I am convinced - without a doubt - lenders do not know what they are looking for in a client. Under writing rules and guidelines seem to not only be changing daily but during the day as well. I am almost convinced that lenders do not want to lend money.

We have buyers!

We have buyers with money down!

We have buyers with strong credit scores! 

We don't have a lender that will finance these purchases!

This week alone, we've had two situations where the lenders have come back multiple times, asking for more items or in Fiasco No. 2 they are asking for even more money down! 

In Fiasco No. 1 we have a military buyer obtaining a VA loan for a home in Lebanon MO. This file has been in under writing three times - each time the lender has come back requesting additional documents. This last time my agent and the client called the VA Administration together. They were told the "form" the lender is requiring DOES NOT exist! 

Back in March I shared with you my last nightmare closing with a VA loan: What? How LONG to go through under writing?

VA loans are a wonderful benefit for Veterans, and I do not mean to trash them - however, this is one benefit that is becoming more and more difficult to obtain - almost impossible to obtain.

In Fiasco No. 2 we have a self employed buyer with a 802 credit score and money down - 25% on a purchase over $300,000 for a farm in Stoutland MO. He's been self employed for the last two years and can do his business from any where in the country. He owns two homes in Nevada. One is already a rental. The other one will be soon after he moves out here. We cannot find a loan for this buyer - we are told the land to home ratio is out of whack. 

We often see the land values far out weighing the home values. In fact, this happened to my personal home on 80 acres back at the end of 1999. My land came in way over the home - it's great land! We struggled even then to find a lender who understood:  land is a good thing. Even today, I am confident my land would appraise much higher than my home - probably a  70  to 30  ratio, land to home.

No one is making any more land here in Missouri or any where else for that matter. Land remains a solid investment, in my mind. There are so many losses associated with a home that you don't see, can't see with land. You can grow a crop or run cattle - your land can make you money. Land has multiple uses. Land has not come down in price here in Missouri. It is holding it's value.

So here we sit, with two sellers that want to sell and two buyers who want to buy. 

I'm really tired of the media - for months we heard doom and gloom - buyers were hiding out, they were keeping their money, they didn't want the risk of real estate. 

That hasn't been the case here in South Central Missouri. WE HAVE BUYERS! 

So the real qustions are:

Where is the media now? 

Why are they not reporting what is really happening - the buyers are out there, but lenders willing to lend money are a thing of the past?

And, what is going to be done to help buyers buy?

Hello? Is this the TODAY SHOW?