help - how to evaluate potential buyers

[Sam Alex]

Hi,

I've put my house on the market and am expecting some offers. I need some help with evaluating potential buyers. I had a bad experience a couple of years ago where we accepted

a buyer with pre-approval (Wells Fargo), but later it turned out that they had credit issues and the deal fell through. They had an earnest money deposit of around $10K , which seems like

a lot (i had returned their money and looked for a new buyer but couldn't sell in time - had to move into a new house so rented the old place). I don't want to make the same mistake again. What can i do to safeguard my interests? Should i ask for more earnest money - what would be a good amount? Is there something specific i should check related to pre-approvals? An acquaintance mentioned some pre-approvals go upto underwriting stage - but didn't have details; is this true and how do i check for this?

thanks,

Sam