Can you Get A Mortgage After Short Sale (Or Foreclosure)?

Given today’s guidelines what are the absolute bare-minimums to obtain a mortgage?

….and perhaps more interesting…how to obtain a mortgage immediately after a Short Sale..read on…

By far the easiest mortgage to obtain is a FHA loan:

1) 3.5 percent down payment, based on the purchase price of the home (e.g., $7,000 on a $200,000 home), or a gift of that same amount;

2) 3 percent to 6 percent of the purchase price, on top of the down payment, for closing costs, or a credit from the seller of the same amount; and

3) 640 FICO credit score — the middle score of those generated by the three credit bureaus (some banks will lend to borrowers with middle scores lower than 640, but will require more than the minimum down payment).

Lenders will want you to document income, asset and job history documentation, current paycheck stubs, two months’ bank statements and two years of W-2 forms or tax returns, and:

• a minimum of two years have passed since the discharge of a bankruptcy;
• a minimum of three years have passed since a foreclosure;
• anywhere from zero to three years have passed since a short sale, depending on the circumstances surrounding the short sale.