New mortgage rules draw some pretty clear lines about who should -- and shouldn’t -- get a mortgage. If you fall outside the lines and your lender says no, you have eight other options. New mortgage rules are pretty clear about what you have to do to convince a lender you’re a qualified mortgage borrower. Meant to measure your ability to repay, the new rules created a list of eight things lenders had to check to make sure you could repay your mortgage. Those protections help ensure we’re not going to see a repeat of the mortgage crisis any time soon. The new rules are also designed to reward banks for staying away from risky products like interest-only loans. But if you can’t meet any of the eight standards you’re going to find it harder to get a new mortgage or refinance your existing mortgage. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® predicts the changes will slice about 5% to 7% of borrowers out of the market. Where do you turn if you’re in that 5% to 7% or you like your balloon loan and want to refinance into another balloon loan? The fine print in the new rules created some exemptions that you can use to try again if you don’t meet one or two of the eight qualified mortgage checks, or if you want to go with a loan product that the rules discourage lenders from making.