Getting my ducks ina row...

[mooread]

Wife - Ch 7 BK Discharged April '05
Me - Ch 7 BK Discharged September '06

Both of us have re-established credit and have maintained a clean credit history since the bankruptcy. We plan to purchase a new home at my two year mark, Sept this year. I currently own a home that was purchased prior to my BK and have maintained paying on time. Now the questions. Is it worth getting in touch with a loan officer to go over my credit history, or should I wait till I get closer to my 2 year mark? I have seen comments about having to provide a letter of explanation for the bankruptcy. Is this required? If so, how heavily will this weigh on us getting a loan? My wifes bankruptcy was due to her losing her job, this was prior to us being married on 4/14/07. My bankruptcy was due to being careless and getting in over my head in debt.

Any advice and information is greatly appreciated!

-AM

[DisneyGirl]

We just bought a house, here's my thoughts on your questions based on our experience.

1) Wait until it's closer to talk to a loan officer. We didn't and ended up with 2 hits on our credit report due to loan officers checking our credit. It's not a "bad" thing but when we did settle on a loan we had to write a two sentence statement saying "why" those inquires were made. So save yourself the trouble there and hold off.

2) We had to provide to the VA a short statement regarding our BK. It was all of four sentences that basically said I had to quit my job to care for our disabled children and since the BK we've worked to rebuild our credit and increase our income. That was it. Very plain and simple. According to our loan officer they just want something in writing showing you've recovered from your BK. As long as you keep it simple and honest, you shouldn't have any problems.

As for it being required, I don't know. The VA did require it but I don't know if it's a standard requirement for anyone who's filed. We were 3 years out of our Ch 7 when we bought and we still had to write it.

Good luck and I hope it all works out for you!!