If you’ve filed for bankruptcy but are wanting to still buy a house, you may be wondering if you can still get mortgage loans after bankruptcy. We are here to tell you that yes, you can get a bankruptcy mortgage, though it will be harder than a regular mortgage would be. In fact, a majority of the lenders you will find will make you wait up to 2 years after your bankruptcy discharge before you can be qualified for a bankruptcy mortgage loan. But, they probably won’t even start considering you until around 18 months, and then you may be able to get the process rolling for your bankruptcy loans.
Bankruptcy mortgages, as with other types of loans that go to people that are considered high-risk because of past credit problems such as bankruptcy, usually come at a higher interest rate than other similar loans for people with better a credit history. In addition to the higher rates, you will usually need to provide more documentation than other loans require, so forget about anything resembling a no doc loan, which is a good credit mortgage loan. That includes more proof of employment and income history, and any possible liquid assets that you may own.
In addition to all of the above, bankruptcy mortgage loans usually require a larger down payment than you would need for a comparable mortgage. Although it isn’t any fun having to jump through so many hoops, the banks don’t really trust someone who has declared bankruptcy and used bankruptcy services, and so you will have to work harder to prove that they should give you a mortgage loan after bankruptcy. They figure that if you invest a large amount of your own money, that if you end up defaulting on the loan, then you will not only lose your house, but a lot of money that you will have already invested up front with the down payment.
If you find yourself in a spot where the down payment that they require for getting a mortgage after bankruptcy is just too high, then that might actually work out in your favor. It will allow you to save up more money, and during that time, you will get further and further away from your bankruptcy which will only help you in the future. In fact, you may get far enough away from the bankruptcy that you will be able to apply for a regular mortgage, and then you’ll have a nice down payment from saving up for your after bankruptcy mortgage, that you’ll be able to get a great rate on the regular mortgage. You might even be able to apply for an easy no doc mortgage loans once your credit is rebuilt.
While you are waiting to save up enough of a down payment, one of your other main goals should be to fix bad credit. This will also help you when you do save up enough for a down payment, to hopefully get a lower rate when getting a mortgage after bankruptcy. Here are some credit restoration tips.