Absolutely required: Pre-Approval, ideally with desktop underwriting.

Must be current within 30 days.

I call the lender and vet their process. 

A Pre-Qual is toilet paper. Mr. Crappy approves this message. 💩

By the way, we are not killing any cats - nor are we killing 2 birds with one stone.  

No clue being retired 10 years Peter Mohylsky, Broker but when I was active it really was the listing agents call.

Wow Peter you nailed it with your question.  I never figure all these cats things before.

Peter

Many ways to skin the cat Peter Mohylsky, Broker ...LOL as to buyer qual, lender, buyer agent and seller agent plus seller all have to be 100% convinced that a deal can clear financing. The sooner we approach the subject, then we can all move on to do we have negotiations, deal or what?

Peter Mohylsky, Broker Pre-approvals, who let the dogs out? LOL🐕🐩🐶🐾 🐕 🐩.........................

Pre-approval subject only to appraisal and clear title.

Big difference between the two and your buyer better have cat scratch fever pushing them to secure close to home local lending. Before falling in love with a place like a cat in heat Peter Mohylsky, Broker.

In San Diego real estate, “prequalified” is basically a participation trophy.
Prequalification has been functionally obsolete in competitive California real estate since The 2007 Crash. After 2008, serious buyers moved to verified preapprovals, and the strongest buyers are fully underwritten before they ever write an offer. If your lender hasn’t verified the borrower’s income, assets, credit and documentation, I’m not treating that financing as solid.

100%!  Preapproval or proof of funds as Diana Zaccaro Broker Associate just said.  

But Who let the Dogs out?  Who? Who? Who? Who?

Preapproval is a minimum requirement. 

Don't forget a favorite term on Wall St - The Dead Cat Bounce.

Before I care about pre-approvals/ pre-qual. I want to see REBNY Financials, which is part income statement, part balance sheet. This is important for 2 reasons- First most sales are co-op's and co-op's are far stricter the banks would be. Banks don't want to underwrite in a lot of buildings- so I need to get a sense of which banks might underwrite that aligns with what the buyer is expressing interest in. Even prepping my buyer might not be sufficient because there are plenty of situations where only a couple of bankers are willing and able to underwrite in a particular building. 

yes, always required on my listings, and surprising how often I have to educate agents on the difference between the two.

Definitely a pre-approval, otherwise the agent becomes a home tour guide who may never close.

The underwritten pre-approval is absolutely the cat's meow! 😻

Back in the day when I was a mortgage broker, we did pre quals all day long. There are still people who use them but they are not worth the paper they are printed on. What we see often now is that the buyer must show proof of funds or a pre approval to be granted a showing. Some agents require buyers to be pre approved by their favorite lender but state that they are not required to use that lender, just do the pre approval. And there are a fair amount of agents who still do not understand the difference between a pre qual and a pre approval.

Its been raining felines and canines here in central Indiana, Peter!  Most LA's do accept a pre-qualification lender letter and it is still more common than the pre-approval letter in our real estate board.

Pre-approvals required; pre-quals not too valuable - anyone can put those together,

The cat’s out of the bag. Around here, it’s not technically required, but I don’t so much as twitch without a solid mortgage pre‑approval or proof of funds. It keeps the whole process sane, saves everyone time, and makes sure we’re not chasing homes a buyer can’t actually secure.