A preapproval letter or proof of funds tells a seller you are a qualified buyer
When you write an offer for a home, a seller is going to want to be sure that you can obtain financing and be able to purchase the home. After all, when a buyer and seller agree to terms and the contract is ratified, the status of the home in the Charleston MLS will change from active to contingent and effectively, the seller is taking their house off the market.
And even though a preapproval letter does not 100 percent guarantee that you will be able to obtain a mortgage and since there is always a financing contingency in all Charleston real estate contracts, it's at least reassuring to the seller to know that more than likely you are a qualified buyer.
And of course, a cash buyer is very reassuring to a seller.
But here's a funny little story. My client will be buying a home for cash and the final walk through to make sure everything is fine is Tuesday afternoon and closing is scheduled for Wednesday morning. We wrote the contract approximately two weeks ago and they never asked for proof of funds at the time. I guess they felt that my client appeared to have enough money in order to close.
But on Saturday, I got a call from the listing agent for the seller asking for my client to provide proof of funds and of course we'll get them a copy of a bank statement a little later today but with two days until closing, it seems a little late to be asking.
Maybe we should just walk in with a suitcase full of money 