You will have to adjust your financing down payments, reservers and loan package accordingly.  

We were able to speed up project times when we began asking investors more questions about funding.

I would only worry about it if I had adjustable rate mortgages and interest rates keep rising.

So I guess at the end of the day my focus is more about managing risk, risk-adjusting returns, etc.  

Cant they speed it up as I know this has to be a common issue of owners not being located.

The home we wanted to buy was more expensive and required her to make a higher salary... so we made a little adjustment in quickbooks and BOOM... after a couple months of paystubs to verify and a couple years of our joint tax returns we were easily qualified.

Adjust and iterate as necessary.

I agree with your statement that less stringent government policies along with the appearance of a low interest rate during the, "Teaser" time period before adjustments took place were both contributing factors.  

The only difference is the speed at which they do it, communication and how much each charges you to sign papers aka settlement fee, it ranges from $100-300 here.

The appraiser comes up with a number then adjusts the comps to justify that number, it's completely backwards but that's how they do it.