The lending environment is getting even more challenging

For some, that is.

Matt Carter at Inman news has this report:

Sliding home prices have made homes more affordable in some areas, though tighter lender requirements and bigger down payments have locked some buyers out of the market.

Real estate agents and brokers say they have seen some unconventional loan types, such as those higher-risk loans that have been blamed for bringing down the subprime and credit markets, largely vanish from the market while government loan products are becoming more prominent.

And this is my report from the front lines. I received this email yesterday (the second such email* I received yesterday) – both situations were with reputable lenders and Buyers’ Agents on the other side.

I just heard from my guys a few moments ago, I need to hold off no later than Monday possibly sooner, please let me know if you get even a sniff of any other offers. The reason for the delay is that that program they were going to use to fund the loan no longer exists so they want to get back with (their lender) and make sure everything works before we come back to you.

I am sorry about the delay here, there is really nothing we could do and I would rather this happen now and not a week before closing.

Whew. What a day. With such a fluid and ever-changing lending market, it’s getting harder to accurately vet offers coming in.

*Posted with permission