When we sold our house 8 years ago, our agent kept the property open until the potential buyer could provide a commitment letter or written confirmation that the funds were already available. One set of buyers wanted to purchase the house, and their offer was full price, but until they had something in writing that funds were securing the offer, she still showed the house as open for offers. Another set of buyers ended up purchasing the home and their offer was secured by cash.

Don't know if this is typical or not since I've only lived in 2 houses my entire life... although we'll be looking to sell our current house once the market gets better.

Don't know anything about VA loans, but I've always been a proponent of securing financing BEFORE purchasing anything. So, for my car, for example, before I started shopping I went to my credit union at the time and secured financing. This way I knew the amount I could spend and already had written confirmation that funds were available. This also allowed me to negotiate a slightly more expensive car down to the exact amount I was secured for, out the door. When it comes time to purchase a home, I'll already have discussed things with my lender and probably get a pre-approval in writing before I begin shopping.

I would continue to show the property to all potential buyers until a deal is secured. Otherwise you will just loose time. Never committ to a deal until the funds are secured.

The VA is very slow, I wouldn't worry about it. The VA has to appraise the house for at least the purchase price or they will not secure the loan which will disqualify your buyer. You're probably also aware that the VA will not let it's buyer pay for certain closing costs as well. When I used my VA certificate on a house I bought I got 0% down and actually made money at closing because I couldn't pay for a lot of the closing costs and I was using some VA program from this lender where they give you a % of the cash back if you use the real estate agent they assign to you.

It's not your buyers fault that the VA is taking forever, a lot of times they are either too busy or have to come from far away areas to do it, so because they missed the deadline don't be alarmed that they aren't qualified buyers.

Other than that, the VA inspection was probably already done, those are tough to get through too.

A VA loan guaranty is not an automatic benefit. Your financial planner or credit counselor can go a long way towards helping you prepare your personal finances before filling out that home buyer's paperwork.

I will suggest that never make a deal in hurry .. like first secure the fonds...