WHY BANKS SHOULD PRE- APPROVE BUYERS

An open letter to banks:

If you want to grow your loan book, I think there's a gap worth solving.

In many resale transactions, buyers only start their loan application after finding a property. It can take weeks before they know how much the bank will lend them and before the deal reaches the Letter of Guarantee stage.

That creates a problem.

The seller wants earnest money to take the property off the market. But the buyer still doesn't know with enough certainty whether the bank will approve the loan amount they need.

If the buyer pays earnest money and the loan falls short, the deal may collapse and the buyer could lose money depending on the agreed terms.

If the buyer refuses to pay until financing is clearer, the seller may simply accept another offer. I've seen this happen multiple times.

Some banks, such as BDO, already offer pre-qualification tools. But what I’m proposing goes a step further: a conditional credit approval based on the buyer’s financial capacity, even before a specific property has been selected.

Let the buyer submit income documents. Then tell them:

"Based on your financial profile, you may qualify for a loan of up to P___, subject to the property's appraisal, title verification and final approval."

Make it valid for 60 or 90 days.

For frequently traded developments like certain condos and villages (e.g., Nuvali) banks could also keep updated benchmark values to fast-track appraisals. Due diligence would still apply, but much of the uncertainty could be removed earlier.

This would give serious buyers more confidence to pay earnest money and sellers more confidence to accept offers from loan-backed buyers.

Charge a reasonable fee if needed. Buyers already pay for appraisal and processing anyway.

Interestingly, when a buyer with an approved loan loses the property and finds another in the same development, they're usually far more confident making an offer. They already know what the bank will lend them.

The idea likely needs tweaking from a credit and compliance standpoint, but the problem is real. Loan-backed buyers need certainty earlier, not weeks after they've found the propert