When selling a home, there’s always the potential for surprises. Many of those can be avoided by asking the right questions before accepting an offer. Far too often, sellers and listing agents accept contracts without ever speaking to the buyer’s lender. In over 20 years of experience, we can count on one hand how many agents have taken the time to call and vet us or the buyer.
That’s a missed opportunity. The lender plays a critical role in whether a deal closes smoothly or falls apart. This guide outlines the first round of questions every listing agent should ask a buyer’s lender before accepting a contract.
The second set of questions can be found here: questions to ask about a lender. Asking these questions will allow a seller to better anticipate potential issues.
Why These Questions Matter
The answers themselves are important, but how the lender responds can be just as telling:
- Are they confident?
- Do they provide clear and specific information?
- Are they avoiding or downplaying key questions?
Even when a lender can’t disclose every detail due to privacy laws, their tone and willingness to explain goes a long way. These questions help you understand if the buyer is truly qualified and if the lender is capable of getting the deal to the finish line.
Questions To A Mortgage Lender About Your Buyers
A homeowner takes a giant leap of faith when selling their home to someone that needs financing. The seller is trusting that the buyer is working with a competent lender. Unfortunately, that is often blind confidence.
It’s absolutely astounding how few realtors actually contact a lender before accepting an offer. In our 20 years of experience, there has been only one stand-out conversation.
What’s insane about this statistic is that a lender can easily make or break a deal. In our experience, the lender is the culprit in most of the “horror stories” we hear about when a sale goes awry.
Below are suggested questions that we recommend asking a lender to ultimately determine if a home buyer is truly qualified and able to close on-time starting with the big 3 – Credit, Income, and Assets. Listen closely to the lender’s answer to determine how to move forward with their buyer’s offer.
Always start off with the following question:
Start Here: How Do You Know the Buyer?
Q: How do you know the buyers? How did they find you? How long have you been working together?
A: This helps clarify the relationship. Ideally, the buyer was referred or is a past client. Even if they were an internet lead, that’s fine—as long as the lender has built trust and collected the right documentation.
That said, if the buyer is from another source (i.e. a lead from internet, etc.) it doesn’t necessarily discount the buyer.
This question will also provide insight as to the type of business a lender might ordinarily do. For example, the bigger, national mortgage companies typically don’t have the highly skilled professionals that build a business off of client relationships.
Questions About Credit
Q: Have you pulled the buyer’s credit? Was it a hard or soft pull? When was it last pulled?
A: You’re looking for a tri-merge credit report from the last 90 days. Anything older could require an updated pull.
Q: What’s the credit profile like?
A: The lender may not be able to share the exact score, but they should indicate whether the credit is strong, average, or a potential concern. Watch for red flags like unresolved disputes, new accounts, or sudden score-boosting efforts.
Q: Are there any red flags or unresolved issues that could delay approval or impact closing?
A: A lender should be transparent about any potential obstacles. Even if they can’t share specifics, they should be able to express a clear level of confidence—or explain any concerns.
Questions About Credit
Q: Have you pulled the buyer’s credit and if so, was it a hard or soft pull? When was it last pulled?
A: If they pulled the report 6 months ago, it is no longer relevant and a new report will need to be pulled. We are looking for 3 months or less.
Ask if it’s a tri-merge: a credit report combination of individual reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Q: Tell me more about their credit?
A: Is there anything on there that needs to be updated or addressed – meaning are there any disputes that need to be removed, tradelines that need to be updated, or debts that need to be paid off?
If the answer may be “yes” to some of these questions but each has potential to either delay the process, or worse, change the approval to a decline. The follow up question to a “yes” is: what needs to be addressed and when do you expect that to be resolved?
Q: What problems do you anticipate? What might or could happen that would interfere with our closing? Is there any reason why these borrowers won’t get approved AND/OR close on-time?
A: Hopefully the answer is “no” but ask this question and see what they say. A lender may not be able to give an exact timeline for the resolution but their confidence level can give you a good gauge as to their competency and the borrower’s strength.
Questions About Income
Q: Have you reviewed income documents from the last 60 days? Are they W2, commission, self-employed, or contract?
A: If the borrower is self-employed or owns 25% or more of a business, full tax returns are usually required. Ask if those returns have been reviewed and if income has been calculated accurately.
Q: Have you reviewed the last two years of tax returns, including all schedules?
A: Lenders sometimes overlook unreimbursed expenses on Schedule A, which can reduce qualifying income. This applies even to W2 employees.
Q: What’s the borrower’s current debt-to-income ratio (DTI)?
A: Most programs limit DTI to 43%–45%. If the lender won’t disclose the exact figure, ask whether they are confident the borrower qualifies within the program guidelines.
Questions About Assets
Q: Have you reviewed the buyer’s bank statements? Are the funds liquid, sourced, and seasoned?
A: Funds for closing should already be in the account, traceable, and ready to use. If not, ask whether they’re coming from a gift, asset sale, or pending transfer.
Q: Do they currently own any real estate or need to sell a property to qualify for this purchase?
A: If they must sell in order to qualify, that adds risk and timing considerations to your transaction.
Q: Are they using gift funds, retirement accounts, crypto, or stock?
A: If so, ask whether those funds have already been documented and liquidated or if that process is still underway.
Q: Are there any large deposits that require explanation or documentation?
A: Unexplained deposits can cause delays or disqualify a borrower if not properly addressed.
Questions About Pending Issues
Q: Are there any major life changes that could interfere with closing, such as a divorce, job change, or legal matter?
A: These can impact underwriting or delay final approval. Ask whether documentation has already been submitted and how confident the lender is about moving forward on time.
Q: Do you have everything you need from the buyer? Are there any outstanding documents?
A: If anything is still pending, find out whether it’s critical to closing and when the lender expects to receive it.
Misc. Questions
Q: What loan program are they using? Does it match the pre-approval letter?
A: Make sure they’re not switching loan types mid-transaction. If the contract says conventional, confirm they’re closing conventional—not planning to flip to FHA later.
Q: Do you feel confident in this file? Is there any reason I shouldn’t accept this offer?
A: This is one of the most valuable questions you can ask. A strong lender should feel comfortable giving you a straightforward answer.
Taking time to ask these questions strengthens your position as a listing agent and protects your sellers. The lenders who receive these calls from agents remember them—and so do we. It shows you care about doing your job well and ensuring the offer you accept will lead to a smooth, timely closing.
If you’re not already asking these questions, start now. It can reduce fallout, improve communication, and make you a stronger partner in the process.
Lenders need everything to be completely set in stone – nothing pending. Our team will always make sure we communicate. Remember…ask, ask, ask.
If you’re a realtor and you’re not asking these questions, it’s time to start adding this to your workflow. If you’re a buyer, ask your realtor if they’ve talked to your lender. Trust and communication is crucial when it comes to major events like buying your new dream home.
For other questions or concerns, reach out to our awesome team at Mortgage Mark today.
Mark Pfeiffer
Regional Sales Manager
Loan Officer, NMLS # 729612
(972) 829-8639
MortgageMark@MortgageMark.com