re: 15yr Mortgage... Where to begin?

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I just priced all my lenders, just for scores above 740, you are maybe looking at 3.75 and above, below 740 score you may get a little bit harder but one thing you have going for you is the equity, no price adjustment.
rates are ugly, 30 yr they are at 5% and getting nastier

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I appreciate your input as a insider, too, man. Having said what you just said, is this the beginning of the end of the "American Dream"? What percentage of people can come in and pull a 740? About 20%? And, if they don't pull a 740, how many can even afford 10% down on a $185k house, much less the mortgage payments?

I know the housing crisis and tough new laws are driving this, versus a desire to loan money, but credit scores rise and fall with the economy, so we could be looking at a death spiral for home ownership.