Ground shifts for borrowers

From the October issue: Homebuyers and real estate brokers throughout the city have watched with increasing disbelief as mortgage lenders and bankers tightened borrowing restrictions, suddenly eliminated mortgage programs or walked away from previous rate commitments. “Every day is changing,” said Barbara Ladesou, a mortgage broker for Manhattan Mortgage Company. “Every day we get a message from the banks, and the catch phrase is, ‘We are not doing this anymore.'” New York buyers increasingly find themselves searching for a new banker or broker at the eleventh hour, and sometimes must pay higher net prices for property. Or they simply walk away from transactions, leaving their deposits on the table.