I guess you plan to turn away cash buyers.

I don't think it's the market;
I think it's the increasingly tricky problems of managing your credit score combined with the natural reluctance of people to spill their guts & personal secrets just to see a house.

& then there's the fact that a buyer who gives the seller or seller's agent a letter saying that he *can* indeed pay full price is going to be in a bad negotiating position.

A pre-approved buyer has had the entire work-up submitted to & approved by the underwriter;
all this buyer needs is a contract, appraisal, survey, & inspection (inspection for his/her/their own benefit; it isn't even a lender requirement).

To get to that place, a full credit report has been run & updated & every account has been confirmed with the creditor.

& every credit inquiry makes a negative impact on the credit score.

Supposedly, all inquiries from a lender within a certain number of days (seems like 90 but don't hold me to it) are treated as one "lump sum" inquiry, but if they don't get entered that way, the creditor has a tremendous headache.

& if the buyer doesn't get to the closing table within a certain time frame, every item in the package has to be "updated", ie, done all over again.

Loan processing isn't that much fun the first time;
nobody wants to go through it twice in a row!

Almost any buyer will balk at having to disclose how much they can buy to every agent or homeowner whose house they want to look at.

(I sometimes think buyers are in a situation similar to the one all of us are in when we go to the doctor;
we know we're going to have to shed some clothes, but we don't want to strip off completely in front of the whole office, & we sure don't want to do it over & over again for every pharmacist & nurse's aide!)

I my own personal self would rather show the house to buyers who can't quite make it than to offend a buyer who really could have bought but who went on down the road rather than submit his innermost secrets just to get a look at the house.

It may depend on where you are. In my area,only a few places are doing "preapproval" and some are not even doing a prequal. as a seller, I definately would ask if an offer was made, but hopefully, the RE agent got the buyer prequalified prior to driving them around or else they were wasting their time too.

obviously cash buyers are good, maybe not to show the house, but I'd definately want to see a bank balance before accepting the offer.

In my area cash offers are very unlikely for normal people. Maybe a developer or someone retiring selling a house...

I would go with whatever the custom is, as putting a higher threshold is going to turn people away... I found trying to get "preapproved" was a real pain as banks really don't want to go out on that limb. My prequal included a credit check.

As a seller I would not put up any barriers to showing my house.
So you get a lookie loo once in a while, but you also may get a happy buyer.

I think you are worrying about a non-problem. No agent is going to "trick" you" by showing your house to a bunch of people who aren't in a position to buy it. They only make money if you sell your house, so they gain nothing by jerking you around. That goes for your agent as well as buyers agents. Occasionally, agents are duped into playing tour guide to people who aren't serious about buying a home, but the agent doesn't willingly waste their own time that way.

Now, when it comes to making an offer, that is a different story. If they want a finance clause, then you should expect them to show that they have reasonable assurances that they will in fact be able to get financing.

You might want to ask for proof of funds before executing a contract;
you'd be surprised at how many buyers think that their insurance settlement or lawsuit settlement will magically appear by closing day!

I agree with others that it isn't necessary for showing your home, but it is okay to ask for the pre-approval letter with an offer (that isn't a cash offer of course).

Thanks for the input! We definitely don't want to deter any potential buyers. Will certainly ask for pre-approval with any offer.
Thanks again!

Pre-approval letters are not loan commitments, and really do not mean very much.

The lenders are not always reliable in their diligence, and add enough weasel words to indicate they still may not make the loan.

I can get one with a phone call to my mortgage broker.

Just an example -

We sold our house recently. Early on, we had 1 couple who loved the place and came back for a second visit the next week. Our listing said we would only accept offers with a pre-approval letter. Their agent sent over an offer without a letter. We sent it back and told her we couldn't accept it without a pre-approval letter.

We got a call the next day from the agent apologizing profusely. Her "buyers" had a prequalification letter, but when the mortgage broker ran their credit, they couldn't get approved to finance a stick of gum. She apologized for wasting our time and requested we still allow some of her other clients to look at the house.

The moral - a couple who couldn't afford the place got our hopes up. It was a bit frustrating, but it didn't cost us a cent. We made an ally in the agent and she brought a couple other clients in for showings. Those didn't result in a sale, but you never know, right?

The winning strategy is to get buyers in the door, get an offer on the table, and then decide if that offer is acceptable. Don't short circuit the process by pre-screening buyers.

The winning strategy is to get buyers in the door, get an offer on the table, and then decide if that offer is acceptable. Don't short circuit the process by pre-screening buyers.

I agree, don't put up road blocks, in the end they all mean nothing anyway. Encourage shoppers to view your product, make them want it, then work out how they will get it.
I hate the message "by appointment only" on for sale signs.
Or all the extra wording on listings, I think, "difficult seller" when I see some of the remarks. It is especially funny when the house is a dog, that seller should welcome any activity.
Some people seem to think their house is so precious when it simply is not. It is usually just a commodity.