WHA . . . no, of course not. Preapproved for an executive estate, a McMansion, a tract home or a teardown in the hood?  
Yeah, I would have done the same. Address or not, there needs to be a PQ loan amount that is at least equal to the offer price. 
These guys are dreaming of a low appraisal and a renegotiation . . . LOLLL

I always want to know that the buyer is pre-approved for at least the amount they are offering.

The letter would be sufficient here and, in fact, that is the way to go (as a buyer) to not play your hand during negotiations...

If you share the Offer price on the pre-approval, is the seller to believe that's the most you are approved for?

Conversely, if you share a pre-approval with any number above your Offer price, it's a glaring representation to the seller that you CAN go higher.

So, the lender has obviously looked at the property and seen the list price - saying that they are pre-approved to purchase the home at 123 Main ST doesn't glaringly give away the top dollar the buyer can go to.

Nope. Have to wonder what that LO was thinking. If we handed him 'back' that piece of paper & said 'tell me how much this buyer qualifies for?' 

His answer would be 'I can't'.

No, no, no! It is more of a joke!

Preapproval needs the following information: sales price and loan amount they have been approved for, middle FICO score, the interest rate used to qualify, names of borrowers and number of days to close. Loan Officer should work with Buyer's agent to fine-tune BEFORE they write the offer.  

As a Buyer's agent I would expect this to be kicked back immediately. As a Seller's agent the same holds true. Real estate is not a guessing game!

This is one of those fence sitting moments. I like to handle it with a figure when we are on the listing side and I like to keep it vague when representing my buyers. I know some may try to slaughter me on this one, but I'm doing my best to represent my clients the best.

It wouldn't be enough for me if the seller is my client I would want to see a qualified purchase "Price" on the preapproval letter.

I prefer to blacken out the amount when I provide the inital offer but also include pre-approval letter with contract amount to be provided within 24 hours of acceptance.  I know that I have a qualified pre-approved buyer for the amount I prepare on the offer.  I explain to buyers that they can get a new letter for the offer amount, blacken out and provided later or give the letter in hand that is for more than purchase offer. In a market where move in proeprties move quickly the best that can be done sometimes is at least get the offer submitted asap and follow up with exact amount letter later.

It is common here they do not put an amount but a property address so they dont show what the buyer can afford trying to head off higher counter offers. For me it depends if i know the bank or mortgage company which quickly tells me if it is good or bad

If my clients had a pre-approval letter from their financial institution indicating the amount of their approval, I would hesitate to disclose that to the Seller.  I do tell them what their down payment amount is, and they were pre-approved. If the letter shows they are approved for a much higher amount than the listing price... I think it would put the sellers at a distinct advantage and the Sellers would expect full asking price and perhaps no room for negotiation?  

Richard L. McKinney P.A. I agree! I want to see the amount in writing.

The only acceptable language to be spoken in Real Estate is literally 100% everything else is sales talk...APPROVED vs pre-approved? Choose one

DID you just substitute 'qualification' for 'approval?"

In this case I would submit a release form allowing the listing agent to contact the lender to verify the status of the loan application.

The listing agent has an obligation to protect the home owner. Buyers with bogus paper damage the seller.

In your example if the buyer were beefing up the deal with 50 to 80% cash that would be encouraging. At 95% financing I see red flags.

Should be amount.

No way!

Interesting question and great answers.

Thank you.

I typically do not submit a PQ letter with no amount...  

HOWEVER...if I did...what makes you think it is up to you to nix it?

Unless it is cash, there is no guarantee about anything...a PQ letter means absolutely nothing...because there are so many more hoops to jump through...and the buyer has all kinds of "OUTS".

On rare occasions, I have had buyers that refuses to submit a financing letter or POF to the seller...I even had bank letters that say the buyer is approved to purchase property at B street, with no price mentioned. 

Common sense would dictate that this would mean the advertised price.  The smart LA"S did not kill the deal over it.

Where in the contract does it say the a buyer MUST provide it?  It is a habit, or custom, but not the law...

Eve

How can it be a pre-approval without a price?  That's absurd.

They could put the price at their offer price and not the listing price, but to not have one at all?  Are they preapproved to buy 123 Main St at list price?  At a substantial discount? At a price 10% higher in case of a bidding war?

A lender issuing preapprovals with no price is doing their cients a disservice.  

lol!  I would bounce it back as well!  I had an agent place "final" offer in with no backup of buyers being qualified.  When I pointed that out, she said she represented them on several homes and previously told me that.  I said her comment didn't mean that they were qualified and she was asked to present a final and complete offer; which she didn't and lost on bid.  She was furious.  I would think more so at the person in her mirror, but no, she began spewing such unprofessional banter and insinuating there was discrimination.  I hate when people can't admit they made a mistake and want to blame it on someone else.  Be professional and prepare offers correctly. 

I've seen it quite often.  Basically the buyer doesn't want to disclose how much they qualify for.  The psychology behind it is because they don't want seller to start thinking that buyer qualifies for a lot more and therefore, should pay more than offer price.  Everyone has a different opinion on this.  

Our Arizona Association Of Realtors (AAR) contract requires the use of the AAR pre-qual form. This form does not specify purchase price, but instead specifies the amount of loan, type of loan and payment the buyer is qualified to receive. It also lets the seller know how much work has been done by the lender ie: income verified, accounts verified, tax returns checked, etc. The lender can add the purchase price in the notes section.

It kind of avoids the problem of max qualified price that just happens to be the exact amount of the offer. Especially when they are offering less than full price.

Absolutely NOT..... 

that's no better than a full price offer with the contingency of selling a home.....it's an empty bag!

As a Mortgage Banker, a borrower(s) must be approved for a certain amount, end of story. What drives me crazy, is when I issue you an approval for a maximum mortgage amount and you guys call and want me to lower it,so you can negotiate a sales price. What is even worse is you show them homes they can't afford, without considering their down money, debt ratios,etc. Many mortgage people are pushing the debt ratios as high as they can, then you want them to get a higher mortgage. It just does not work that way.

No. Show me the MONEY!!!!

I do not care if the address is on the letter ... buyer vetting is essential.  

Nope, not good enough in my book for my sellers. It's rare, though.

 No, absolutely not.

I can see both sides of this one

Nope.

I have always done it that way. To show that a buyer is approved for more is biased in favor f the seller.

I don't think so.

I would demand a pre-approval letter for the amount.   If the price is negotiated higher, how would you know they are still approved?

I agree with you  No!

no.  just no.

There is no need to put the amount on there. If they are qualified for $200,000 but offering $160,000 it puts them in a weaker position to negotiate. All the Seller needs to know is that the bank is willing to lend them the amount necessary to purchase the home. As the Seller's Agent, that's all you need to know, too!

There was a trend years ago for the lender to issue a letter stating the buyer was pre-approved for the amount necessary to purchase the property at a particular street address, but I haven't seen that used in quite a while.

The buyer's agent should do what you asked and provide numbers.  Resisting will not help her client buy your listing.

What are you doing countering back verbally?  You know you can't do that.  

I do pre-approvals at the list price or offer price (whichever is greater).  I love seeing ones that state they can go WAY above the offer price (as the listing agent).  Lets me know I can come back higher.

No, it is not.

In a word...NO!

It doesn't work for me. Thank goodness I know most of the lenders and can pick up the phone and ask.

I never had a letter without a price indication. Why even the agent argues about? Just call the lender and get a new proper approval in minutes. 

Putting a dollar amount on the letter can put the buyer at a disadvantage

Without an amount it can hardly be considered an approval

I would require that the amount of pre-approval must be stated (in writing) on the pre-approval letter.  Otherwise it's a NO.

A serious buyer will want the strongest pre-approval letter possible submitted with their offer.

no

No, kinda of defeats the purpose.

It needs to be local. If not properly document or some obscure internet based company I do not present to sellers-incomplete documentation.

I had buyers bringing me 5 preapprove letters. BoA, Citi, WellsFargo, Capito1, and East and West.