So, just how hard is it?

[mamatyson74]

With the changes in mortgage that Im hearing, is it impossible to get a mortgage? Hubby & I will reach our 2 year since discharge in October and we have re-established our credit with 2 vehicle loans and 2 credit cards each. One auto loan will be paid off before we reach our 2 years. Credit cards we owe a combined 1,500 on and we intend on using some of our stimulus check to finish paying them off. At that time we will only charge around 20.00 a month on each one and pay it off each month, just to help raise our score anymore that we can. Currently his mid score is 560, not as high as we want but it can only get better from here on. We are working so hard on purchasing a house before the end of this year. Hubby will returning to Iraq before next spring and thats the one thing he wants to have done before he leaves. We do intend on using our VA home loan and we will have around 10k in his TSP that we can use if the mortgage company thinks FHA is a better route. Im just REALLY worried when I read that people with good credit are going to have tougher times getting a mortgage then they could before. What chance do people that are in our situation with past credit problems have?

[iupui1299]

My 2 year date is in October as well. We just got approved for an FHA fixed rate loan. We will close on our discharge date. It is indeed possible. We will be able to get the going rates at that time.

[Flamingo]

You won't know until you try. Eventually houses have to get moving again to get this economy off the ground and the government is trying to get things started. If people sit around and not apply it will never happen. It sounds like you have been keeping it together since your discharge. You need to find a good broker and have him/her do some searching for you. A good start is to ask the attorney who handled your BK for you; our attorney gave us an excellent broker reference and he saved us a lot of worry and money. You will probably be steered to a FHA mortgage with the BK on your record. Rates are good but you will have to deal with monthly PMI.

[jal1129]

It really depends in what area of the country you are planning to buy in as some areas are harder hit with the mortgage/housing crisis than others. Also depends on the price of the house. Once you get to the 2 year mark and if you have no lates or derog's within the previous 12 months you *should* be okay with either VA or FHA. But like someone else said...you will never know unless you try!

[DisneyGirl]

We just bought a house here in Southern California (new construction). We used a CalVet loan which is really like a VA loan. We had no problem getting approved and were also looking at FHAs but decided to do the VA instead. We are 3 years out of BK though and our scores are in the upper 600s to low 700s.

Good luck and I hope you find exactly what you're looking for!!!! We're loving our new home.

[sandhall]

I can tell you VA requires three yrs out of BK and your scores need to be 650 and above. I just attended a VA class about all their benefits and I ask this question and they were pretty admant about three yrs outta of bk

[DisneyGirl]

I can tell you VA requires three yrs out of BK and your scores need to be 650 and above. I just attended a VA class about all their benefits and I ask this question and they were pretty admant about three yrs outta of bk

I wonder if this is a new requirement? We just bought our house in January and we were told it was 2 years.

[iupui1299]

I thought it was 3 years if you had a foreclosure.

[mamatyson74]

I can tell you VA requires three yrs out of BK and your scores need to be 650 and above. I just attended a VA class about all their benefits and I ask this question and they were pretty admant about three yrs outta of bk

hmmm that must be something new that hasnt been updated on their website too. I got some information from them as recent as 2 months ago and it stated 2 years. But after reading your post I checked the website and it says 2 also.

[jal1129]

VA guidelines are just that-guidelines. Any lender can increase thier own lending guidelines on minimum requirements for underwriting a VA mortgage. The only thing they can't do is relax the guidelines and expect the VA to still guarantee the loan. This goes for all government backed loans.

[MTG_BANKER_OH]

I can tell you VA requires three yrs out of BK and your scores need to be 650 and above. I just attended a VA class about all their benefits and I ask this question and they were pretty admant about three yrs outta of bk

VA is only 2 years out of BKand there is no score requirement.

[cjmax_2008]

So if I am a veteran, can you get me a Mortgage? I am at 590 FICOs and am a Vet. I have awesome income to debt, and a stable job now for last 10 years... I plan on asking once I get my VA Certificate of Elig
[private email deleted by moderator]

VA is only 2 years out of BKand there is no score requirement.

[lrprn]

So if I am a veteran, can you get me a Mortgage? I am at 590 FICOs and am a Vet. I have awesome income to debt, and a stable job now for last 10 years... I plan on asking once I get my VA Certificate of Elig
[private email deleted by moderator]

cjmax, it is a VERY bad idea to post your private email address on an open internet forum like this one. That's why I deleted it.

If Nick can help you, he'll respond to you using the forum's PM (private message) feature.