The lender on the pre-qualification or preapproval letter that is frequently submitted along with an offer is not a part of the contract, and the buyer is not required to use that lender for financing. The pre-qualification or pre-approval letter is not legally required. The letter may be useful to a seller in determining whether a prospective buyer will be able to complete the purchase and go to settlement, but the lender does not become a part of the contract.

The Financing Application and Alternative Financing paragraphs of the NVAR Residential Sales Contract specifically state that the buyer may substitute a lender without losing the benefit of the financing contingency so long as no other term of the Specified Financing is changed. The terms of the Specified Financing include the amount of the loan, the type of loan (conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, etc.), the number of years for repayment of the loan, and the maximum interest rate. The Specified Financing does not include a specific lender.