Why Santa Clarita Real Estate Agents Must Vet Every Lender Before Presenting
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Why Santa Clarita Real Estate Agents Must Vet Every Lender Before Presenting
Connor “with Honor” MacIvor - December 10, 2025** Tags: [Santa Clarita real estate agent](/-/Blog/tag/Santa Clarita real estate agent), [vetting lenders](/-/Blog/tag/vetting lenders), [due diligence real estate](/-/Blog/tag/due diligence real estate), [FHA loans Santa Clarita](/-/Blog/tag/FHA loans Santa Clarita), [VA loans verification](/-/Blog/tag/VA loans verification), [cash offers verification](/-/Blog/tag/cash offers verification), [real estate agent training](/-/Blog/tag/real estate agent training), [listing agent responsibilities](/-/Blog/tag/listing agent responsibilities), [offer evaluation](/-/Blog/tag/offer evaluation), [Santa Clarita Valley real](/-/Blog/tag/Santa Clarita Valley real) ** 0 Comments | Add Comment
The Due Diligence That Protects Your Sellers
TLDR: Before you present any offer to your Santa Clarita seller, you must contact the lender directly to verify funding capability, timeline feasibility, and loan type requirements. This critical due diligence step prevents embarrassing deal failures, protects your reputation, and ensures your sellers aren’t wasting time on offers that can’t close. Learn the exact questions to ask lenders, how to verify cash offers, and why FHA/VA loans require extra scrutiny in Santa Clarita’s competitive market.
Summary
Real estate agents representing sellers in Santa Clarita face a critical responsibility that many overlook: vetting every lender before presenting offers to clients. This comprehensive guide walks through the essential due diligence process that prevents deal failures, embarrassing situations, and damage to your professional reputation. You’ll discover why contacting the lender should happen before you even discuss terms with your seller, what specific questions to ask about cash offers (including where funds are coming from and accessibility), how to verify timeline feasibility for different loan types (especially FHA and VA loans with appraiser availability issues), and why following up in writing protects both you and your client. Whether you’re handling conventional financing, government-backed loans, or cash transactions in Valencia, Newhall, Canyon Country, or Saugus, this guide provides the systematic approach that separates professional agents from those who learn these lessons the hard way—through failed transactions and lost client trust.
The Foundation: Why Lender Verification Comes Before Everything Else
When an offer lands on your desk for a Santa Clarita property, your first instinct might be to call your seller with the good news. But hold that phone call.
I’ve been in Santa Clarita real estate since 1998, and I’ve seen countless agents make the same critical mistake: presenting offers to sellers before verifying the buyer’s funding capability. This oversight leads to embarrassment, wasted time, and damaged relationships with clients who trusted you to protect their interests.
Here’s the fundamental truth about real estate transactions: funding is the single most important component of any offer. Everything else—price, repairs, credits, closing costs—means absolutely nothing if the buyer can’t actually deliver the money.
The Professional’s Approach to Offer Evaluation
When you receive an offer, follow this systematic approach:
Step 1: Review the offer at face value Look at exactly what’s been presented. Don’t make assumptions. Don’t fill in blanks with hopeful thinking. Evaluate the terms, price, contingencies, and timelines based solely on what’s written on paper.
Step 2: Contact the money source immediately Before you call your seller, before you get excited about the price, before you do anything else—contact the lender or verify the cash source. This is non-negotiable due diligence.
Step 3: Ask the right questions This is where most agents fail. They call the lender, get a “yeah, everything looks good,” and move forward. That’s not enough. You need specific answers to specific questions.
Step 4: Follow up in writing Every conversation with a lender must be documented via email. If they tell you everything is “rainbows, sunshine, hugs and kisses, cotton candy and unicorns”—great. Get it in writing.
Step 5: Present to your seller with complete information Only after you’ve verified funding capability should you present the offer to your seller with confidence.
Vetting Cash Offers: It’s Not As Simple As You Think
Cash offers sound simple, right? The buyer has money in an account, they can close quickly, no loan contingencies to worry about. Not so fast.
The Critical Questions for Cash Transactions
Question 1: Where is the cash coming from?
This isn’t just curiosity—it’s essential due diligence. Cash can come from various sources, and not all of them are equally accessible:
Standard Bank Accounts: Generally straightforward, but you still need verification that funds are available and accessible within the proposed timeline.
Hedge Funds: These accounts may have restrictions on withdrawals. Just because the money exists doesn’t mean it can be withdrawn quickly or without justification.
Retirement Accounts (401k, IRA, etc.): Withdrawing funds from retirement accounts can involve penalties, waiting periods, and complex processes. A buyer might have $500,000 in their IRA but be unable to access it in 30 days.
Stock Portfolios and Investment Accounts: Liquidating stocks or other investments takes time. Market conditions, settlement periods, and tax implications can all affect accessibility.
PMA/PCA Accounts (Private Money Accounts/Private Client Accounts): These fancy account types often have specific withdrawal procedures that can take weeks or months.
Workers’ Compensation Settlements or Structured Settlements: Some settlement accounts have strict limitations on access and may require court approval for large withdrawals.
Beyond Account Type: Accessibility Verification
Even if the account type seems straightforward, you need to verify actual accessibility:
Can they access the funds? Some accounts require multiple approvals, have withdrawal limits, or mandate specific procedures.
What’s the timeline for withdrawal? The buyer might claim they can close in 14 days, but if their fund withdrawal process takes 30 days, the timeline is unrealistic.
Are there any restrictions or pending issues? Frozen accounts, legal holds, or other complications can derail a transaction.
The Email Follow-Up for Cash Offers
After your conversation verifying cash availability, send an email to the buyer’s agent or representative:
“Per our conversation today, I’m confirming my understanding that:
Please confirm this understanding is correct.”
This email protects you if the deal falls apart due to funding issues.
The Complexity of Financed Offers: What Every Santa Clarita Agent Must Know
Financed offers introduce multiple layers of complexity that require careful scrutiny. The type of financing dramatically affects feasibility, timeline, and risk level.
Conventional Loans: The “Easier” Option That Still Requires Verification
Conventional loans are generally the smoothest financing type, but don’t get complacent. You still need to verify:
Pre-approval vs. Pre-qualification: There’s a massive difference. Pre-qualification means nothing. Pre-approval with income verification, credit pull, and asset documentation is what matters.
Lender Reputation: Not all lenders are created equal. Local Santa Clarita lenders often provide more reliable service than distant online lenders or brokers.
Timeline Feasibility: Can they genuinely close in the timeframe stated? Ask about their current workload, underwriter availability, and average processing times.
Down Payment Source: Where is the down payment coming from? Gift funds require specific documentation. Borrowed down payments create debt-to-income ratio issues.
FHA Loans: Government-Backed Complexity
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans serve an important purpose, but they introduce complications that agents must understand.
The Appraisal Challenge:
FHA loans require appraisals from an approved appraiser panel. Here’s the problem: the lender doesn’t always control who gets assigned.
When a lender orders an FHA appraisal, it goes into a system that assigns it to an available appraiser. The lender might tell you they can close in 21 days, but:
Questions to Ask About FHA Loans:
“How quickly can you get an appraiser scheduled?” “Do you have established relationships with appraisers in Santa Clarita?” “What’s your average timeline from appraisal order to completed report?” “Have you closed an FHA loan in this timeframe before in Santa Clarita?”
The Follow-Up Email for FHA:
“Per our conversation regarding the FHA financing for [property address]:
Please confirm this timeline remains feasible and notify me immediately if any issues arise during processing.”
VA Loans: Honoring Service While Managing Complications
VA loans provide valuable benefits to veterans, but they come with unique challenges that Santa Clarita agents must navigate carefully.
The Appraiser Assignment Issue:
Similar to FHA, VA appraisers are assigned from an approved panel. The lender often has even less control over VA appraiser assignment than with FHA loans.
Let’s say a lender promises to close a VA loan in 30 days. Here’s what can go wrong:
Scenario: The lender always works with Tom, an experienced VA appraiser who’s fast and reliable. They assume Tom will get the assignment. But:
Suddenly, your “30-day close” timeline is impossible, and your seller is frustrated.
VA Property Requirements:
VA appraisers evaluate properties against specific VA standards. Issues that wouldn’t affect conventional or FHA loans can kill VA transactions:
These requirements can delay closing or require repairs before the loan will be approved.
Questions to Ask About VA Loans:
“How do you handle VA appraiser assignments?” “Do you have relationships with VA appraisers in the Santa Clarita area?” “What’s your actual average timeline for VA loans, not best-case scenario?” “Have you reviewed the property condition against VA requirements?” “Are there any visible issues that might trigger VA repair requirements?”
The Art of the Lender Interview: Questions That Reveal the Truth
When you contact a lender to verify an offer’s viability, the conversation matters more than most agents realize. Here’s how to conduct an effective lender interview.
Opening the Conversation
Start professionally but directly:
“Hi [Lender Name], I’m [Your Name] with [Your Brokerage], representing the seller at [Property Address]. I’ve received an offer from your client [Buyer Name], and I need to verify some details before presenting it to my seller. Do you have a few minutes?”
This sets the tone that you’re a professional who does their due diligence. Good lenders respect this. Lenders who get defensive are a red flag.
Essential Questions for Every Loan Type
1. “Can you confirm the buyer is fully pre-approved, not just pre-qualified?”
Listen for specifics: credit pulled, income verified, assets documented, employment confirmed.
2. “What’s your current workload and processing timeline?”
A lender might theoretically be able to close in 21 days but have such a heavy workload that it’s impossible right now.
3. “Have you successfully closed a loan of this type in this timeline before?”
Generic “yes we can do that” answers aren’t good enough. You want: “Yes, I closed an FHA loan in 23 days last month in Canyon Country.”
4. “Are there any potential issues with this buyer’s qualification?”
Good lenders will be honest: “The buyer’s debt-to-income ratio is tight, so we need to be careful about additional debt before closing.”
5. “What could go wrong that would prevent this timeline?”
This question reveals whether the lender has actually thought through the process or is just being optimistic.
6. “Can you provide a pre-approval letter and proof of funds for the down payment?”
These should be readily available. Resistance is a red flag.
Red Flags in Lender Responses
Watch out for these warning signs:
Vague Answers: “Oh yeah, we do these all the time, no problem.” No specifics, no details, just confidence without substance.
Defensive Reactions: “Why are you questioning my ability to close?” Professional lenders understand due diligence.
Unwillingness to Provide Documentation: Everything should be documented. Resistance indicates problems.
Overpromising: “We can definitely close in 14 days” for a VA loan is probably unrealistic unless they explain exactly how.
Lack of Local Knowledge: Lenders unfamiliar with Santa Clarita may not understand local market conditions, property types, or appraiser availability.
The Email Documentation Strategy: Protecting Yourself and Your Seller
Every phone conversation with a lender must be followed up with an email. This isn’t optional—it’s essential professional practice.
Why Email Documentation Matters
1. Creates a Written Record: If the deal falls apart, you have proof that you did your due diligence and the lender confirmed feasibility.
2. Forces Clarity: People are more careful with written statements than verbal ones. A lender might say “yeah, probably” on the phone but won’t put that in writing.
3. Protects Your Reputation: When your seller asks “Did you verify this?” you can show them the email thread.
4. Provides Evidence if Disputes Arise: If the lender fails to perform, your documentation helps establish responsibility.
The Perfect Follow-Up Email Template
After your lender conversation, send this email within an hour:
Subject: Offer Verification - [Property Address] - [Buyer Name]
Hi [Lender Name],
Thank you for taking time to discuss the financing for the offer on [Property Address] today. I want to confirm my understanding of our conversation:
Buyer Qualification:
Timeline:
Potential Issues: [Note any concerns discussed: DTI tight, employment verification needed, etc.]
Next Steps:
Please confirm this understanding is accurate and let me know immediately if any circumstances change that would affect this timeline or the buyer’s qualification.
I appreciate your professionalism and look forward to working together on this transaction.
Best regards, [Your Name] [Your Contact Information]
This email accomplishes multiple goals: documents the conversation, forces the lender to confirm or correct details, and establishes your professionalism.
When Cash Becomes Financing: The Bait-and-Switch Red Flag
One of the most frustrating scenarios for Santa Clarita sellers happens when a “cash” offer transforms into a financed offer mid-transaction.
How the Bait-and-Switch Happens
Initial Offer: “We’re making a strong cash offer with a quick close!”
Mid-Transaction: “Actually, the buyer decided to get financing instead.”
Sometimes this is legitimate—buyers change their minds or their financial advisors recommend keeping cash liquid. But often it indicates the buyer never had the cash readily available or was using a “cash offer” tactic to get accepted.
Questions to Ask When Financing Replaces Cash
If a buyer switches from cash to financing, treat it as a new offer requiring full verification:
1. “Why did the financing strategy change?”
Legitimate answers: “Buyer’s accountant advised keeping cash invested” or “Interest rates are favorable so they decided to finance.”
Red flag answers: Vague explanations, inability to provide a clear reason, or conflicting stories.
2. “Is the buyer now fully pre-approved for financing?”
The buyer needs to go through complete loan approval if they weren’t pursuing financing originally.
3. “How does this affect the timeline?”
Cash to financing always extends the timeline. Appraisals, underwriting, and loan processing take time.
4. “Does the seller need to accept this change?”
Absolutely. If the contract specified cash, changing to financing is a material change requiring seller approval.
Protecting Your Seller from Financing Changes
Include specific language in your contracts and counteroffers:
“Financing type as specified in this agreement may not be changed without written consent of the seller. Any change in financing type allows seller to cancel the agreement or renegotiate terms.”
This prevents buyers from using “cash offer” tactics to get accepted, then switching to financing without consequence.
Loan Type Changes During Escrow: Red Flags and Response Strategies
Even when financing was always the plan, loan type changes during escrow can signal problems.
Common Loan Type Changes
Conventional to FHA: Often indicates the buyer doesn’t qualify for conventional terms or has insufficient down payment.
Conventional to VA: Buyer is exploring VA benefits, which is fine, but introduces new appraisal requirements and timelines.
One Lender to Another: Indicates possible qualification issues or lender problems.
Questions to Ask About Mid-Transaction Loan Changes
1. “Why is the loan type changing?”
Legitimate reasons exist, but you need to know them. “The buyer qualified for better terms” is reasonable. “The first lender had issues” is concerning.
2. “How does this affect property requirements?”
FHA and VA have different property standards than conventional loans. Will the property still appraise?
3. “What’s the new timeline?”
Loan type changes always affect closing dates. Get a realistic new timeline.
4. “Is this buyer still financially qualified?”
A loan type change might indicate qualification issues. Verify the buyer still meets requirements.
When to Advise Your Seller to Walk Away
Some mid-transaction changes are serious enough to recommend cancellation:
Your responsibility is protecting your seller’s interests. Sometimes that means advising them to move on to a more qualified buyer.
The Santa Clarita Valley Specific Considerations
Real estate in Santa Clarita has unique characteristics that affect lender verification and offer evaluation.
Property Types and Loan Challenges
Rural Properties (Acton, Agua Dulce): Some lenders won’t finance properties in rural areas. Some appraisers lack experience with rural valuations. Verify the lender and appraiser are comfortable with the property location.
HOA Properties (Valencia, Stevenson Ranch): FHA and VA loans require HOA certification. Is the HOA FHA/VA approved? Can they provide required documentation in time?
Older Properties (Canyon Country, Newhall): VA loans especially can have issues with older homes. Roof condition, HVAC age, and deferred maintenance can create appraisal problems.
High-Value Properties: Jumbo loans have different requirements and fewer lenders. Verify the lender regularly handles loans above conforming limits.
Local Lender Advantage
Santa Clarita has excellent local lenders who understand the market:
When vetting an offer with out-of-area lenders, pay extra attention. Distance doesn’t prevent quality service, but local knowledge helps prevent problems.
Building Your Due Diligence System: A Checklist Approach
Create a systematic approach to offer verification that you follow for every transaction.
The Santa Clarita Agent’s Offer Verification Checklist
☐ Step 1: Review Offer Documents
☐ Step 2: Identify Money Source
☐ Step 3: Contact Money Source
☐ Step 4: Send Follow-Up Email
☐ Step 5: Evaluate Property-Specific Issues
☐ Step 6: Present to Seller with Complete Information
☐ Step 7: Monitor Throughout Transaction
Creating Your Lender Question Templates
Develop templates for common loan types so you never forget critical questions:
Conventional Loan Template:
FHA Loan Template:
VA Loan Template:
Cash Offer Template:
The Embarrassment Factor: What Happens When You Skip Due Diligence
Let me be direct about why this matters beyond just protecting the transaction. When you fail to properly vet a lender or cash source, and the deal falls apart, you damage your professional reputation in ways that are hard to recover from.
The Cascade of Consequences
Your Seller Loses Trust:
They took their property off the market based on your presentation. They declined other offers. They made plans based on your assurances. When the funding fails, they question your competence.
Word Spreads:
Santa Clarita is a tight-knit real estate community. Sellers talk. Other agents hear about failed transactions. Your reputation for due diligence (or lack thereof) becomes known.
Your Confidence Erodes:
Every offer starts feeling uncertain. You question your judgment. You become hesitant in negotiations because you’re not sure if the buyer can actually perform.
You Become “That Agent”:
The agent other professionals reluctantly work with. The agent buyers’ agents know they can slip weak offers past. The agent sellers hire when they don’t know better.
The Simple Solution
Do the work. Make the calls. Send the emails. Ask the questions. Verify the answers.
It takes 20-30 minutes per offer. That’s a small investment to protect your reputation and your seller’s interests.
Real-World Scenarios: Learning from Others’ Mistakes
Let me share some situations I’ve witnessed over 25+ years in Santa Clarita real estate (details changed to protect privacy).
Scenario 1: The Hedge Fund That Wasn’t Liquid
The Situation: Agent received a cash offer on a Valencia property. Buyer provided proof of funds showing $2 million in a hedge fund account. Agent presented to seller as a “strong cash buyer.”
The Problem: The hedge fund had quarterly withdrawal windows. The buyer’s funds weren’t accessible for 10 weeks—well beyond the 30-day proposed close.
The Outcome: Transaction fell apart three weeks into escrow. Seller had already declined two other offers. Property went back on market with stigma of falling out of escrow.
The Lesson: Verify not just that funds exist, but that they’re actually accessible within the proposed timeline.
Scenario 2: The FHA Appraisal Disaster
The Situation: Agent presented an FHA offer on a Canyon Country property with a 21-day close timeline. Lender confirmed “no problem with that timeline.”
The Problem: FHA appraiser wasn’t assigned for 12 days due to availability. Appraiser identified repair requirements. Seller unwilling to make repairs. Deal died.
The Outcome: 35 days wasted. Seller frustrated. Agent looked unprofessional for promising a feasible timeline.
The Lesson: FHA loans need extra time buffer for appraisal scheduling and potential repair requirements. 21 days is unrealistic.
Scenario 3: The Disappearing Down Payment
The Situation: Agent presented a conventional loan offer with 10% down payment. Lender pre-approval letter confirmed down payment availability.
The Problem: Buyer’s down payment was coming from a bonus payment expected from their employer. Employer delayed bonus. Buyer couldn’t close.
The Outcome: Transaction canceled. Seller lost a month on market during prime selling season.
The Lesson: Down payment source matters as much as down payment amount. Verify funds are currently available, not “expected.”
Advanced Strategies: Going Beyond Basic Verification
Once you’ve mastered basic lender verification, elevate your due diligence with advanced strategies.
Strategy 1: The Lender Scorecard
Create a personal database of lenders you’ve worked with:
When you see an offer from a lender in your database, you immediately know their track record. This helps you assess offer strength and advise your seller accordingly.
Strategy 2: The Pre-Offer Lender Consultation
For properties you’re about to list, contact local lenders before you go on market:
“I’m listing a property at [address]. Here are the details. Do you foresee any lending challenges with this property? What loan types are most suitable?”
This intelligence helps you identify potential issues before offers arrive and educates you about what constitutes a strong buyer for this specific property.
Strategy 3: The Backup Lender Network
Build relationships with 3-5 trusted local lenders. When you receive an offer from an unknown or questionable lender, run the scenario past your backup network:
“I have a buyer claiming they can close an FHA loan in 18 days on a property in Valencia. Is this realistic?”
Your trusted lenders will give you honest assessments.
Strategy 4: The Buyer Financial Interview
For properties where you expect multiple offers, consider requiring buyer financial interviews before offer submission:
Potential buyers and their lenders meet with you (and your seller, if they wish) to discuss:
This pre-qualifies buyers before offers are submitted, ensuring you’re only evaluating serious, qualified purchasers.
Technology Tools for Modern Due Diligence
Leverage technology to streamline and strengthen your verification process.
Document Management Systems
Use cloud-based systems to organize:
Having everything organized and accessible protects you and provides clear records for your seller.
Transaction Management Software
Platforms like dotloop, Skyslope, or TransactionDesk help you:
Communication Tools
Training Your Team and Setting Office Standards
If you work with a team or within a brokerage, establish office-wide standards for lender verification.
Creating Office Protocols
Mandatory Verification Policy: “All offers must be verified with the lender/funding source before presentation to sellers. No exceptions.”
Documentation Requirements: “All lender conversations must be followed up with email confirmation within 2 hours.”
Review Process: “Broker or team leader reviews verification documentation before seller presentation.”
Training Schedule: “New agents receive lender verification training within first week. Annual refresher training for all agents.”
Mentoring New Agents
If you’re experienced, take time to teach newer agents:
The real estate industry improves when experienced agents pass knowledge to the next generation.
The Listing Agent’s Advantage: Using Verification as a Competitive Edge
Your thoroughness in vetting offers becomes a powerful marketing tool.
Marketing Your Due Diligence Process
In Listing Presentations:
“Before I present any offer to you, I personally contact every lender to verify qualification, timeline feasibility, and identify potential issues. I document every conversation in writing. This protects you from wasting time on offers that can’t close.”
In Property Marketing:
“Listing Agent Pre-Qualifies All Offers - Sellers receive only verified, serious offers from qualified buyers.”
In Agent-to-Agent Communication:
“Please note: listing agent will verify all financing with lender before presenting to seller. Please ensure your buyer is fully qualified and lender is responsive.”
Building Referral Business Through Professionalism
Sellers who experience your thorough process become raving fans:
This level of service differentiates you in a crowded market.
When Good Lenders Go Bad: Recognizing and Responding to Problems
Even previously reliable lenders can experience problems. Stay vigilant throughout the transaction.
Warning Signs During Escrow
Communication Breakdown: Lender becomes hard to reach, doesn’t return calls, misses deadlines for documentation.
Repeated Timeline Extensions: “Just need another three days” becomes a pattern.
Changing Requirements: “Now we need this additional documentation” that wasn’t mentioned initially.
Vague Explanations: Can’t clearly explain status or what’s causing delays.
Buyer Defensiveness: Buyer becomes evasive about questions or defensive about timeline concerns.
Response Strategies
Document Everything: Every missed deadline, every unfulfilled promise, every vague explanation.
Notify Your Seller Immediately: Don’t hide problems hoping they’ll resolve. Keep your seller informed in real-time.
Set Hard Deadlines: “If [requirement] isn’t met by [date], we’re canceling and moving to backup offer.”
Consider the Backup Offer: If you have a backup offer, make sure it stays warm. Let them know about delays with primary offer.
Know When to Walk: Sometimes protecting your seller means advising them to cancel and start fresh with a better buyer.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Your due diligence responsibilities carry legal and ethical implications.
Fiduciary Duty
As a listing agent, you have a fiduciary duty to your seller client. This includes:
Duty of Care: Exercising reasonable skill and care, including proper offer verification.
Duty of Loyalty: Acting in your seller’s best interests, not taking the easy path.
Duty of Disclosure: Telling your seller everything you discover about an offer, including concerns about financing.
Duty of Obedience: Following your seller’s instructions while providing professional guidance.
Duty of Accounting: Properly handling and documenting all aspects of the transaction.
Avoiding Negligence Claims
Failing to verify lender capability could expose you to negligence claims:
“The agent should have known the financing would fall through. A simple call to the lender would have revealed the problems.”
Protect yourself through:
Fair Housing Compliance
While verifying lenders, never discriminate based on protected classes:
Frequently Asked Questions About Lender Verification
Q: How long should lender verification take? A: Typically 20-30 minutes for the call, plus time for the email follow-up. Don’t rush it—this is critical due diligence.
Q: What if the lender won’t talk to me? A: Red flag. Professional lenders understand listing agents verify offers. If a lender refuses to provide information, the buyer’s agent needs to intervene. If that doesn’t work, consider the offer suspect.
Q: Should I verify every offer, even on properties with multiple offers? A: Yes. You need to know which offers are actually solid. This helps you and your seller evaluate them properly.
Q: What if I’ve worked with the lender before and trust them? A: Still verify. Lenders’ circumstances change. Workload varies. This specific buyer might have issues. Never skip verification based on past experience alone.
Q: Can I ask the buyer’s agent to verify instead? A: Buyer’s agents represent the buyer’s interests, not your seller’s. You need independent verification.
Q: What if the lender says everything verbally but won’t confirm in email? A: Major red flag. If they’re not willing to put it in writing, they’re not confident about what they’re telling you.
Q: How do I verify cash from international sources? A: This gets complex. You may need:
Q: What if my seller wants to accept an offer I couldn’t fully verify? A: Disclose your concerns in writing. If your seller wants to proceed anyway, document that you advised against it and they chose to accept the risk.
Q: Do I verify backup offers too? A: Yes, especially if they’re likely to move into primary position.
Q: What’s the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval? A: Pre-qualification is an informal estimate based on information the buyer provides. Pre-approval involves actual verification—credit pull, income documentation, asset verification. Pre-approval matters; pre-qualification doesn’t.
The Bottom Line: Protection Through Preparation
Real estate transactions in Santa Clarita—or anywhere—succeed when professionals do the unsexy, fundamental work that protects their clients.
Calling the lender before presenting an offer isn’t glamorous. Following up with emails isn’t exciting. Asking tough questions doesn’t make you popular with buyer’s agents who want easy acceptances.
But these fundamentals separate professional agents from order-takers. They protect your sellers from wasted time and disappointment. They build your reputation as a thorough professional. And they prevent the embarrassment and loss of trust that comes from presenting offers that can’t close.
After 25+ years in Santa Clarita real estate and 20+ years with LAPD, I’ve learned that shortcuts always cost more than they save. The few minutes spent verifying an offer properly are nothing compared to the weeks lost on a failed transaction or the years spent rebuilding a damaged reputation.
Do the work. Ask the questions. Get it in writing. Your sellers—and your future self—will thank you.
Taking Action: Your Next Steps
If you’re a Santa Clarita real estate agent reading this:
Today:
This Week:
This Month:
Ongoing:
If you’re a seller working with an agent, ask them:
“What’s your process for verifying offers before you present them to me?”
Their answer will tell you a lot about their professionalism and commitment to protecting your interests.
About Connor MacIvor and Santa Clarita Open Houses
I’m Connor MacIvor, and I’ve been serving the Santa Clarita Valley real estate community since 1998. After 20+ years with LAPD and decades in real estate, I’ve learned that fundamentals and due diligence beat flashy marketing every time.
Today, I operate as a referral agent through Santa Clarita Open Houses. Instead of directly representing buyers and sellers, I use my experience to match clients with the right agents for their specific needs—agents who do their due diligence, protect their clients, and close transactions professionally.
If you’re looking to buy or sell in Santa Clarita, I’d be happy to introduce you to agents in my network who practice the principles outlined in this guide. Book a consultation at SantaClaritaOpenHouses.com, and let’s talk about your real estate goals.
For real estate agents looking to improve their practice, I also offer consulting and training on professional best practices, due diligence procedures, and building a reputation-based referral business.
Thanks for reading. Be well. See you at the next one.
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