Obtaining a mortgage to buy that home is a little like riding the scrambler at an amusement park.  The industry went one direction, then suddenly, and with a bit of a jerk, started another direction.  Things then changed again suddenly and then, you guessed it, back it went the other way.  Right now it is possible to get a mortgage, but the credit score will need to be respectable and a regular pay stub will be required as well.  Add to that at least a 2 to 3 % down payment and chances are, you will qualify for a mortgage.  Recently, however, I have had a number of clients told by lenders that they needed to rent or lease for at least one more year before being qualified to purchase a home with a mortgage.  Call them conservative lenders or whatever, but money is definitely not flowing as readily as it did just a few short months ago.  Then entire industry is reeling from some of the rampant lending of the last two years.  Now the foreclosure rates have risen to unacceptable levels and housing is taking a major hit.  When will it end?  Hard to predict.  Some of the "watchers" say as much as a year and a half until things start to "even out" to a semblance of normalcy.  We'll just have to wait and see.