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Well, right now, in our area, buyers are finding that if they don't move quickly (and don't have that pre-approval letter to submit with the offer), the houses they like are gone before they can even get an offer in.
More and more agents are requiring pre-approval letters up front for a couple of reasons. One, people who are reluctant or refuse to give one are statistically a LOT likelier to either (a) not be able to purchase at all or (b) just be lookyloos who want to use your time because they're bored or (c) are going to be enormous PITAs about other things over the course of the process, and are more likely as a result to crash the deal somewhere along the way, or some combination of the above. This entirely aside from security issues - the more articles you see about agents raped, assaulted, and killed because of taking buyers out who no one had checked out but who "said" they could buy the property, the less likely you are to want to do that.
Since getting pre-approved is the very first step along the road to purchasing a house, someone who drags their feet and/or gets in a snit if asked to do that before looking at houses does raise all sorts of red flags, as a result.
I think the way to approach it is to present it as an offer rather than a demand. For example if I get a sign call I will first tell them the price of the house and ask if that is in their price range. If they are not already working with another agent I will go unlock the door for them. While there I will ask if they need a good lender. That conversation usually leads into loans and what you need to do ahead of time. Considering that a prequal doesn't mean a whole lot anyway, why would I demand one before even meeting with them? People really interested in buying a house that need a loan usually want to meet with a lender anyhow. Iv' never had a potential buyer that refused to get in touch with one.
Out of curiosity, what do you guys do with cash buyers, ask to see their bank statements?
Out of curiosity, what do you guys do with cash buyers, ask to see their bank statements?
No I don't ask for it up front but I do tell them to go ahead and get one because they'll need it for the offer. On any buyer I don't run out to show buyers my listings even when they are pre-qualified. I make them meet me in the office and we discuss agency then we go look at the home.
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