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Buying A Home After Bankruptcy

By: Karen O'Donnell

Experienced bankruptcy lately? You may wonder if you will still be able to get a home loan. You may also be wondering if buying a home after bankruptcy is a good idea for you.

While bankruptcy can make your mortgage loan approval difficult, it is still possible to get approved. In fact there have been more and more bad credit loans coming out all the time.

They are called the Subprime lenders; they are focusing more on helping individuals with poor credit in buying homes after bankruptcy.

This is happening mostly because bankruptcies are still on the rise and there is an increasing number of people with bad credit who are looking for home financing.

Just to give you a bit of an overview here are some very good reasons to consider after bankruptcy and when you are looking to buying a home:

Increase your credit rating. When you make your payments on a regular basis, you will be able to develop your credit rating. Once your pre-payment penalty is done, you should be able to refinance your credit loan for a much lesser interest rate.

After your bankruptcy has been ended 2-3 years, you ought to have a much easier time qualifying for a lesser interest rate mortgage loan.

You will be able to own an asset. If you are just renting a home then you are absolutely throwing your monthly payments away. Why not just buy a home and over time its value will increase and you are working your way towards owing an asset.

Once you have bought your house as soon as 6 months or so later you should be able to take out an equity loan on your home and consolidate any other debt that you might have since your bankruptcy or debt that could not be included in your bankruptcy.

Taxes and student loans will not be discharged in a bankruptcy. You may also want to use the extra cash to invest in a business venture or for needed home improvement.

It is very tempting to buy a new home, new car, do some renovations, etc., after bankruptcy discharge you have no debt left. You will probably feel like you can afford a larger house payment due to the financial experience that you have had.

But it is not that easy so here are some factors to consider before committing yourself to a new house payment.

The Pre-payment penalty. This penalty is usually about 6 months worth of house payments. And usually lasts from 2-3years. Once you sign those mortgage papers you absolutely have to make those payments. If you don't have the amount of the pre-payment penalty in savings, you are locked into making the payments or losing the house.

The Two Year Mark. Keep in mind that after 2-3 years from the date of the bankruptcy discharge, mortgage loans will be much easier to get. With a small down payment, you might even be able to get a mortgage loan without a pre-payment penalty.

So, if you are within 6 months or so from the 2 year mark it would be smart to wait it out and have more mortgage loan options.

Borrowing Too Much. This is the most common mistake that we usually get into. If you do decide to buy a house, buy one that you know you will be able to afford. Don't max yourself out on credit, living right up to the edge of your income.

If your income suddenly drops, you'll want to make sure that you can still afford your house payment. Be conservative with how much home you need to buy. Most of us always think that bankruptcy is the end of our credit life. But do not despair because I know some people that have been in to bankruptcy that have been able to get up again and rebuild their credit quickly and most of them have even been able to buy a new house.

Bankruptcy will show up on your credit report for 10 years. That means that every mortgage lender will certainly see that fact when evaluating your mortgage application.

Although it may be difficult to find a bank to give you a mortgage it's certainly not impossible. Banks want to make money and you may find one that's willing to take the risk.

Article Source: http://www.articlesinsight.com

Selling Real Estate Guide is available as a FREE 5 part ecourse at www.sellingrealestateguide.com . Karen ODonnell provides information on the subject if you plan to get involved with this interesting topic.

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