One of the features of home buying before the late 1980s was the
almost-necessity of a 20% down payment in order to get mortgage
financing. But, in the crazy days of easy credit, piggyback loans and other methods of creative mortgage financing, things changed. Pretty much anyone could get mortgage loans, no matter the down payment.

And I must say that I’ve benefited from such an arrangement: My husband and I got an FHA loan for our house (bought just before things really went south), and only put down 5%.  But now things are changing. If we had waited until this year to buy a home, there’s a chance our mortgage lender would have required a 20% down payment, as other lenders are doing around the country.

This might be an over-reaction. Yes, the standards were too loose in the past 10-15 years. But now things are getting a little too tight. Honestly, verifying someone’s income and requiring good credit would be a better reaction to the mortgage market mess. It would still allow many to get into homes, but significantly reduce the risk to mortgage lenders.