I hate this game!!

So we made an offer and even before the sellers make a counteroffer they want some very personal information. For example they want to see our bank statements, credit score, where we work, etc. We have already provided a pre-approval letter. Isn't it up to our bank to determine based on their criteria if we're financially secure? I'm just so annoyed that these sellers want this kind of information and I'm just not comfortable providing it to a bunch of strangers. Am I overreacting or is this normal during negotiations now?

Re: I hate this game!!

That is none of their business imo. Do you have a pre-approval or a qualification?

Re: I hate this game!!

it sounds like they have been burned before

not every banker does a pre-approval letter the way it should be done-

I can see both sides of it- since I represent buyers and sellers

this week I got an offer on a $400K house- the buyer is doing a VA loan- no money down with an out of state bank

so the seller is being asked to take the property off the market with about $3K in escrow....HUGE RISK

our soluation was to have him speak to our lender so we are moe confident that that mortgage will be approved

Re: I hate this game!!

We made an offer on a house where they asked for the same information. We retracted our offer. The house wasn't worth the extra aggravation. I think they want that information so they can see how much you can really afford so they can counter with that amount, if that makes sense.

Like the house is 325k, you offered 275k, you're preapproved for 310k so their counter will be closer to what you're preapproved for because they know you can afford it.

Or maybe they were in contract with another buyer who couldn't secure the mortgage so they want to avoid getting into a contract unless they know you won't have a problem getting the mortgage, even though you are preapproved.

Re: I hate this game!!

Thanks everyone for your responses.

We have a pre-approval letter. With each offer we've made on a house we have our bank provide a letter with the offer price instead of what we were originally approved for so the sellers can't use it to their advantage knowing that we can afford more. I'm so frustrated and aggravated that we've had these requests for additional information, but this one has asked for the most personal and it just doesn't sit well with me. I'll just provide what I'm comfortable with and see what happens.