When can I purchase a house after filing bankruptcy?
? If we can’t buy now, what can we do to prepare to buy? My Husband filed for bankruptcy (ALONE) as little as 6 months ago, and I started a new job (which is in the same field I’ve worked in for the past 8 years). Together we make yearly and I have a total of $,000.00 in debt (if comparing debt to income) ,000.00 is for a 7 year old car repossession (that will not go away) and the rest is for a car I’m financing (which has been on time for the past two years), other than that, my credit is nice. I’ve never been evicted and I have a truck that was paid off in 2005. Of course since my Husband filed chapter 7 he has no history (score of 0). When should we be able to purchase?
Please answer ALL questions if you can.
Posted June 22nd, 2010 in When To File Bankruptcy. Tagged: 8 years, bankruptcy, car repossession, chapter 7, new job, score.
FHA regs say 2 years from date of discharge, FNMA just went to 5 years. He needs to re-establish credit to get decent scores & to show he has the ability to pay bills on time. Look into a pre-paid credit card. See what you can do to get rid of that repossession too. Ask the credit bureaus to research it. It could be that it has been satisfied. Companies really don’t care about reporting that it is satisfied since you didn’t live up to your terms.
Pay everything early, no slip ups. Save some money…that in itself is a form of good credit. If FHA doesn’t change its current reg, you could be closer than you think.
Good luck.
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:37 pmif appling jointly on a home his bk must be at least 4 years discharge.
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:37 pmIt depends your best bet would probably be a FHA loan opposed to a traditional mortgage (which you more then likely wouldnt be able to get anyhow). In order to qualify for FHA though your bankruptcy has to be at least 3 years old, you must have a FICO of 580 or above and be able to show a stable work history.
Im sure there are lenders out there who would give you a mortgages sooner however you will be paying for it with ridiculous interest rates, so wait until your in a better position before you apply. You dont want to be stuck in a high interest loan with high payments.
Prepare –
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:37 pmTry to repair your credit as much as possible and take care of that repo.
Make sure your not over 50% of your available credit on your credit cards and make your monthly payments on time every time.
Keep your debt as low as possible of course and check your credit report to make sure there are no discrepancies on it.
Build your assets, invest in stock at work or a 401 k if possible. The more assets you have the better you look financially to a lender.
you should look into your county’s monthly tax auctions. properties are really cheap. see here for info:
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:37 pmAny lender will require 2 years of seasoning on a bankruptcy before you will even be considered for a home loan, if you need to purchase together.
To prepare to buy, pay everything on time, and save save save for a downpayment.
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:37 pm