When you are working with a potential homebuyer, you want to ask them 3 questions to make sure they have the ability to perform and purchase your property. The last thing you want is for the buyer to come to you a day before closing and tell you they cannot purchase the property anymore, or even worse, they ghost you on the closing day. This does happen and by asking these 3 questions, you will find out if they are a legitimate buyer or not.
The first question you should ask is for a preapproval letter from a bank or institution or POF which stands for proof of funds. When a homebuyer sends you an offer, make sure to ask for the proof of funds. This can be a bank statement or cash from an institution.
The second thing you should ask for is no contingencies. Make sure there are no inspection or appraisal contingencies. In the offer, it should be stated that the home is being sold as is. I highly recommend that you take the offers to your attorney to look out for your best interest.
The last question you should ask is for a non-refundable earnest deposit. You should ask for $1,000-5,000 for a nonrefundable earnest money deposit or whatever makes you comfortable. By having a nonrefundable earnest money, if the buyer did back out, they would still owe you that 3,000 of earnest money or whatever that amount was. If you homebuyer does these 3 things, I will sum it up again (Proof of funds, no contingencies, and a non-refundable earnest deposit), you will know you have a professional homebuyer.