If [anyone has] been in the market for a mortgage recently, you’ve no doubt noticed how difficult it can be to get approved. … Paul McFadden, a loan officer with The Legacy Group in Bellevue, Washington, says, “These days, the number of mortgage applications that get approved is probably three out of 10. In the heyday, it was nine out of 10. Normally five or six out of 10 would be the ratio.”