As the government works to resolve a failed lending system for homebuyers and owners, a survey released yesterday by MortgageMatch.com shows the majority of Americans agree that major change is needed.

Image by CJ Burton/Corbis

According to the survey, today’s lending environment is so confusing that 70.6 percent of Americans believe it to be a serious problem. Nearly 21 percent of recent homebuyers say waiting to hear if they were approved for a mortgage was more stressful than waiting to hear if they got a job. One in ten borrowers (10.8 percent) report their lender gave them a higher interest rate than what they were originally quoted.

“It is extremely difficult to get a loan. There are plenty of programs that, on the surface, are liberal enough to accommodate most potential borrowers; But, the process is time consuming and invasive,” says Paul Jaimes, residential lender with Blue Leaf Lending. “What used to take me two weeks can sometimes take as long as 90 days. Common-sense underwriting no longer exists, so if the loan scenario is outside of the Fannie/Freddie/FHA box, no matter how obvious it is that the loan would perform, it ends up as fall out.”

To offer relief to current homeowners struggling with their loans, the federal government has enacted multiple programs like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Homeowners in active permanent modifications have seen their monthly mortgage payment cut by a median of approximately 40 percent. Eighteen percent of homeowners in active permanent modifications have reduced their monthly mortgage payment by more than $1,000 each month.

In a recent survey conducted by Chicago Agent, 88 percent of our readers agreed that the lending industry is impeding growth in the housing market.