No matter whether you are a prospecting first time buyer in Hull actively looking for your first home or a home movers in Hull with your house on the property market, it will likely that you have become apparent that some of the larger estate agents and builders would much rather that you use their in-house mortgage advisor and conveyancing services.

Estate Agent Sales Tactics So That You Take Their Mortgage Advice

We have spent many years working as a standalone mortgage broker in Hull. We don’t have ties to banks, building societies or estate agents. As such, we do often find ourselves in contact with many customers who have been pressured by some estate agents to use their personal financial services. Some of the stories we have heard include;

Refusal To Put Forward an Offer

Many estate agents out there have been known to refuse putting an offer forward if you choose to use an external mortgage broker instead of their own in-house advisor. At times they have also refused to put offers forward to the vendor, because someone who has used their in-house service has also made an offer.

Overpriced Service Costs

Another common tactic is quoting immensely overpriced conveyancing fees. In the past we have had clients who have unfortunately been subjected to this. One was quoted more than £1,500 for a simple purchase with an estate agent.

With the help of one of our dedicated mortgage advisors, we got this cost down. Following this, we recommended that the client use another conveyancer in the nearby area and were able to get this down to £750. That’s exactly half of the quoted price from the estate agent.

Demanding Information & Being Pushy

You’ve made an offer and are now waiting to see if it will be accepted. You might expect a phone call detailing whether or not this is the case, that seems pretty logical. However, what tends to happen with some cases, is the estate agent will call up and demand to know who you used for conveyancing.

What follows is the estate agent refusing to take the property off the market, unless you proceed with their own in-house service. Generally their quotations will be extortionately overpriced and completely unfair, but they will put you on the spot and make you feel like you have no choice. This is something a mortgage broker in Hull can absolutely help you be prepared for. So the burning questions then are…

Are These Tactics Legal? Do I Have To Use My Estate Agents In-House Mortgage Advisor?

No, they are highly illegal. You are free to go wherever you wish when it comes to your mortgage process. Use any broker, any conveyancing, solicitors, the lot. It’s all down to your own personal choice. You are under no obligation to use the services provided by the estate agent, they are merely there to foresee the sale between yourself and the vendor.

Popular Estate Agent & Builder Sales Quotes Include:

  • “Keeping everything under one roof is easier with one point of contact”
  • “If you use our services it will give the vendor peace of mind that everything will go through smoothly”
  • “Everything is likely to go through quicker if you use us”
  • “We’ll give you a free carpet/washing machine if you use our (extortionately priced) recommended conveyancing service”
  • “We will do all of the chasing of the solicitors for you and they’ll be more responsive to us due to the amount of work we send them”
  • “You need to come in and see our mortgage advisor for your offer to be qualified”
  • “Your offer is more likely to be accepted if you use our mortgage advisor”
  • “We get better deals than most brokers”

Be Careful & Stand Your Ground

Please remember, when negotiating a purchase price… Is it really within your best interests for the person selling the property you’re looking to buy, to know your personal financial situation and potentially know how much you’re able to borrow? Something which they can then use against you to convince you to use their services?

Stay vigilant and make sure that if you don’t want to use it, they don’t get to you and make you feel obliged. It’s your mortgage, your offer, your potential future home. Getting in touch with a trusted mortgage advisor in Hull will put you in the best possible place to be prepared for these tactics in advance.

Date Last Edited: 09/29/2023