As Michael Jacobs says... "it depends."

For me it depends on if the lender is a big bank or a "no name" and if the lender is from out of the area.  It also depends on if documentation was reviewed or if the lender "took their word for it."

I had a well qualified offer come in with a lender that was two counties away that I'd never heard of.  We countered that they needed to be reviewed by our lender.  Our lender signed off on them and we went ahead with the contract.

The 20%ers always have to babysit the 80%ers.

I find it annoying, if it holds up a deal, when I have a pre-approved buyer already; however given that many agents work with unapproved buyers, at best they just have a meaningless pre-qual, I understand and support it...sometimes require it too.

No I don't think that is right. Certain REO's in my area do that & the buyer always feels disgruntled afterward. I think it's an invasion of privacy too.

That lender works for the seller not that buyer.

If there is a pre-qualification in hand why put the client through it with a stranger they have no intention of doing business with!

See the response by Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA.

My area doesn't really depend on cross-qualification or other for that matter - sometimes a pre-qual helps for lower end condos and houses but higher end - never matters

No - but we verify their financing with the lender of their choice - just as a listing agent should when presented with an offer...

Only in certain instances depending on the property price point.

No. Basically we are not allowed to make that requirement. Buyers can choose any lender they want. We can point out why we think we can expect delays with certain lenders, but it's still the buyers choice to make.

Jeff Dowler CRS I do not cross-qualify. However mention them to check with my lender to get the best in the industry....and it works most of the time.

No.

I would not like to have to do that so I do not make my clients do it

I prefer my client to be pre qualified and I like to talk with their lender. If I'm comfortable with the situation I won't suggest my lender.  

I'm starting to see it more because as a listing agent I see some buyers providing a qualification letter from an unknown Internet lender..they rarely work out..I look for a good local lender and it can make the difference in a multiple offer situation!

If they are my buyer, they are already using one of my preferred lenders

No I do not but if it is my listing and the buyer is using an off brand lender i will alert my seller and let them make the decision.

No, I don't.  But, if they give me a pre-qual from a lender I don't know, I may ask.

No not in the habit of making clirnts jump through hoops. 

Jeff,

I am with Corinne Guest, Managing Broker on this one.  A

If I'm a listing agent looking at a pre-qualified buyer with a dodgy lender and funky looking financial disclosure sheet, I might want a lender I know and trust review the buyers' qualifications.  This is especially true if the buyers' agent is new or unknown to me or with a discount brokerage. 

Yes. Because far too many pre-approval letters are not worth the paper they are written on. The goal is one escrow. I make the process as simple as possible. My lending partner, John Meussner provides his services as a professional courtesy to me.  It works. The one time I made an exception the buyer could not get financing.  

Yes, I am seeing more and more agents require cross-qualification as a pre-condition to or a condition of offer acceptance. 

Always wise to have a pre Approval from a lender that you trust.

I try to get to to be

We are not seeing this in our market.

No. But if I am the listing agent, I do want to have a conversation with that buyer's lender and make sure, not that the buyer is qualified--but that the lender is fogging the mirror. As buyer's agent, I would offer the same to the listing office. Go ahead and talk to the buyer's lender. But as far as being cross qualified, buyers would prefer that that did not happen, but will if that house is the one.

I don't... if it's a true pre-approval. 95% of the time I know the lender who provided the pre-approval.

They are not generally required here - having just heard that a transaction of mine is exploding I think it is a good idea - their lender is miserable!

Jeff Dowler CRS If the buyer is pre-approved, I wouldn't put out my preferred lender.

I don't but it is a good practice to have in order to protect the seller's interests and time.

If I don't recognize the buyer's agent, I will give the customer my preferred buyers agent to see if they can get a better deal

If I am receiveing an offer on one of my listings I will require a conditional loan approval letter for the Buyer's Ability to Buy, not just a prequal....and it has to be with the right type of Lender for the Subject Property.

As a good rule, it should be done but doesn't have to. I went along with a buyer/agent choice for lender and if I didn't extend the escrow because of lender delay, they would have forfeited the deal. Lazy lender here

I send my buyers to a lender that I know can get the job done, if that means they need to be cross qualified, then so be it.

Hi Jeff - About the only time we see it here is with new construction. Our market is hot enough that we could probably get away with it on our listings, but it's pretty much something everyone here hates. If we don't know the lender, we'll do research, and it may have some bearing on who is chosen in multiple offer situations.

one can't be too careful today....there's alot of sloppy stuff going on and it happens often....happening once is too often in my book....

we do, but we are in a different situation

Often buyer do not want to order a credit rpt fearing their credit score will drop.

In our area I have not accepted an offer with less than 20% and often wanting to see their POF.  Often they tell me they can do 30% on one income. My lowest buyer credit score was 770 and often in 800s with high income.