There’s a story in today’s New York Times about people who are losing deposits on condos they decided to purchase before the credit crunch. Here’s what happened: They put a deposit down and agreed to buy a home or condo, thinking they had a mortgage commitment.

Circumstances changed - their lender reneged - and the buyers are having a tough time getting their deposits back. For the family featured, the deposit is nearly $100,000. They can’t get a mortgage to complete the purchase, and they can’t get that money back.

If you know anyone who wants to buy and is in this situation, I’d be happy to review whether there is anything that can be done to secure a loan. Some ideas I had while reading this story include seller secondary financing - which means the seller holds a small second mortgage to help the buyer bridge the gap; helping the seller get projects bulk approved for FHA financing by the government, thus allowing their buyers to put 3 percent down; or exploring every last lending option, like getting cosigners and cleaning up credit.