The credit crisis has given Scott Briggs and his wife, Catherine, unusual leverage in their search for a new home. In October, to get the best deal on a 30-year fixed mortgage for a home in Austin, Tex., the couple persuaded the seller to agree to an unusual contingency clause in the contract of sale that let them back out, without penalty, if they couldn't get a mortgage carrying a 5.875% interest rate and no more than one point in closing fees. The couple-he is a partner at Ascend, a jet hangar manufacturer, and she is a pharmaceutical sales rep-have near-perfect credit scores. Adding to their bargaining power, they plan to put 20% down on the four-bedroom, two-bath home in downtown Austin that they covet. They're also pitting two lenders against each other.
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