First let me preface (one of my all-time favorite words) this with a cold reality in the Lending Atmosphere right now:

• Nothing is easy.  I'm pretty lucky in that I have access to the ears and experiences of Lending Folks all over this Country, not just locally.  It's across the board.  Get on the gloves and realize that the days of two or three round fights are no longer the norm.  It will take a war of sorts, to survive & thrive out there.  Call it more Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier than Mike Tyson/Michael Spinks.

I was more than shocked when I heard stories from various Retail Stores that are having trouble hiring.  I mean, we aren't exactly in the 'Best of Times' economically.  Are people not applying?  Are they instead spending $39.95 to learn the secrets to making millions while doing butt slides across their marble floors as money rolls in from that 'Best Kept Secret Nobody Knows About'?  Hey, maybe they looked up something online and realized they had a Rich Uncle in Rwanda and that lost fortune was now theirs?

Sadly, I suppose, none of that was the case.  It seems many Retail Stores require you to have perfect credit to get hired.  Let's call perfect credit 760 just for poops and grins.  850 is actually the number, depending upon the reporting agencies, but if you are over 740, you can probably give most White House Employees a lap dance and get paid for it.  Well, now I understand why they're having a bit of trouble hiring.

Before I ever got into FHA Lending, most of the business I did was Conventional... and some was the infamous Sub-Prime.  Those Conventional Folks had scores in the 700's most of the time and that was what I was used to dealing with.  Color me more surprised than when I learned that in this day and age, you need a 760 score at some of these places to make $10.00 an hour selling moisturizer obtained from a frog's lip:) 

It reminded me that while nothing seems easy in obtaining financing these days, we are still a bit more lenient and the outcome can be a whole lot more rewarding.  Sorry, but long-term homeownership eclipses looking like Joan Rivers for a hot moment.

Standard FHA Loans with most investors require a Credit Score of 620, no blood sample needed.

Conventional Loans, these days, are mostly a miss when it comes to payment/cost when your LTV is over 80% of the value/sales price of the property your financing.

While the process can be so convoluted and seemingly incompetent (when buying a home),... look at our freaking world!  Jimmy Fallon has a Talk Show!

Unless something changes and if you have a job, it's probably easier to qualify credit-wise to buy a home than work for a local Retail Store. 

Strange Days, Indeed.  Go out and buy a home with your 620 score.  Leave the Retail Stuff to the Credit Worthy;)