In 2008, Margi Lee, 50, of Boone, N.C., fell in love with a 150-year-old farmhouse. In order to give her time to make repairs required by mortgage lenders, she signed a one-year lease/option with the investors who owned the property. But a year later, with the upgrades completed, the lending environment had soured and rules had tightened. The mortgage lenders that had assured her they'd provide financing after the improvements backed down.