Financing guidelines still stringent for most buyers

Note: The following guest blog was written by Senior Mortgage Consultant, Sam Thompson, with Community & Southern Bank. 

For those looking to finance a home, mortgage underwriting guidelines are still tight, whether you are putting the minimum 3.5 per cent down and going FHA or have 20 per cent down for a conventional loan.  There is no question that the tighter underwriting guidelines have done a good job over the past four years of cutting down the default rates and have obviously assisted in stopping the foreclosure bleeding that was so rampant.

Having said that, it may not be pleasant for you to try to explain and document to an

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