A bankruptcy or a lost house does not end homeownership. It starts a clock, and the clock is different for every loan program and every kind of event. Most people wait longer than they have to because nobody told them which clock applies. From a Nevada lender who has closed loans for people on the other side of all of this since 1999.
Life Events › After Bankruptcy
Every waiting period counts from a specific document: the discharge or dismissal order for a bankruptcy, the recorded deed or trustee's deed for a foreclosure, the settlement statement for a short sale, the recorded deed for a deed-in-lieu. Not the day you stopped paying, not the day you moved out, not the day the process started. The clock ends at the FHA case number date, the VA closing date, or the conventional funding date, not the day you apply, so a file can start a few weeks before the date arrives. Pull those documents first. Half the people Art talks to are already past the clock they thought they were still on, and a few are on a longer one than they were told.
FHA and VA reopen soonest after most events, and both can work during a Chapter 13 with the court's permission.
Tap to flipFHA and VA reopen soonest after most events, and both can work during a Chapter 13 with the court's permission. That is why so many second-chance purchases are FHA or VA loans. The trade is mortgage insurance or a funding fee and, on FHA, stricter property standards.
Tap to go backConventional clocks are the longest, especially after a foreclosure, but the loan on the other side has no upfront insurance and drops its monthly insurance once you have enough equity.
Tap to flipConventional clocks are the longest, especially after a foreclosure, but the loan on the other side has no upfront insurance and drops its monthly insurance once you have enough equity. When the FHA clock is done and the conventional clock is close, waiting a few months can be the cheaper path.
Tap to go backSome lenders will lend a year or even months after a bankruptcy or foreclosure, with a large down payment and a higher cost.
Tap to flipSome lenders will lend a year or even months after a bankruptcy or foreclosure, with a large down payment and a higher cost. It is a real option for someone with cash and a reason not to wait, and it can be refinanced into a standard program when the clock runs out. Art will say whether the premium is worth it in your case.
Tap to go backDischarge order, trustee's deed, settlement statement, deed-in-lieu.
Tap to flipDischarge order, trustee's deed, settlement statement, deed-in-lieu. The county recorder and the bankruptcy court have them. Art reads the dates before anything else, because they decide everything else.
Tap to go backChapter 7, Chapter 13, foreclosure, short sale, deed-in-lieu, or a mortgage that was inside the bankruptcy: each one has four clocks, one per program.
Tap to flipChapter 7, Chapter 13, foreclosure, short sale, deed-in-lieu, or a mortgage that was inside the bankruptcy: each one has four clocks, one per program. Art tells you which door is open today and which opens next.
Tap to go backPrograms want re-established credit after the event: on-time payments on a few accounts for at least 12 months, no new collections, no new lates.
Tap to flipPrograms want re-established credit after the event: on-time payments on a few accounts for at least 12 months, no new collections, no new lates. The waiting period only counts if the credit on the other side of it is clean.
Tap to go backArt keeps the file warm and calls you the month the date arrives, with the pre-approval ready.
Tap to flipArt keeps the file warm and calls you the month the date arrives, with the pre-approval ready. People who wait for a lender to find them wait a year longer than they had to.
Tap to go backStandard waits as the four rulebooks are commonly applied. Shorter waits exist with documented extenuating circumstances, and lender overlays can be longer. Art confirms your dates against the current guides before anything is ordered.
| Event | Conventional | FHA | VA | USDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7, from discharge or dismissal | 4 years | 2 years | 2 years | 3 years, or sooner with a documented credit exception |
| Chapter 13, during the plan | not available | 12 months of plan payments plus court permission | 12 months of plan payments plus court permission | 12 months of plan payments plus court permission |
| Chapter 13, after | 2 years from discharge, 4 from dismissal | from discharge with clean history | from discharge with clean history | from discharge with clean history |
| Foreclosure, from the recorded deed | 7 years | 3 years | 2 years | 3 years, or sooner with a documented credit exception |
| Short sale or deed-in-lieu | 4 years | 3 years | no fixed clock; can be under 2 years with a clean payment history | 3 years, or sooner with a documented credit exception |
| Mortgage included in the bankruptcy | clock runs from the discharge date, with documentation that the mortgage was discharged | 3 years from the deed | 2 years from the later of the discharge or the deed | 3 years from the deed, or sooner with a documented credit exception |
One timeline, standard waits, no extenuating circumstances. Your event and your program pick the node.
Documented extenuating circumstances, a one-time event outside your control that caused the loss, can shorten several of these, sometimes by years; on USDA the same idea is a documented credit exception. It is worth the paperwork and Art helps you assemble it.
The recorded date of the event against the program's clock, and whether the mortgage was included in a bankruptcy, which on conventional loans lets the clock run from the discharge instead of the later foreclosure.
Tap to flipThe recorded date of the event against the program's clock, and whether the mortgage was included in a bankruptcy, which on conventional loans lets the clock run from the discharge instead of the later foreclosure. Two dates, one of them often years earlier than people assume.
Tap to go backAt least 12 months of clean payment history after the event on the accounts you have, no new collections, no new lates, and a score that meets the program floor.
Tap to flipAt least 12 months of clean payment history after the event on the accounts you have, no new collections, no new lates, and a score that meets the program floor. A secured card and a small installment loan, paid on time, are how most people rebuild. Old collections from before the event matter far less than anything new.
Tap to go backThe same two-year employment history as any file, and a hard look at whether the thing that caused the loss is over.
Tap to flipThe same two-year employment history as any file, and a hard look at whether the thing that caused the loss is over. A job loss that ended, a medical event that resolved, a divorce that is final: those are stories with an ending, and the underwriter wants to see it.
Tap to go backA second-chance file is stronger with money in the bank after closing.
Tap to flipA second-chance file is stronger with money in the bank after closing. Some shortened-wait programs require a larger down payment and a loan-to-value cap. Down payment assistance can still apply on most standard programs once the clock has run.
Tap to go backEach of these moves a date, sometimes by years.
A one-time event outside your control that caused the loss: a job loss, a serious illness, a death in the family.
Tap to flipA one-time event outside your control that caused the loss: a job loss, a serious illness, a death in the family. With documents that tie the event to the loss, conventional and FHA both shorten their waits, sometimes to 2 years or 1 year, usually with a larger down payment. Divorce alone usually does not qualify; the financial event behind it can.
Tap to go backNot a myth.
Tap to flipNot a myth. After 12 months of on-time plan payments, with written permission from the bankruptcy court on FHA, or from the trustee or the court on VA and USDA, and a manually underwritten file, all three can close while the plan is still running. Conventional cannot. Most people in a plan never hear this and wait until discharge.
Tap to go backIf your mortgage was discharged in a Chapter 7 and the foreclosure happened afterward, conventional guidelines run the clock from the discharge, not from the foreclosure, which can be years earlier.
Tap to flipIf your mortgage was discharged in a Chapter 7 and the foreclosure happened afterward, conventional guidelines run the clock from the discharge, not from the foreclosure, which can be years earlier. FHA and USDA still count from the deed; VA counts from the later of the two dates. Bring both documents; the difference can be the whole wait.
Tap to go backThe court and county documents first. They set the date; everything else follows.
The waiting periods on this page follow the four rulebooks that govern almost every U.S. mortgage: the Fannie Mae Selling Guide section on significant derogatory credit events, HUD Handbook 4000.1 for FHA, the VA Lender's Handbook, and USDA Handbook HB-1-3555. They are stated as the standard waits those guides are commonly applied to; lender overlays can be longer, which USDA states plainly in its own handbook, extenuating-circumstance provisions can be shorter, and the guides change. Art re-verifies this page against the current text at every update and at the annual guideline rollover.
The questions people type into search engines and ask AI assistants, answered the way Art answers them on the phone.
Standard waits from the discharge date: 2 years on FHA and VA, 3 years on USDA, 4 years on conventional. With documented extenuating circumstances FHA can drop to 1 year and conventional to 2. The clock runs from the discharge order, not the filing date, and the credit after the discharge has to be clean.
Yes, on FHA, VA and USDA, after 12 months of on-time plan payments, with written permission to take on new debt from the bankruptcy court on FHA or from the trustee or the court on VA and USDA, and a manually underwritten file. Conventional loans wait until 2 years after discharge or 4 after dismissal. Most people in a plan are never told this.
A lot, on conventional loans. A Chapter 13 that was discharged waits 2 years; one that was dismissed, meaning the plan was not completed, waits 4. Extenuating circumstances can bring a dismissal down to 2 years, but nothing shortens the 2 years after a discharge; the guide allows no exception there. FHA and VA look at the reason for a dismissal and the payment history since. Bring the order either way; the word on it changes the date.
On conventional loans, yes: more than one bankruptcy filing within the last 7 years extends the wait to 5 years from the most recent discharge or dismissal, or 3 years with documented extenuating circumstances. Two borrowers on one loan who each had one bankruptcy are not a multiple filing. FHA and VA evaluate the pattern and the reasons. Art reads both files before giving you a date.
On conventional loans the clock runs from the bankruptcy discharge, as long as the mortgage was discharged in it, even if the foreclosure recorded years later. That single rule moves a lot of people from a 7-year wait to one that is already over. FHA and USDA count from the recorded deed; VA counts from the later of the discharge or the deed. Bring the discharge, the schedule of debts, and the deed.
Standard waits from the date the deed transferred: 2 years on VA, 3 years on FHA and USDA, 7 years on conventional. Conventional drops to 3 years with documented extenuating circumstances, but only for a primary home purchase or a rate-and-term refinance, with a loan-to-value of 90 percent or the program maximum, whichever is lower; second homes, rentals and cash-out refinances wait the full 7. The date is the recorded trustee's deed, not the day you moved out.
Not on conventional loans: a short sale or a deed-in-lieu waits 4 years versus 7 for a completed foreclosure. FHA and USDA treat them the same as a foreclosure, at 3 years. VA sets no fixed clock for a short sale or a deed-in-lieu: if your payments were current before the sale and you stayed in contact with the servicer, VA may need no waiting period at all. FHA can waive its wait entirely if you were current on your mortgage and all installment debts for the 12 months before the short sale, which is rare but real.
You hand the deed to the lender instead of going through the auction. On conventional loans it waits 4 years like a short sale, instead of 7 for a foreclosure; FHA and USDA wait 3 years, the same as a foreclosure, and VA has no fixed clock, so it can be shorter than 2 years when the payment history was clean. It also spares you the public trustee's sale and often some of the credit damage.
On the trustee's deed recorded with the county recorder where the house was, in Nevada usually available online by name or parcel. That recorded date is the one the underwriter uses. If you cannot find it, Art can pull it from the title record.
Same clocks for the house you lost; the program does not care which house it was. One limit on the house you buy next: after a conventional foreclosure with the 3-year extenuating-circumstances exception, the purchase between years 3 and 7 has to be your primary home, not a rental. What can differ is the story: a rental lost in a downturn with a documented cause reads differently from a primary home lost after a long default. Art writes the letter of explanation with you.
Usually VA for eligible veterans at 2 years after nearly every event, then FHA at 2 years after a Chapter 7 or 3 after a lost house, then USDA at 3, then conventional at 4 or 7. During a Chapter 13, FHA, VA and USDA can open at 12 months of plan payments. USDA inside its 3 years is possible with a documented credit exception: the cause was temporary, beyond your control and unlikely to recur. Art matches your event to the four clocks and names the first door.
It depends on how far apart the two dates are and what the house costs you in the meantime. FHA carries upfront and monthly mortgage insurance; conventional insurance falls off with equity. If conventional opens in a few months, waiting is often cheaper. If it is years away, buy on FHA and refinance to conventional when the clock runs out. Art shows you both in dollars.
A one-time event outside your control that directly caused the loss and is unlikely to recur: a job loss, a serious illness or injury, a death in the family. Proof is documents that tie the event to the loss in time: a termination notice, medical bills, a death certificate, plus a letter that explains the sequence. Divorce by itself usually does not qualify; a job loss during the divorce can. Conventional shortens a foreclosure wait to 3 years with it; FHA shortens most waits to 1 year.
Sometimes, on a non-QM or portfolio loan that does not follow the four rulebooks. Some lend a year or even months after the event, with a large down payment and a higher cost. It can be the right move for someone with cash and a reason not to wait, and it can be refinanced into a standard program later. Art will tell you what the premium is and whether it is worth it.
Possibly both, about different programs, or one of them is applying an overlay. The guides set the floors; lenders can add time on top, and a lender that does not offer manual underwriting cannot do the Chapter 13 or extenuating-circumstance cases at all. Ask which program and which guide section each answer comes from. Art shows you the section.
At least 12 months of on-time payments on the accounts you have, no new collections or charge-offs since the event, and a score at or above the program floor. Two or three active accounts are enough. The event itself stays on the report for years; what the underwriter reads is what you did afterward.
A secured credit card, used lightly and paid in full every month, and a small credit-builder or installment loan. Keep balances low, never miss, and do not open five things at once. In about a year you have the history the programs want. The credit guide on this site covers the rebuild step by step.
Usually not, if they were included in the bankruptcy; they should report as discharged, and a dispute fixes the ones that do not. What matters is anything new after the event. Bring the report and Art marks what needs a dispute letter and what can be ignored.
Usually, once the clock for the underlying program has run and your credit meets the assistance program's own floor. Some assistance programs have their own waiting rules after a foreclosure. Art checks both before you plan around it.
No. Federal law lets a bankruptcy stay on the report for up to 10 years from the filing date, and the bureaus usually drop a completed Chapter 13 after 7, but the mortgage programs open years before that. Waiting for the report to clear costs most people years of homeownership for no reason. The clocks on this page are the ones that matter.
Generally, yes, 2 years after a foreclosure, a short sale, a deed-in-lieu or a Chapter 7, with re-established credit. One catch: if the lost house had a VA loan, part of your entitlement may be tied up until the government's loss is repaid, which can limit how much you can buy with no down payment. Art pulls your certificate of eligibility first.
Divorce itself usually does not; the guides treat it as a life event, not a financial catastrophe. The financial event inside the divorce sometimes does, such as a job loss or a medical crisis that left one spouse unable to pay. The decree, the timeline and the documents decide. There is one carve-out that helps a lot of people: on FHA and USDA, if the mortgage was current at the time of the divorce, the decree gave the house to your ex-spouse, and it was foreclosed or short-sold afterward, the wait can be excused with proof that the loan was paid as agreed before the decree date. Bring the decree and the payment history. The divorce guide on this site covers keeping or leaving the house before it gets that far.
If your spouse is on the loan, their clock applies to the file. If you qualify alone, you can buy in your name only. Nevada is a community property state, so on FHA, VA and USDA loans the lender counts your spouse's debts even when your spouse is not on the loan, though not your spouse's credit history; conventional does not. Art runs it both ways.
Yes, on the same clocks, and sometimes sooner: a mortgage you reaffirmed and kept paying on time through and after the bankruptcy is a strong file, and some streamline refinances on FHA and VA look mostly at that payment history. Bring the reaffirmation agreement if there was one.
Not on the standard clocks; once the wait has run, the program's normal down payment applies, 3.5 percent on FHA, zero on VA and USDA for eligible borrowers, as low as 3 percent on some conventional programs. Shortened-wait exceptions and non-QM loans are where larger down payments show up.
Once the clock has run and the credit is rebuilt, the event itself is not a separate pricing factor on the standard programs; your score, your down payment and the loan type set the pricing like anyone else's. Non-QM loans before the clock runs are where the history is priced in. Art shows you the standard program first, always.
Program guidelines change. This page describes what usually happens; your file may differ. Not a Loan Estimate, not a commitment to lend.
Prefer to talk? Call or text Art at 775-404-0006. English or Spanish.
Marital status, family status and where your income comes from do not change how a file is evaluated. Federal fair-lending law requires that, and it is how Art has worked since 1999.
This page is educational material published by Art Loera, a Nevada-licensed mortgage loan originator (NMLS #367308) with PRMG. Art is not an attorney, a certified public accountant, a tax preparer, a financial planner or a housing counselor, and nothing here is legal, tax, accounting, investment or credit-repair advice, or a substitute for advice from a licensed professional who knows your facts. Divorce, probate, bankruptcy, foreclosure and tax questions turn on details this page cannot see. Before you act, consult a licensed Nevada attorney, a CPA or tax professional, or a HUD-approved housing counselor. Reading this page or contacting Art does not create an attorney-client, accountant-client or lender-borrower relationship, and nothing here is an offer, a Loan Estimate, a commitment to lend, a rate quote or a guarantee of approval. Program rules, statutes and dollar thresholds change; the figures here were checked against the publishers' own text on the review date below and can be superseded. Art does not pay or receive referral fees from attorneys, accountants or counselors. If you are facing a deadline in a court case, a foreclosure notice or a tax filing, meet the deadline first and get professional help now.
Written and reviewed by Art Loera, NMLS #367308. Published September 4, 2026, updated September 4, 2026.
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