Trying To Buy A Home

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Who is this debt owed to?  USDA?  What type of mortgage are you trying to qualify for?  

Where did they specifically find this debt?  When they ran a CAIVRS check?  Did you have to call a phone number at USDA to get more information about it because the loan officer didn't have a ton of info on it?  If so, that sounds like they found something in CAIVRS.

CAIVRS is run whenever someone qualifies for a government mortgage, if there is delinquent federal debt it needs to be satisfied prior to being able to qualify for a government mortgage.  More info on it in the below FAQ:

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/sys/caivrs/caivrs_faq.cfm

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Due to you qualifying for an FHA loan, it sounds like it may have been a CAIVRS hit.  Call up your loan officer and ask if it is, and if so, there is a phone number they can provide you where you can call in and ask further questions pertaining to it.  It's not that there is a SOL or not, it's that you defaulted on government debt.  So you could get a conventional mortgage and probably not have any problems (as long as otherwise you qualify for a conventional mortgage) but since you are qualifying for a new government loan that is very likely the issue.  Worst case, you may have to pay the claim in full in order to proceed with government mortgage financing.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Unless you have 20% down you are correct, that FICO score won't qualify you for conventional.  With 20% down that FICO score should be fine though.  A 660 score you should be able to just need to put 10% down with conventional.  Hopefully USDA is willing to waive the claim.