Out of line contacting lender?

I'm not an Iowa lawyer, and to be certain you should talk to someone licensed in your state. One place you can find an attorney in your area is our website, http://attorneypages.com

There doesn't appear to be anything in the statute or regulations that makes your contact with the buyer's lender illegal.  Obviously, the buyer thinks that, at the very least, you were guilty of not minding your own business.

I understand that you want to be able to advise your client, on whether or not to accept this offer.  In some states, there is a limited time after a contract is signed, when either side can have their lawyer cancel the deal without needing a reason and without penalty.  If that is true in Iowa, you should let your client's lawyer handle questions such as this (whether it's a good idea to risk the buyer not getting the loan), after the contract is signed.  Otherwise, it might be best to have your clients talk to their lawyer about these sorts of things before signing, and limit your own advice to whether the price is good enough.  The question doesn't seem to be legal or not legal, but whether your involvement risks killing the deal.

Your question is not a legal question but rather business judgment question as you point out.  Usually people consider banking and lending to have a degree of confidentiality.  By you contacting the lender you are basically inquiring into the buyer's financial position as far they are concerned - sort of like asking what you made last year.  I know that lenders do not generally give out this info to seller's agents but the fact that you called comes across as aggressive and demeaning.  Dont you usually wait to recieve an approval letter from the lender?  In any event, i think it was a little aggressive but i completely understand why you did it.  You did not do anything illegal so you shouldnt have to worry about your license being in jeopardy.