topic Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE? in Bankruptcy

HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

scarcemoney — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:42:20 GMT

My Ch 7 BK was discharged on 2/19. My FICO score is a crappy 600. Does anyone know how long it takes before you can buy a house? Is it based on the credit score or length of time after BK discharge? Thanks in advance!

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

monkatom — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:16:54 GMT

If you did not give up a house in the BK than you can get a FHA loan 2 years after discharge with a minimum FICO of 620 or above. Conventional is even longer. I have heard if you meet the income and area requirements you can get USDA sooner than the 2 year mark. Hopefully one of the experts will chime in.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

scarcemoney — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:09:11 GMT

Thankyou very much!!!

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

debtfree09 — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:46:42 GMT

That is wrong information about FHA. My husband and I are 5 months discharged from a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and we are working with a lender for FHA refinancing. It is 2 years from discharge for a conventional loan. You do need a minimum score of 620 though.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

monkatom — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:07:11 GMT

The OP filled Chapter 7 not chapter 13 and the info I provided was from an FHA rep, HUD website, as well as 2 underwriters.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

deemac — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:09:31 GMT

Right. With chapter 13 you can apply the day after discharge. With chapter 7 you have to wait 2 years.

With either, if there was a foreclosure, deed-in-lieu, or short sale, you have to wait 3 years from when the property transfers.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

tommylive — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:52:35 GMT

Well, my wife and I heard that you can buy a house right after a discharge with a USDA loan. It's called a USDA Streamline loan and you have to have a minimum of 620. Is that not true?

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

beamMEup — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:21:22 GMT

I'm not very familiar with the USDA loan, but I do know you can quickly check to see if you might qualify at http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do . Hope the info there is helpful! -- I didn't qualify ;(.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

deemac — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:18:14 GMT

It is potentially true, but I think you would have to have some truly exceptional circumstances. I believe most lenders will want you to be at least 12 months out, in the current environment. However there is definitely more flexibility with USDA than with FHA. Also, you do need to make sure that your location and income qualify.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

LvFrmHsHrt — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:04:30 GMT

Hey! We filed bankruptcy in 2010. For FHA it's 2 years, USDA is 3 years, and Conventional is 4 years. They do make exceptions sometime's based on the circumstances. But that's the basic rule.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

custombusa — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 01:53:41 GMT

so usda is 3 years now. Did they change it for 2013 because i think it used to be 2 years.

Re: HOW LONG BEFORE I CAN BUY A HOUSE?

MovingForward_2012 — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:53:13 GMT

Yep, I filed a Ch 13 in 2005 and had to wait 2 years from discharge or when the 13 was deleted off of my CRs to qualify for a mortgage. So my 13 deleted before 2 years from discharge and I qualified then. I am currently on contract and my loan is in the underwriting process. I heard it is 4 years from discharge for a conventional...2 years for FHA. I think it ultimately depends on the lender. Now you can typically get a mortgage while still in Ch 13 but a lot of times it requires trustee approval. We have been waiting a long time as my 13 was discharged in Jan 2011 and I did a mortgage prequalify check in July and didn't qualify until Jan 2013 for an FHA. But since my Ch 13 was removed in Oct after 7 years, I applied in Dec and was preapproved. We are buying a new construction through the builder's lender and the mid score has to 660 or above for FHA (my mid score is 703). So the min credit score depends on lender. Even though FHA's requirement is a min of 580, most lenders will not approve a score that low because it makes it hard for them to sell the loan to Wells Fargo or some other big bank. I heard USDA will accept a score of 620 with no collections and a score of 640 with collections.

I want to emphasize that after BK, you need to be a model citizen. When my loan officer looked over my reports on Sat, he said if I had just ONE late, I wouldn't be qualified for the mortgage loan so make sure you ALWAYS pay on time after BK.