Estate agent asking for pre approval letter but with figures

Del007

So I gave the estate agent the letter of pre approval with the numbers blanked out. They got back to me saying that they need to see the amounts on the letter.

Is that the estate agent being very cheeky or do they in fact require it?

Cheers

MarkAnthony

How do you mean do they require it? Is it a REQUIREMENT or merely a requirement that I take my shoes of coming into your gaffe?

The EA obviously wants it, generally they do this to prevent messing. If you're not happy tell them they can take it or leave it which I suspect is very much the approach they will be taking.

There is no legal requirement or right on there side if that's what you're asking.

Del007

That's exactly what I was asking.

I don't own a gaff so keep your shoes on if you wish

MarkAnthony

You should be looking after your rental!

In all seriousness it's all part of the game - only you can judge whether or not you're bid will be declined without the figures.

In fairness I think the stories of EA's pushing people to the limit is a bit far fetched in most cases - it certainly goes on, but not to the degree people make out. Certainly set yourself a maximum and keep looking anyway.

Michael D Not Higgins

It would be great if there were an independent middle man who could weed out the messers but the estate agent is working for the vendor with their interests at heart. Giving this figure to the estate agent disadvantages you in any negotiations. They will know your max and can squeeze you for more later on.

An option came up in a similar thread, where one poster said their bank gave them multiple letters in values of 10k increments up to their max and could send whichever one was relevant for that bid.

Toots

Ask your bank or solicitor confirming that you have sufficient mortgage approval to bid on that address. It doesn't have to mention any figures but doesn't tip your hand either in terms of how high they can push you. My sister in law got this from her solicitor for the same reason - she didn't want the estate agent knowing how much their mortgage was approved for.

Shedite27

Unfortunately this is an estate agent trick. Usually plays out like this:

Estate agent asks for confirmation that you have the funds to meet the bid you place (ie your max approval)
(a) If you show your approval and it's more than the bid, the EA will try to get this out of you.
(b) If you show your approval and it's the same as the bid, the EA knows that's as high as you can go and will stop pressurising you, but may look elsewhere if they want more money.
(c) If you don't show your approval, well the only reason you wouldn't show is if you have more approval, so the EA knows you have more approval, so like (a) will try to get this out of you.

MarkAnthony

I'm not really sure this is as convoluted as people make out. If the OP is willing to play the game:

(i) set a maximum on that house
(ii) Keep looking in earnest and with the current EA to yank their chain

I'm not sure why the EA knowing the maximum is an issue. That's if the EA is even going to engage in these shenanigans.

Most people can source extra money if needed, the figures will not show how much the OP has in the bank. For all the EA knows he might have a mortgage of €200K and €500K in savings. How does the EA know the figure is the maximum the OP can get, I know my approval certainly wasn't.

Regardless - if the EA is insisting that the OP shows figures, or wears white after labour day, or owns at least 3 hamsters there is nothing the OP can do about it bar doorstep the vendor whose reply is likely to be "yes that's what I asked/was advised to instruct them to do".

Del007

I called into the bank, there's nobody working in mortgages for the rest of the week. The bank manager said for me to give the estate agent his number and that he'll confirm to then that I have sufficient funds to buy the property.

MarkAnthony

Del007 wrote: »

I called into the bank, there's nobody working in mortgages for the rest of the week. The bank manager said for me to give the estate agent his number and that he'll confirm to then that I have sufficient funds to buy the property.

Best Course IMO, if the EA is insisting beyond that to be fair you'd want to be questioning their motives. Again that said you'll need to be prepared to walk away.

Del007

Cheers for your advice

o1s1n

I was asked for this twice when buying property.

1) when bidding on a house, I redacted the amount and the estate agent accepted this
2) after closing a sale on an apartment. (I had the property 'in the bag' at this stage and we were sale agreed so was happy showing them the amount I had)

Also, something worth keeping in mind, if you do show them your total amount approved and you don't get this property, they then have the potential to know your full approved amount for any further properties you bid on with them in future.

If I were you I'd send them the approval letter with the amount blanked out and tell them that's all they're getting.

Del007

I never thought about future bids on different properties, great point

Del007

I got back to them stating that my bank manager will vouch that I can afford the property but they're still insisting that they need to see how much for.

My own solicitor said that he has never heard of an estate agent insisting on this.

L1011

Walk away, EA is dodgy as hell and is looking to see your hand to see how much they can wring you for.

o1s1n

Time to put the foot down tbh, I'd be telling them to take it or leave it at this stage.

In the end, you're the one with the approval making the bid. If they don't want your money then that's their loss.

whiskeyman

Deffo walk away.
Very sneaky

spaceHopper

Don't walk simply tell them that you aren't going to give it to them and to pass on your bid to the owner and record it in the bid book as required by their professional body. If they don't tell them you'll drop a note in the door of the house and make sure you let one of the neighbors know too.

However by not telling them you are letting them know you are approved for more and could easily go up they just don't know how high. You need to make them believe that you value the house at x and will stick to it.

April 73

No way would I give an EA a letter from my bank with my approved loan value on it. They are over-reaching - particularly when you have offered a phone call to the manager as back-up.

sozbox

None of his business, I've been bidding the last few months on various properties, I do it like this:

1. I email the agent with the bid e.g Notice of Bid on XXX for 190k
2. I ask the bank manager to email the agent confirming funds are available to meet this bid, I'm usually bcc'd here by the bank
3. Rinse and Repeat

The agent gets the info he needs and no more. Bank manager is fairly accommodating in fairness, but I average a bid a month so I'm not plaguing the fella.

mirrorwall14

sozbox wrote: »

None of his business, I've been bidding the last few months on various properties, I do it like this:

1. I email the agent with the bid e.g Notice of Bid on XXX for 190k
2. I ask the bank manager to email the agent confirming funds are available to meet this bid, I'm usually bcc'd here by the bank
3. Rinse and Repeat

The agent gets the info he needs and no more. Bank manager is fairly accommodating in fairness, but I average a bid a month so I'm not plaguing the fella.

This is what my broker has told us to do. He will confirm with the EA's that we have sufficient funds

Toots

Del007 wrote: »

I got back to them stating that my bank manager will vouch that I can afford the property but they're still insisting that they need to see how much for.

My own solicitor said that he has never heard of an estate agent insisting on this.

They absolutely do not need to see this. It's none of their business how much you're approved for. Besides if the house costs say €200k, you might only need a mortgage for €70k if you've got the rest in cash, so them getting a look at the amount on your offer letter is meaningless.

I can see why they'd want confirmation that you can afford the bid, but a letter/email from your bank manager or solicitor confirming this is more than sufficient.

Idioteque

Toots wrote: »

They absolutely do not need to see this. It's none of their business how much you're approved for. Besides if the house costs say €200k, you might only need a mortgage for €70k if you've got the rest in cash, so them getting a look at the amount on your offer letter is meaningless.

I can see why they'd want confirmation that you can afford the bid, but a letter/email from your bank manager or solicitor confirming this is more than sufficient.

Because there's people out there who bid on properties without sufficient funds and lengthen the process for everyone else and end up costing the buyer more but also making the seller more money.

If you didn't have enough of a mortgage in the example above, some will look to see evidence of the cash balance.
At the end of the day, if I wanted a property I'd be happy the EA is doing this...helps cut out some of the messers.