I dont require it but I do prefer that buyers are qualified through a local lender and not some online only lender.  That being said, I see alot of them in one county in particular and I usually cross those properties off the list for my buyers to see because in my opinion it is a form of "steering".  I am happy for the listing agent to call my buyers lender and have a discussion with them though.

We've seen that with REOs for a long while now . . . and have also seen buyers pass over properties when they have a perfectly good lender already in place.

We do require Pre Approval or proof of funds before accepting any offers.

Typically it is not a requirement for me.   I have noticed this occurring in the agent only remarks of the mls for some listings though.  

Some agents say "Seller want all financing offers reviewed by lender XYZ."  If I don't know the lender, I'll run it through one of mine.  If it's from a "too big to fail" bank, I don't bother.

Not something I am familiar with!

Jeff Dowler CRS if the offer is from an agent who I have worked in past or well-known, it is not necessary to cross-qualify. The letter speaks for itself.

Oh heck no. After a quick interview with any buyer I will send them off to my lender and she can do what she wants with them. Although a lot of my buyers come to me pre qualified. 

I have not seen it with private sellers.  It's been common with REOs for years in my market and I have never had a buyer freak out over it.

Not a regular sale.

Counter one if the listing agent refuses my pre offer verbal suggestion 

Jeff,
Some of the REO situations call for it but we are a small enough market that as long as they are using a local lender that is usually good enough.

A couple of REOs but not a regular sale.

Buyers tend to see a red flag when they hear about the requirement that they must be prequalified with the listing agent's/seller's preferred lender! I wouldn't require it for that reason and the fact that our contract state that it is the buyer's choice which lender to work with.

However, I have asked buyers to also contact a local lender (and given a list of 3) if they came with a preapproval from an out-of-State/internet lender who was not very responsive.

It depends on a case by case. If it comes from a lender that I know I have had issues with prior, then a cross qualify is a must for me.

 Cross what?

I deal with offers on a one by one case.  It doesn't seem fair to delay an offer while putting the buyer through hoops.  Their offer can be countered if the lending information is insufficient or the lender unknown.

 Cross-qualifications?? Never ran across that here, but if I did, I would not want to be a part of that. It signals to me that the seller and listing agent are hard people to deal with.

I only see it with bank owned. Wells fargo for example will require potential buyers to get pre-approved by WF, but buyer can still use a different lender. In some cases, it can't hurt to be pre-approved by 2 different lenders.

Only if there is a red flag, or doubt. I look to the agent and their credibility as a factor. I want to believe that a good buyers agent took care of all this

We require pre-approval, not just pre-qualification.

Yes. Absolutely. The importance is discussed with the sellers and it is added to my listing agent ... never acting unilaterally with this.

I haven't had a problem as of yet

Cross qualified? All buyers here are prequalified & then the listing agent should check those quals.