How Many Years Do You Have To Wait To Qualify For a Mortage After a Short Sale or Foreclosure in California?

There are thousands and thousands of homeowners across the state of California that have lost their homes to foreclosure or sold their home as a short sale. This article will discuss how long you have to wait after a short sale or foreclosure to get a VA loan, get FHA loan or get a conventional loan.

How long do I have to wait to get a mortgage again after a Short Sale?

If you sold your house as a short sale, in most cases you will have to wait two years from the date of the short sale to be able to get any type of mortgage, VA loan, FHA loan or conventional loan. There is only one exception when it comes to qualify FHA loan:

If you did not have any mortgage late payments leading up to your short sale AND you sold your home because you had to relocate for a job transfer

That is the only exception. So really the vast majority of homeowners that sold their home in a short sale will have to wait two years from the date of the short sale to get a VA loan, get FHA loan or get a conventional loan.

How long do I have to wait to get a mortgage again after a foreclosure?

VA loans 2 years
FHA loans 3 years
Conventional loans 7 years

Something to keep in mind is VA and FHA loans are only for owner occupied primary residences. If you want to buy and investment property or second home, the only choice is a conventional loan. So if you had a foreclosure, you will have to wait seven years before you can buy and investment property or a second home with a conventional loan.

So that is a quick summary. The good news is if you had a short sale you will be able to buy again fairly soon, two years will go by fast. And even if you had a foreclosure, it is only a two year wait to get a VA loan if you are VA eligible or three years to get FHA loan.

And here is a quick reminder in the latest updates of the benefits of VA lending in California:

If you qualify VA loan it is a 100% financing zero down loan. It is the only 100% financing mortgage loan available today. The next best is FHA with 3.5% down.
VA loan 30 year fixed interest rates are still very, very low compared to historical norms
California VA loans available with 100% financing all the way up to $600,000, $700,000 and beyond depending which county you buy in California. This allows you to buy with VA 100% financing even in coastal areas such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco and Orange County. A VA loan over $417,000 is a jumbo VA loan.
VA loan credit scores do not have to be perfect, you just need a 600 score to qualify.
You can get a second VA loan (and 3rd, 4th, etc…) even if you have had a VA loan before, but you can only have one at a time.
VA loan benefits include a waived VA funding fee for veterans if you receive any VA disability pay. This is a savings of thousands and thousands of dollars
VA lending has NO monthly mortgage insurance. You have to put 20% down to get any other type of mortgage with no monthly mortgage insurance.

Give me a call (858-922-7899) or email (homeloan8@gmail.com) if you have any questions or want to apply for a VA loan.

Warmest Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer (and VA specialist)

858-922-7899

homeloan8@gmail.com