Good-bye, mortgage contingencies: tight inventory leads buyers to risk their down payments

From the April issue: So long, mortgage contingency. With lack of inventory creating conditions reminiscent of the real estate boom, many buyers are waiving the clause in a purchase contract that protects their down payment if they can’t get a mortgage.

But with banks skittish about home loans, that decision is much riskier than it was in the mid-2000s, brokers said. [more]