The banks are still not lending and I hear every excuse in the book. I accept the fact that lending practices are much more restrictive than they have been in the recent past. I also understand that banks are trying to conserve capital against volatile and unpredictable market gyrations. However, the pendulum has swung too far to the conservative side.

Here is a recent example from a deal I was able to get done but it took three times as long as it should have. First the appraisal by my estimation was 10% to 15% low -- no one is sticking their neck out. I know this because I am seeing weekly transactions in the neighborhood. Then the maximum loan to value has gone from the ridiculous 100%, which no sane person should have done, to 70%, the bank in this case Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), said it was because it wanted to maintain its AAA rating.

Another bit of pain. After I had everything in place, in the case of a home loan, subordination became an issue! Things are so specialized and compartmentalized that the lender has different underwriters and standards for its First Trust Deeds and its Home Equity loans and since I had both, the HELOC (a form of second mortgage) had to be subordinated to the First.