Fannie Mae recently revised their guidelines for lending to those unfortunate owners who had to sell short or give a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to their lender. And it's good news!
In a nutshell, if you've sold your primary home in a short sale and put your credit back in shape, Fannie thinks you're eligible to buy again after 2 years. This is calculated from the closing date of your short sale. Of course, you will need a good-sized 20% downpayment. But that's no different than the traditional conventional mortgage loan this country's offered for 60+ years.
After 4 years, you can buy with 10% downpayment. And after 7 years, Fannie treats you like any other buyer, following their standard loan qualification matrix.
Since the whole mad wave of short sales hit the Chicagoland area about 2 years ago, the first group of those unfortunate homeowners are now approaching the 2 year mark. If they're back on their feet, they might be back in the market to buy. If their credit is still improving, a purchase could still happen soon for them! I predict a number of folks who are renting after their short sale will soon be back in the game to buy. WE REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS JUST HAVE TO GET THE WORD OUT TO THEM!
There's light at the end of the tunnel! I'm glad Fannie isn't going to treat short-sale sellers as lepers anymore. They're the ones who bit the bullet and tried to do right in paying back what market conditions allowed through a short sale. Fannie is treating those who let their homes foreclose a bit more harshly. You're going to have to wait 7 years, unless you can document extenuating circumstances. Then it's 3 years and repaired credit for you!
For all the details, Fannie Mae's selling guide database spells it out for short sales.
For foreclosures, the details are in Fannie Mae's bulletin here.
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