VA Loans after Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

If you’ve had a foreclosure or bankruptcy in your past, the good news is you still may be eligible for a VA Home Loan, however, in both instances there is a required waiting of two years. With a foreclosure, if the previous loan was a VA Loan the borrower may need to re-pay the government’s loss on the guaranteed amount in order to restore their Veteran Affairs loan entitlement.  With a bankruptcy you must wait two years from the bankruptcy discharge date before a VA mortgage can be originated.

In both instances, the borrower’s credit history in the two year waiting period will be critical to obtaining a loan approval.  The borrower’s credit report must show consistent on time payments and responsible use of credit during the time period after the foreclosure or bankruptcy.  For many borrowers, this can be challenging because lenders or collection agencies continue to put and report derogatory lines of credit on the borrower’s credit profile even though they were addresses in the bankruptcy or foreclosure. We recommend Veterans in a post foreclosure or bankruptcy situation do the following:

1)     Use Lexington Law to repair and maintain your credit score and profile.  In business for 20+ years they are among the largest and most reputable credit repair companies in the U.S.  They offer a free report summary and repair consultation, and reasonable fees to work with you getting items removed from your credit report that should not be there.  Click the Call 855-200-2232 or click the box below to learn how Lexington Law can help you after foreclosure or bankruptcy.

2)     Know and protect your credit score.  We highly recommend using a credit monitoring service, its like an alarm system for your credit profile.   TrustedID offers Best in Class Identity Protection. They will provide you with a free credit report and a free 14 day trial of credit monitoring (then as little as $10.42/month for ongoing protection). Click below to get started:

If you’ve been through a foreclosure or bankruptcy and want to buy a home, it will take some time but you need to start by pro-actively managing and maintaining your credit.  If you are at or close to the two year mark after one of these events, it would benefit you to contact a VA Mortgage Specialist (use the form to the right) who will be able to take a detailed look at your situation and advise you as to anything additional you’ll need to do in order to be pre-qualified as soon as possible after the two year waiting period.