This blog is not going to win me a lot of friends. With that said, I do not care. The Marines have a saying about adapting and overcoming the situation. For our industry, a lot of people want the old way back. There are a few that have adapted and are kicking butt. I wonder where we would be as an industry or even as a country if we would just grab a hold of that very thought. Lately I have heard a lot of the following comments. "Lenders need to get on board with the customers of today." "Lenders need to loosen their guidelines so my customers can qualified." "Customers can not qualify for a loan with today's lenders."

I have heard this until I am sick of hearing it. Underwriting is not suppose to be easy enough for any Joe Blow to walk off the street and get a mortgage. People need to think about what happened the last time lenders "loosened" their guidelines to make it easier to get a loan. Twenty years of being in the credit industry has taught me one thing. When sales people can't make a sale, they look for the easy one to blame. In this case, the lender.The problem with that thought is that there is money available for anyone that qualifies for it. And, contrary to popular belief, it does not take an act of Congress to get it done. Here is food for thought; "Would you make this loan with your own money?"

Ultimately, there has to be checks and balances in place. When that is put into perspective, then you can become successful. Even in a down market like we sit in today, loans are being made left and right. The thing with these qualified loans is that 5 or 6 years down the road, we are not going to be asking if the customer can still afford the home.

Now, with that said, I am not crazy enough to think that there will not be defaults and foreclosures on current business being done. That is a natural occurrence. Circumstances change and things happen that make it inevitable. There are a lot of people that could qualify for a loan in today's market. The problem is none  of them want to try because all they hear is how hard it is to qualify. That is so far from the truth.

This morning I read a realtor's post and I thought to my self that this person has got it. Here is an excerpt from her post:

MIS-INFORMATION ABOUT HOME LOANS-

There is no shortage of money for home loans and no freezing of credit to purchase or refinance. Mortgages are readily available to those who qualify. Another misconception there is that standards have become so high that your average consumer wouldn't qualify- and that information is FALSE! Underwriting standards have tightened up, but if you have a down payment of at least 3 to 5%, steady income, and decent credit, there is no question you will be eligible for a home loan. David Kittle, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association says, "Money is clearly available as long as you can qualify for it with at least a modest down payment and decent credit history."  Bottom line: Scary as the news has been about stocks and banks, this is not the case for mortgages.(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2008280221_harney19.html)

For us to move forward, we all have to be on the same page. Loans are available to anyone that can qualify. To be able to qualify a customer need only to pay their bills on time for a 12 month period and have a 3.5% downpayment. They need to have a consistant work history as well as adequate income. If they have all this, more than likely they will qualify.

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.