I'm buying......

[Wookies Cruel Circus]

Originally posted by Toronto Hottie
That being said, anyone have an insight on the 25% question? Why would a vendor make that a pre-requisite?

I assume by vendor, you're referring to the seller of the house?
A seller could ask for that because it's easier to get a mortgage for 75% than say, 95%. Deals fall apart all the time when a buyer's financing falls through. So, your seller likely wants to make sure you'll actually be able to afford to buy the place and not waste time and money working on a deal that might not go through.
If it's a co-op or there's some sort of homeowners association, they often have these kinds of requirements for similar reasons. They want to make sure the new tenant is fiscally solid and will stick around awhile, so the bank won't foreclose anytime soon b/c the buyer is scraping buy to make the payments.