Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes

Boy, it sure is getting interesting these days in the home lending industry. Lenders are falling by the wayside, running out of money to lend, changing guidelines fast and furious. What is a poor home buyer to do? The answer is simple:
Now more than ever before, anyone seeking a home loan needs to have a little education about what is really going on. Lending has gone back about 20 years. Back before credit scoring, no income or stated income loans, zero down, piggy back, etc., etc.
Quite simply put... You want a bank to lend you some money? You must prove you have the income to support the upcoming new payment. Have a verifiable JOB!. Have evidence that you have the ability to pay other bills and debt obligations ON TIME! Banks are no longer looking for borrowers that are not "credit-worthy". They do not want your loan subject to Risk Management. They want to lend money to people that can justifiably prove their ability to make the payment for a long term. That is the way lending was when I got into the business 23 years ago. Back to the basics.
All this mortgage mess and economic strife we hear about is the result of people getting certain types of loans that they should have never gotten in the first place. Sure, Wall Street and investors created these loans that brokers sold (funny how the poor broker gets blamed for this). They only sold a product that the Wall Street investors and Big Banks created.
Anyway, we are currently in one of the greatest home buying opportunities of all time. We have interest rates that we have not seen since around 1970, home prices that have fallen back to the latter part of 2003, and a first time buyer credit of $8000.
Yes, certain guidelines have changed. If you want to take advantage of all this, get with an experienced and knowledgeable loan officer. Have him/her pull your credit and educate you about any shoring up that it needs. (More than 70% of all reports contain errors.) Become preapproved and know what you can afford, then go out and refinance to the lower rate and better loan program or go and buy that first home!