Helping my sellers understand how the various "exit ramps" for the buyers work in each offer is critical.  Recently, had sellers who wanted an extremely high price.  Taking an appraisal contingency was not ideal, but after talking with the lender and finding out the buyers had a lot of cash, enough in fact to buy the house out right, made that contingency not as intimidating.  Armed with that information, the sellers accepted and we moved on.  Appraisal came in low (expected) and sellers put 80% of the difference between appraised value and the sales price on the buyers.  The buyers accepted.  

I look to see how quickly they made an offer, what their agent may have told me about their desire/need to purchase, how much due diligence money they offer. Quality of their pre-approval is also key. I haven't had but one buyer pull out from a contract on a listing in the last three or so years. And we never did find out why... house had appraised, loan approved, inspections and repairs done... and they walked away from a lot of due diligence money.

Proof of funds, underwriting approval (yes, my lender will do that even before an offer is accepted) 3% deposit, shortened contingency period. 

Anything can happen at any time, and we know it happens in real estate. All we can do is the best we can do for our clients.  

nothing is 100%.... but tightening dates for inspections and purchase and sales agreements help.... a pre approval and permission to speak with the loan officer.... standard contingencies.... insprections and financing.... 

I don't accept offers, I make recommendations to the client.  To make my recommendation I look at sales price, financing, pre approved letters or proof of funds, closing dates, and any contingencies.

Proof of Funds, a Pre-Approval Letter, not Pre-Qualification Letter and 2-3% Earnest money deposit with a tight inspection and closing period

Each are pretty well protected by our contract. We have just reworded the contract about the home inspection issues so petty things stop getting out of hand. If they want to cancel, nothing much to do but put it back on the market. It's a part of doing business.

In the end it is the Sellers decision, but I go over all ins & outs of each offer to let the Seller make an informed decision.

I don't accept offers unless I am the seller but as an agent we point out the advantages/ disadvantages while reinforcing "anything can happen".  

Without going into the details, we have a vetting check list we process every offer/buyer/selling agent & lender through.

-A short contingency period

-well qualified (verified by a phone call from me to the buyer's lender) in this phone call I make sure the income, debt, and employement has all been verified by the lender

I review the offer fully and explain it to my seller. I make a recommendation. The seller often follows my recommendation. We collectively hold out breaths until close of escrow.

It may happened that what looks like a good deal with a solid buyer fails. Sometimes, unforeseen stuff happens. Once, the buyers lost his job before close and the bank canceled his loan approval. We had to put that house back on the market.

A financially sound buyer with a pre-approval letter from a respected local mortgage loan officer.

The cleanest, strongest offer of course.  The only thing I have to add that others have not already mentioned is that there are a couple of on line national lenders who's pre-approvals frequently turn into disapprovals so I look at "who" the lender is on financed transactions. If it's one of these on line lenders and that is the only issue, I recommend to my seller that we tell the buyer's agent that we will work with their offer if they agree to find a new lender, preferrably a local one.

I tell Sellers that the key to keeping a sale together is disclosure. Honestly disclose everything right off the bat and then if an offer is made there should be no surprises to scare them off Richie Alan Naggar .

After reading others answers I may have misunderstood. When another agent brought an offer to me my only concern was what the Buyers lender could tell me. Nothing the other agent would tell me held any wait with me.

Richie,

You have a great answer from Chris Ann Cleland .  One cannot improve on perfection. A

As a listing agent, it is not my role to accept an offer. My job is to present it to the sellers, explain the perils and pitfalls (if any) and let them decide whether to accept, decline or  counter.

In addition to the standard items such as POF, pre-approval, EMD, etc., the buyer's agent is also a consideration. If it is a seasoned agent with a proven track record, that is a plus. If it is a new agent who is not experienced, it shows and that may be a detriment, although neither is guaranteed.

I had an investor who made a good offer on a listing, cash w/POF, reasonable contingencies, etc. that should have been accepted. The LA was seasoned but for various reasons, the offer was not accepted. The LA's broker later called me to discuss the behavior and try to salvage the deal but the damage was done. The buyer pulled the offer and moved on.

It's not always the buyer who causes a deal to fall apart. There are many other occasions where I've had ready, willing and able buyers who did not close due to issues created by the LA.

A lot of factors to consider when determining how likely the buyer is to make it to the closing table.

First, I have a good conversation with their agent - you can learn alot by just being kind and having a conversation.

Secondly, I review their pre-approval and speak with their lender. Oftentimes their lender will share a detail or two that either solidifies the pre-approval in my mind or throws up a red flag.

Third, I negotiate a short contingency period. 

Lastly, if they are serious, they don't mind putting skin in the game - a hefty, non-refundable deposit is negotiated. That, in and of iteslf, can thwart a cancellation - they don't like walking away from a good chunk of change. 

I have come to understand that home owners place a premium on the ASSURANCE of Closing.  To many owners this is MORE important than the selling price.

I use this motivation to entice buyers to close many of their traditional exits (many of those already listed by others) before accepting their offer. Then the backup is secured or revealed. Knowledge of a back up tends to keep buyers from going goofy.

Sometimes you can ask lots of questions, buyer's agent answer perfectly, and it still crashes for no apparent reason.

I like to ask where they are coming from, are they first tiem buyers, selling a house or already sold one. I look at type of mortgage and i also look at what other contingencies they may be asking for. 

I'm finding that even if they love the house, have measured all the rooms and have placed their furniture and the lender is good and says they're good to go, that even then some people back out the next day or within a couple days.  I think once they realize what mortgage payments are compared to their other expenses, they get cold feet.  That's happened a few times last year.

Does it make sense? 

Agree with Nina.

I try to find the motivation.