Mr. Lender, Bring Me A Loan...

(bung, bung, bung, bung...)

And make it one that you're gonna close...

In today's market with the lenders tightening their belts, it seems harder for the buyer to obtain a mortgage. Even with stellar credit and ample income, the lenders seem to find place other obstacles in the way. If you don't want to lend money, tell us right from the start. Please don't wine and dine us, leading us down the romantic road toward a closing only to dump us like yesterdays trash with a denial in the morning!

Lenders are coming up with more creative ways to deny a loan...did they take some sort of creative writing class when we weren't looking? A denial that I heard from one of our agents was, "We are sorry to deny your loan. Our decision was based on the fact we could not approve the community you are purchasing in. After review of the condominium documents, this community falls below our acceptable requirements." Are they joking? They can't possibly be serious...can they?

The condo community they were referencing is a well established community that has been around for about 30 years. They maintain a high enough owner occupancy rate, so this could not be the problem, could it? It wasn't. They are not behind on monthly fees and their reserves are quite adequate, so this could not be the problem, could it? It wasn't. In fact out of the current listings available, of which we have the majority, only 3 listings are a short sale (of which, we only have 1)...it is not a community dominated by such listings, as most owners bought long before the heyday.

So what could they possibly be looking at when denying a loan for a buyer who is purchasing a condominium in a well established community not dominated by foreclosures or short sales? It seems that it just comes down to the fact they simply do not want to lend any money, period! Unfortunately, the reason for the denial, were the short sales. They felt it too risky for them to lend money on a unit where there were several short sales taking place. So no thanks to them, we are still looking for a lender who is willing to take the "risk" and provide the funding to actually have a property sell...which will NOT be a short sale!

When is Mr. Lender going to cooperate with us and help us sell off our inventory? Please stop making it difficult. I can understand there are condo communities out there that are risky...I've seen them, sticking out like a sore thumb, most units vacant due to foreclosure or owners trying to short sell them. But, when you have a well established community, I do not see the reasoning behind denying a loan based on the community. Please give us a better reason for denial...thank you!