For most people, owning a home is a critical part of their long term happiness.  We all like to feel like we have a space that is ours – a quite retreat in our fast paced lives.

If you have filed for bankruptcy, you may have also lost your home in the process.  Even if you did not, unless you were able to keep a home that you already owned, the goal of being a home owner can seem further away than ever. This is especially true now that getting an after bankruptcy mortgage loan can seem more difficult than ever.

The truth is that since subprime lending is a thing of the past, getting a mortgage is going to be a challenge.  It will take some work, and you will need to make sure that you do everything right!  This means it is critical that when you do reestablish your credit history that you are very diligent about paying your bills on time.

How long it is going to take you to get a mortgage depends largely on your situation.  If you did not have a foreclosure as part of your bankruptcy, you may be able to qualify for a home loan in as soon as two years.  If you did have a foreclosure, current guidelines require that you wait at least three years from your bankruptcy discharged.  Remember, it is not when you filed that matters for mortgage qualification.  It is the date that the bankruptcy case was closed and you were discharged from your debts.

It is critical that you work to reestablish a history of making your payments on time.  Unless you carried accounts through your bankruptcy you will need to open new accounts as soon as possible after your bankruptcy.  This is a critical step to restore credit because before banks will be willing to give you a loan for something as big as a home, they want to see that you have the ability to handle smaller things.

Related posts:

1. Declaring Bankruptcy to Get a Fresh Financial Start
2. Why A No Doc Loan May Be Right For You
3. How to Obtain a Loan When Unemployed