About a month ago I had a meeting with a young couple, first-time buyers, who knew very little about mortgages and the whole house buying process. After a good meeting they went on their way and, following a couple of courtesy calls over the next few weeks, had a call from Miss Client to advise they had found a property and would like me to arrange their mortgage. I clarified their requirements and went about sourcing their mortgage and protection. I called Miss Client the following day to advise all paperwork was completed, only for her to tell me that the estate agent insisted on a meeting with their adviser. She said she didn’t want to attend as she was happy with my work and would like me to cancel the appointment for her.
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I phoned the agent, asking details about the property as I was arranging the mortgage, only to be told that the sale could not be agreed until the clients had met with their adviser. I confirmed the clients were good for their offer and could provide proof, that they were wanting to come in to sign their paperwork, and they didn’t want to see the agent’s adviser. The response – the sale had not been agreed, would not be agreed until their adviser said so, and I could not complete the application. I phoned Miss Client and said I wasn’t prepared to risk her losing the property and suggested she meet with the adviser but not sign anything at all – in fact, she could walk up the road from the agent to my office and all papers could be signed that day.
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The following day I received a call from Mr Client – they had signed with the estate agent’s adviser as they were told they would not get the property unless they signed on the dotted line at the first meeting. The estate agent is linked to one particular lender, so the clients had to take that lender’s product, which was nowhere near as competitive as other lenders were offering.
What makes me write now? I complained to the lender’s head office after not getting a call back from the agent’s branch manager, and over a week later, I received a reply from the area manager. I was not surprised at the reply. Frustrated, but not surprised. In summary, it is their duty to the vendor to establish to their satisfaction the purchaser is in a position to proceed to exchanging contract, and my allegations that the clients would lose the property if they did not see the agent’s adviser were incorrect. Also, they were not my clients as they were free to go wherever they chose in order to find the most appropriate solution for their needs. Quite how a one-lender agent can be more appropriate than whole of market, I’m not sure.
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Just to clarify, I don’t have it in for all estate agents. In fact, I am a broker within a relatively small regional estate myself and have no problems with any other agents or their own advisers in our town – and if a client says they are good for their money and arranging their mortgage elsewhere, then so be it. But having worked for several years for the offending agent in question, and knowing all too well about its practices, I hope the regulation of estate agents happens sooner rather than later.
Regards,
James Roberts
