How do I screen a buyer's lender before accepting an offer?

A pre-approval letter is a piece of paper. It tells you a lender looked at some information and produced a document. It does not tell you whether the buyer can actually close, how solid their financial picture is, or whether the loan has any issues that could surface two weeks before your settlement date. Calling the lender directly before you accept an offer takes about five minutes and can save you weeks of lost time if you catch a problem early.

Most FSBO sellers don't know this is something they can do. It is. You have every right to contact the buyer's loan officer, introduce yourself as the seller, and ask a few direct questions. A good lender will answer them. A lender who stonewalls you or gives evasive answers is itself useful information.

Five questions worth asking every buyer's lender:

First: "Is this an automated pre-qualification or has a human underwriter actually verified their income, tax returns, and bank statements?" Many lenders issue automated pre-qualifications based on numbers the buyer entered online, with no documentation verified. You want to hear that a real person reviewed hard documentation before that letter was issued.

Second: "Have you verified liquid proof of funds for both the down payment and closing costs?" A buyer might qualify for the monthly payments but not have the actual cash ready at closing. You want confirmation that verified money is sitting in a bank account, not that the buyer expects to get it from somewhere.

Third: "Does the buyer have extra cash reserves to cover the purchase if the home appraises below the contract price?" This is especially important on offers above your asking price. If the appraisal comes in short and the buyer has no cushion, the deal can collapse through the financing contingency even if they waived the appraisal contingency.

Fourth: "Does this buyer need to sell another property or pay off existing debts to qualify for this loan?" A hidden home sale contingency or a debt payoff requirement that surfaces during underwriting can kill a deal weeks in. You want to know about these upfront.

Fifth: "Are there any conditions that could delay or complicate closing within our contracted timeline?" This puts the loan officer on the record. Appraisal turnaround times, condo approval requirements, complex tax returns, or self-employment documentation issues are all things an experienced lender can flag early if you ask directly.

You're not interrogating anyone. You're doing reasonable due diligence on a transaction that represents significant money. A lender with a qualified buyer and a clean file will answer all five questions without hesitation. A lender who hedges, defers, or deflects is giving you information about the risk level of that offer whether they mean to or not.