Read this first
These are the minimum rules of each loan program. They do not promise approval, and a lender can set stricter rules of its own. Each program also counts from a different date, which is noted below.
Conventional loans (Fannie Mae)
The wait runs from the date the event was completed, discharged or dismissed to the date the new loan funds.
- Foreclosure: seven years.
- Deed in lieu, short sale, or a mortgage that was charged off: four years.
- Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy: four years from discharge or dismissal.
- Chapter 13 bankruptcy: two years from discharge, or four years from dismissal.
- More than one bankruptcy filing in the past seven years: five years from the most recent discharge or dismissal.
If the mortgage debt was discharged in a bankruptcy and the home was later foreclosed, the lender can apply the bankruptcy waiting period when it can document that. Otherwise the longer of the two applies.
Conventional loans: shorter waits for events outside your control
Fannie Mae shortens the wait when the lender can document extenuating circumstances: one-time events beyond your control that caused a sudden, significant and prolonged drop in income or a catastrophic rise in expenses. You have to explain in writing why there was no reasonable option other than default.
- Foreclosure: three years. Until seven years have passed you can buy a main home only, with at least 10 percent down.
- Deed in lieu, short sale or charged-off mortgage: two years.
- Chapter 7 or Chapter 11: two years.
- Chapter 13: two years after a dismissal. Nothing shortens the two years after a Chapter 13 discharge.
We could not read Freddie Mac's rule book, so its exact periods are not listed here. Ask the lender which investor's rules it is using.
FHA loans
FHA counts to the date the new loan's FHA case number is assigned, and counts from the date title to the old home transferred.
- Foreclosure or deed in lieu: you are generally not eligible for three years.
- Short sale: generally three years. There is no wait if every payment on the old mortgage, and on your installment debts, was made within the month it was due for the 12 months before the short sale.
- Chapter 7: two years from discharge, with good credit re-established or no new credit taken on. Between 12 months and two years can be accepted if the bankruptcy came from circumstances beyond your control and you have managed your finances responsibly since.
- Chapter 13: possible after 12 months of on-time plan payments, with the bankruptcy court's written permission.
A lender can make an exception to the three years when the foreclosure or short sale came from documented circumstances beyond your control, such as a serious illness or the death of a wage earner, and you have re-established good credit. Divorce does not count, except where the loan was current at the divorce, your ex-spouse got the home, and it was foreclosed later. Not being able to sell because of a job transfer does not count either.
The old "Back to Work" program, which allowed a 12-month wait, ended on 30 September 2016. Anyone offering it now is out of date.
VA loans
VA counts to the closing date, and gives its lenders guidance instead of fixed bars. VA has no minimum credit score.
- Foreclosure, deed in lieu or short sale: it does not by itself disqualify you. One finalized more than two years before closing may be disregarded.
- Between one and two years: approval is unlikely unless you have taken on and repaid credit since, and the foreclosure came from verified circumstances beyond your control, such as unemployment or medical bills not covered by insurance. VA does not generally treat divorce as beyond your control.
- Deed in lieu or short sale where you kept paying until the transfer and were working with your servicer: VA says a waiting period may not be necessary.
- Chapter 7: a discharge more than two years before closing may be disregarded. Within the past 12 months, approval is generally not possible.
- Chapter 13: possible once you have made at least 12 months of plan payments on time and the trustee or judge approves the new loan.
If the home you lost had a VA loan, you may not have your full entitlement for the next one until VA's loss is repaid. See VA loans.
USDA guaranteed loans
USDA counts to the date you apply.
- A foreclosure completed in the 36 months before you apply, or a bankruptcy discharged in those 36 months, is a sign of significant derogatory credit that the lender must review and document.
- So is one rent or mortgage payment 30 or more days late in the past 12 months, or an earlier USDA loan that ended in a loss to the government.
- A lender may look favorably on someone in a bankruptcy repayment plan who has made 12 months of payments in a row on time, with the trustee's or judge's approval.
- The lender may weigh whether the problems were temporary and beyond your control.
What to do while you wait
- Pay every bill on time. The CFPB says payment history is the top factor in most credit scores.
- Check your credit reports for free and fix errors. See foreclosure and your credit.
- Keep the papers that show what happened and when: the deed or sale record, the bankruptcy discharge, and proof of the hardship. A lender will ask for the dates and, for a shorter wait, for the proof.
- Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor at (800) 569-4287 before you apply.
How much time do you have? It depends on your state.
See the foreclosure timeline, deadlines and free local help for the state where the home is.
Common questions
Is the wait shorter after a short sale than after a foreclosure?
For a conventional loan, yes: four years instead of seven under Fannie Mae's rules, or two instead of three with documented extenuating circumstances. For FHA it is three years for both, but a short sale can have no wait at all if you were on time for the 12 months before it.
Does the waiting period start when I missed my first payment?
No. Fannie Mae counts from the date the foreclosure, short sale or deed in lieu was completed, and FHA from the date title transferred. A foreclosure that drags on does not start the clock early.
I lost a home with an FHA loan. Can I get a VA loan sooner?
Possibly, if you are eligible for VA. VA's handbook gives the example of a borrower with an FHA loss two years ago who can go ahead with a VA loan because VA's own credit guidelines are met and documented.
Keep reading
- What to do firstThe earlier you act, the more options you have. These are the first six things to do, in order, whether you are about to miss a payment or are already a few months behind.
- A sale date is setA sale date means time is short, not that it has run out. Each option below has its own cutoff, so the order you act in matters. Start today.
- Avoid foreclosure rescue scamsPeople facing foreclosure are a target. Federal law bans most upfront fees for mortgage relief, so any company that asks to be paid before you have an offer from your servicer is breaking the rules.
- Your federal rightsFederal rules (Regulation X) set the floor in every state. They do not force your servicer to approve any option, but they control when it can start a foreclosure and how it must handle your application.
- Help by loan typeYour servicer collects the payments, but the rules for what it can offer you come from whoever owns or insures the loan. Find that out first.
- Taxes after foreclosureThe IRS treats a foreclosure as a sale, and forgiven debt is usually income. The main home exclusion many people relied on has expired for most 2026 cases, but insolvency and bankruptcy exclusions still apply.
Sources
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.3-07, waiting periods after significant derogatory credit events
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.3-08, extenuating circumstances
- HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (August 2026), FHA loss mitigation
- VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4, credit underwriting (KnowVA)
- 7 C.F.R. § 3555.151, USDA guaranteed loan eligibility and credit (eCFR)
- CFPB: Can I buy a home again after a foreclosure? What it does to your credit report
- CFPB: How do I get and keep a good credit score?