Ministers under pressure to ban ‘conditional selling’ by estate agents
New campaign by FT Advisor backed by HomeOwners Alliance wants mortgage brokers to lobby their MPs and ask questions at PMQs in Parliament.
Pressure is mounting on the Government to ban estate agencies insisting that home buyers use their in-house mortgage brokers, known as ‘conditional selling’.
After launching its campaign calling on the Government and regulator like the FCA to insist estate agents stick to ‘higher standards’, FT Advisor says it has now garnered the support of the HomeOwners Alliance in its bid to stop the practice.
Estate agencies that have been accused of using conditional selling, including in the past Connells, have incurred the wrath of independent mortgage brokers who feel they are locked out of potential business by estate agencies who insist buyers use their in-house brokerages if they want offers accepted by vendors.
Agents have been accused of claiming that this will make it ‘easier’ to progress the sale – as one TPO case highlighted last year.
FT Advisor is calling on brokers across the UK to lobby their local MPs to ensure the issue is included in questions to Kier Starmer during a future Prime Minister’s Questions session in parliament.
Pressure to sell
Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HOA, which itself has raised the issue in parliament in the past, says: “Our research shows that one in four buyers and sellers feel pressured into using estate agents’ in-house services – often being told they’ll lose the property if they don’t comply.
“This isn’t just unethical, it’s a clear conflict of interest that undermines consumer choice and inflates costs.
“Estate agents must not be allowed to strong-arm people into using their own mortgage brokers. Buying a home is stressful enough without added pressure tactics.
“We urge MPs to join FT Adviser’s campaign and push for real change to protect buyers and restore fairness to the homebuying process.”
Both Property Redress and TPO are clear in their codes/guidance that agents should not ‘conditionally sell’ properties, while the FCA recently said that conditional selling is back on its radar and it will “continue to act where we receive intelligence and reports of homebuyers being pressured to use estate agents’ in-house mortgage brokers”.
Read more: Brokers angered by surge in estate agents’ conditional selling practices
Main image credit: BBC
I think that the FT advisor (Finacial Times) needs to do some DD and perhaps get an investigative journalist on the case as the Home Owners Alliance – Org – though looking like a helpful homespun site to help those on the property journey, it is actually something quiet different.