Time Considerations After A Short Sale Before You Can Buy A Home Again
With the number of short sales happening in the Phoenix AZ real estate market, many homeowners who have gone through the process (or are thinking about the process) wonder about what’s next after the short sale is complete. This post will not cover the legal battles you might have with your ex-lender but rather it is going to cover your options for living arrangements and home buying after your short sale is complete.
Two years?
One of the first things to get comfortable about when it comes to a short sale is that you will not likely be able to buy a new home for at least 2 years (all mortgage programs including VA loans, FHA loans and Conventional mortgages). The 2 year guideline stands as long you keep your credit record spotless from the time your short sale is complete until you try to get a new mortgage.
Which Types of Mortgages?
These guidelines and general rules apply to any type of mortgage. Later in the post, the time requirements for common mortgage types is explained in detail.
Time Requirements
With this in mind you’ll need to think about renting a home for a at least 2 years to give yourself time to meet the minimum time requirements that you’ll need to get any type of mortgage. Mortgage programs differ and there are different time requirements following a short sale that you’ll need to know about if you plan to purchase a home after your short sale. Below you’ll see a summary of some of the time requirements.
Time Requirements To Getting a New Mortgage After A Short Sale
Fannie Mae (Conventional and Freddie Mac):
- 2 years with 20% down
- 4 years with 10% down
- 7 years with 3% down
FHA:
- 3 years from short sale completion date * Per FHA – you may be able to get a FHA mortgage under 3 years under special circumstances
VA:
- The VA hasn’t specified wait time guidelines after a short sale but plan on nothing less than 2 years.
USDA Rural:
- 3 years from the completion date
Jumbo:
- 7 years from completion date
Next Steps
Now that you have this list you may want to think it is set in stone. What you need to remember is that if you have a good reason for what caused the short sale you may be able to get an exception to any of the time frames listed above. Best thing you can do is talk to a few loan officers to get different opinions.