You're sunk. The people selling your dream house have another offer on the table -- and it's all cash. To entice them into taking your slightly higher offer, you're going to have to close as fast as humanly possible.

What You Want: You're not out of luck yet. In the past two years, the average time it takes to process a mortgage has dropped to 30 to 45 days, down from 45 to 60 days. Now applications can be typed directly into a loan officer's laptop then modemed to the loan processor. Credit reports can be pulled electronically. In some cases, an underwriter will reply with a preliminary OK within hours. The operative phrase, of course, is "in some cases." You'll know you're dealing with an automated lender the minute his fingers start flying over the keys to pull your application together.

Where to Shop: Small, local banks can be a big help when the pressure is on, as Bruce Nohe found out. After committing to closing on a Ridgefield, Conn., house in 30 days, he spent two weeks with a mortgage broker who promised financing -- then failed to come through. Nohe, who works for Citibank, knew that even his employer wouldn't be able to come to his rescue. But his local bank, the Norwalk Savings Society, got him a commitment in five days. He closed a week later. "When you called this bank, if you didn't get through to the person you were phoning, you'd get another live person who would track them down. They'd get back to you within a half hour," says Nohe. "I couldn't get in touch with my mortgage broker the week I was supposed to close."

And now, small lenders' prices are newly competitive on fixed loans, arms, even hybrids. They're doing this by joining forces with cash-heavy firms such as GE Mortgage Capital, which need staff to originate loans for them.

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