In my last article, “How to have the commission conversation with buyers: Step 2,” I walked through how to tackle the toughest conversation in real estate with confidence and clarity. (Hint: It’s about your paycheck.) If you missed it, go back and read that one first.
Now let’s talk about Step 3: the buyer home financing process. If intake is the first day of class and compensation sets the ground rules, then financing is the homework. Skip it, and your buyers aren’t ready for what comes next.
Why financing comes first
Too many agents make the mistake of showing homes before their buyers have pre-approval. It feels productive, but it’s actually the fastest way to waste everyone’s time.
Buyers can’t make smart decisions without knowing their numbers, and you risk them falling in love with a home they simply can’t afford. In my business, pre-approval before Education Day (Step 4) is non-negotiable. No homework, no field trip.
Common pitfalls
Financing is the foundation of any purchase, and how your buyers approach it can either set them up for success or land them in serious trouble.
As agents, our job isn’t to play lender, but to guide buyers around the mistakes that can derail their purchase. Here are three of the biggest:
The big bank blues
Sometimes a buyer proudly announces they’re already pre-approved by a national bank. Cue the sigh. Big banks may offer slick apps, but they’re rarely available on evenings or weekends when you need them most. That’s why I always require a second pre-approval with a trusted local lender. My go-to line?
“Call your lender at the big national bank on a Saturday at 6 p.m., and see if they answer. We need someone who’s there when it counts.”
Over-approval
Just because a buyer is approved for $900,000 doesn’t mean they should spend $900,000. Encourage them to review monthly payments with their lender and set a realistic cap budget now before they fall in love with a home that isn’t truly within reach. This one step can save heartache (and buyer’s remorse) down the line.
Waiving financing
In a competitive market, buyers may feel pressure to waive financing. Your role is to make sure they fully understand the risks before signing on the dotted line. Set up a conversation with the lender so your buyers can ask the right questions and understand exactly what it means to waive a financing contingency.
How Step 3 connects to the rest
Obtaining loan approval before Education Day sets your buyers up for success. Without it, your carefully planned tour becomes a guessing game. Financing also influences how strong their offers are and how comfortable they feel during escrow.
Sometimes buyers procrastinate and don’t have loan approval ready by Education Day. How do we handle this? Simple: Reschedule Education Day for after they have the approval. If they can’t commit to this step, they’re not ready to commit to homebuying.
Equal standards, fair service
Requiring every buyer to complete loan approval isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about fairness. By holding all clients to the same standard, you eliminate the risk of making assumptions based on race, income, background or perceived financial status.
Real estate has a long-standing PR problem when it comes to fair housing, and one way we can actively push back against that is by providing the same process, the same expectations and the same level of service to everyone we encounter. When financing is required for all, no one gets special treatment, and no one is left behind
The big takeaway
Financing is the homework that makes everything else possible. Buyers who skip it aren’t prepared, and neither are you. Make the buyer home financing process non-negotiable, and you’ll protect your time, your paycheck and your clients’ peace of mind.
Coming up next
Later this week, we’ll cover Step 4: Education Day, the field trip where buyers teach you what really matters to them. Missed Step 2? Catch up here.
Inman’s most popular theme month is back, Back to Basics. All September, real estate professionals from across the country share what’s working for them right now, how they’ve evolved their systems and tools, and where they’re investing personally and professionally to drive growth in 2025 and beyond.
Cassie Walker Johnson is a real estate agent at Windermere Real Estate in Seattle, WA. Connect with on Instagram and at CWJMarketing.
