The underwriting approvals are tougher today than we’ve ever seen before. On the other hand, we just closed on a property this week that only took 12 days from sales contract to closing. The lender was experienced and knew up front what the underwriters would be looking for. That made a big difference!
If you can go VA or FHA, your odds of success will be greater. Those programs allow for greater debt-to-income ratios and will permit you to close with little or no money down. The conventional markets are much tougher. Plus if you are putting less than 20% down, you will have to qualify for Mortgage Insurance (MI) in addition to your loan. MI approval can actually be worse!