For those of you who aren’t already aware, the mortgage business is going through a period of self-correction right now. By that I mean there are several loan programs that have drastically changed or gone completely extinct over the past month or two. This is both good and bad news.

Many have criticized the biggest lenders for accepting borrowers over the last decade or so that were too risky for traditional tastes, without making adjustments for more equity or mortgage insurance. Some even believed this would ultimately create a “credit bubble” that would eventually burst and cause widespread turmoil in housing both for businesses and homeowners. Well, we’re sort of seeing that right now. Foreclosures are way up and lenders are dropping like flies. The stock market has taken a beating because of all this as well.

The bad news is that it’s now harder for people with bad credit to get home financing and/or refinance their current loans. The good news is that hopefully the industry will learn a great deal from this experience and be able to prevent such a situation from occurring again in the future.

So, more than ever, if you want to buy a home be sure to make your payments on time, save up a little money for a down payment, and try not to overextend yourself with debt.