Suggested Policies

Sometimes Change is Hard

LenderLetter, LLC is on a mission to educate lenders and Realtors of the dangers of using editable pre-approval letters given out by lenders. These editable (un-protected) documents may come in different formats like Microsoft Word® documents, or any other editable electronic format.

LenderLetter, LLC is seeking the guidance and support from states and national Realtor associations and national lender organizations by obtaining opinion letters and other legal opinions to bring awareness to this dangerous practice.
LenderLetter, LLC encourages all lending institutions and real estate brokerages to include company policies precluding their loan officers from offering and Realtors from accepting any form of an editable pre-approval/pre-qualification letter where the lender is not in complete control of each letter.

Lender Organization:


Sample Lender Pre-Approval/Pre-Qualification Letter Policy
Real estate professionals prefer to include a lender pre-approval/pre-qualification letter with all Residential Purchase Agreements. These letters help to strengthen their offers by showing that the buyers are financially able to purchase a home at the offer price. An often-used practice by lenders has been to provide Realtors with an editable electronic version of the letters allowing the Realtor to modify information within the letter to reflect an offer. This, however, is a dangerous practice as these pre-approval/pre-qualification letters contain company logos, lender signatures, and license numbers, and are represented as genuine letters presumably from the loan officer and the lending organization. Any changes to this letter by a Realtor, without the lender’s specific knowledge and approval, would result in a misrepresentation at best and may be tantamount to fraud. This puts the real estate Realtor, their broker, and the lender, all at risk of civil suits and/or government actions. Therefore, this practice must not be implemented.  It is the policy of this organization to NOT provide any form of an editable pre-approval/pre-qualification letter to any real estate professional or buyer client for use in presenting and supporting an offer.
– Sample Policy Not Covered by Copyright – You are free to use. –

 

Real Estate Brokerage:


Sample Realtor Pre-Approval/Pre-Qualification Letter Policy
It has become a common practice where Realtors include a lender pre-approval/prequalification letter along with a Residential Purchase Agreement. Many lenders, to minimize their involvement in making changes to these letters, have resorted to distributing electronic editable documents allowing the Realtor to edit their letters. This is a dangerous practice as these letters contain the lender’s company logos, signatures, and license numbers, and are represented as genuine letters presumably from the loan officer and the lending organization.  Therefore, any change to these letters by a Realtor, without the lender’s specific knowledge and approval, would result in a misrepresentation at best and may be tantamount to fraud. This puts the Realtor, their broker, and the lender, all at risk of civil suits and/or government actions. Therefore, it is the policy of this brokerage to NOT allow the use of any form of electronic editable pre-approval or pre-qualification letter. All agents and broker associates must comply. If a lender presents an editable pre-approval/pre-qualification letter for use in supporting an offer, kindly refuse and point out that it is our policy to not use these editable documents.
– Sample Policy Not Covered by Copyright – You are free to use. –