you get for the vendor, the more you get paid. "People are desperate" so if the EA knows how much they can afford, they can prey on that desperation and push for the absolute maximum that the buyer can afford.

Even a simple "go €10k over asking and it's yours" will work for these desperate people. Quick sale, move on.
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Every time you bid on a house, the estate agent will make the assumption that you can go higher so they can always try this game if they want. That's the nature of it. The question is do you want to pay more for it? If the asking price for a house is €350k and I have AIP for €400k, I have the choice to decide if that house means so much to me that I would be willing to pay more than 50k over the asking price.

I am sorry but for someone who works in a sector that has not covered itself in glory over the years, your desire to paint an entire industry as unprofessional is extremely odd. There are bad estate agents. There are bad solicitors. There are bad builders. There are bad financial advisors. It doesn't mean that every single person is out to get you.

Working for commission doesn't make you a bad estate agent. It doesn't mean that you are unprofessional or that you are looking to take advantage of buyers. Your job is to get the maximum price for the vendor but it is also to make the sale as easy as possible for the vendor. Allowing people make bids and go sale agreed without confirmation that the funds are in place can be a massive waste of time. I know people who went sale agreed on a house for more than 20k than they could afford because the bank 'told them' they could get a central bank exemption that hadn't even been applied for. The sale fell through weeks later and the house had to go on the market again.

With the introduction of the Price Register, I don't understand why we are not seeing stories every day from people saying the EA told them that there was a bid in for more than what it actually sold for and they lost out.....If so many people believe false bids are inflating the price, then stop bidding.. If they are fake bids, you have nothing to worry about. You can't lose a house to a fake bidder.
 
PebbleBeach2020 said:
i asked the bank for a letter. How many letters do you require depends on how many houses you put offers in on and the estate agent request proof of funds.
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And the bank just gave it saying you were approved with no amount? Doesn't sound like the bank.
 
abc_xyz said:
The person I was dealing with in the bank provided me a letter saying I had the funds for my bid. They were aware of my mortgage approval plus the savings I had, something I don't think a solicitor would necessarily know.
In my case it was only required after I was the winning bid though this was a few years ago. I would not be inclined to provide an EA the a figure in advance. He wouldn't have to make up bids from other parties to use it my disadvantage. For example if he tells another bidder, who is borderline about bidding again, that your max available amount is X and X+5 will get the house he is hardly being corrupt but is working against you and getting more money for his client.
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That's just estate agents and vendors. They would do that even if they didnt know what your maximum amount was. I bought the house I'm in 3 years ago. We had sold and moved into my parents for a few months. House went up for sale. Wife viewed it on the first weekend and loved it. Asking was 380k. I went straight in at 400k and my offer was valid for 24 hours only. Needless to say there was an offer shortly after for 405k and in the end we were old the vendor wanted to 420k and the first to bid it got it. I only had approval to 350k, the rest was cash so he had no idea what i was playing with but it still went there.
 
Sunny said:
Every time you bid on a house, the estate agent will make the assumption that you can go higher so they can always try this game if they want. That's the nature of it. The question is do you want to pay more for it? If the asking price for a house is €350k and I have AIP for €400k, I have the choice to decide if that house means so much to me that I would be willing to pay more than 50k over the asking price.

I am sorry but for someone who works in a sector that has not covered itself in glory over the years, your desire to paint an entire industry as unprofessional is extremely odd. There are bad estate agents. There are bad solicitors. There are bad builders. There are bad financial advisors. It doesn't mean that every single person is out to get you.

Working for commission doesn't make you a bad estate agent. It doesn't mean that you are unprofessional or that you are looking to take advantage of buyers. Your job is to get the maximum price for the vendor but it is also to make the sale as easy as possible for the vendor. Allowing people make bids and go sale agreed without confirmation that the funds are in place can be a massive waste of time. I know people who went sale agreed on a house for more than 20k than they could afford because the bank 'told them' they could get a central bank exemption that hadn't even been applied for. The sale fell through weeks later and the house had to go on the market again.

With the introduction of the Price Register, I don't understand why we are not seeing stories every day from people saying the EA told them that there was a bid in for more than what it actually sold for and they lost out.....If so many people believe false bids are inflating the price, then stop bidding.. If they are fake bids, you have nothing to worry about. You can't lose a house to a fake bidder.
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But not every estate agent asks for the amount of money that you are approved for, just confirmation that you are approved.

Showing your hand to the other side of a bidding process is not the best way of getting the lowest price for yourself.
 
I am selling a family property (1970's - needs work). Huge amount of people bidding on it and then after surveyor report/bank review annoyed that they can't afford it. This time around I asked the EA not to entertain anyone borrowing at 80/90% as no point. House needs money so very frustrating on both sides. Lots of buyers thinking they can gut a house and refinish for 50K !
 
There's no way in hell that an estate agent should ever know how much a bidder has mortgage approval for - they have a very clear, potential, conflict of interest.

Either a solicitor, or a bank, can easily confirm that the buyer has the resources to complete. Most will want to do business, so can easily issue a brief email, or provide a letter in support of a bid. It's as easy to get 4-5 letters for different amounts printed, as one, so ideally get a few for different amounts.

If the EA won't accept an email / letter in support, they should be told to take a hike (and likewise, if the solicitor or bank won't provide the required confirmation, they should also be told where to go).
 
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