The Real Deal New York

From the January issue: Manhattan buyers, concerned about the
difficulty of obtaining a loan in the wake of the subprime mortgage
crisis, are more reluctant to purchase apartments without a mortgage
contingency clause in place. The desire for a contract with a mortgage
contingency, where the purchase is dependent upon the buyer obtaining
financing, is not new, but the request is now more commonplace, and
that pool now includes qualified buyers who in the past did not need
this added security measure. However, making this demand can threaten
deals – or, in some cases, cause them to fail.