Bankruptcies & Mortgages

Dan Hubrich of Mountain View Mortgage is back and this month he’s discussing how long you need to wait to buy a home after filing for a bankruptcy.

Can you still get a mortgage if you’ve filed for bankruptcy? The answer is YES! But it depends on what kind of bankruptcy you did. If it was a chapter 13 (the kind where you keep your assets but make payments to a trustee each month) then you only need to wait 1 year and you need to prove on time payments for that year to the trustee. If you filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy (the kind where all your debt is wiped out and no monthly payments) then you need to wait for 2 years before you’ll qualify. Chapter 7 bankruptcies are typically more popular. There are some exceptions to the 2 year rule however depending why you filed bankruptcy. In some cases we can get you a mortgage after 1 year with a chapter 7. The most important thing after a bankruptcy though is to start rebuilding your credit as soon as you can. The more open and in good standing lines of credit you have, the higher your credit score will come back and the better the terms will be on the new loan. Let me know if you have any additional questions.