5 Steps to Owning a Home Again After Foreclosure

With Discipline & Perseverance, It's Possible to Become a Homeowner Again

By Barbara Eisner Bayer
Arizona REALTOR® Magazine - February 2011

It won’t be easy to obtain a mortgage after foreclosure. But with enough time, discipline, and desire, you can own your own home again. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Stick with a job after foreclosure.
Did you fall into foreclosure because of the lack of a steady job? If you did, the first step toward homeownership after foreclosure is finding and holding one. And if you already have one--stick with it, unless you can move to a better one. Note that potential lenders will require stable employment before they'll give you a new mortgage loan after a foreclosure. Even if it means taking a lower-paying job, it's worth it.

2. Rebuild your nest egg after foreclosure.
Establish a safety net. Financial planners generally recommend three to six months of living expenses in a liquid account, but since you're coming out of foreclosure, six is a minimum to show stability and that you're able to pay your bills--including your mortgage--for an extended period if you lose your job.

3. Raise your credit score after foreclosure.
This is the hardest and most time-consuming part. After foreclosure, your credit score, according to myFICO, probably dropped by about 150 points. You'll need to raise it back up with perseverance.

Pay bills on time and keep your credit card balances below maximum levels. The foreclosure will stay on your credit report for seven years, but if you prove your money management skills have matured, it will become less of a red mark as years go by. 

Related Link: When Is Foreclosure Removed from Your Credit Report?

4. Reduce your waiting time for a mortgage after foreclosure.
Normally, you would have to wait seven years after foreclosure before you can apply for a new mortgage under Fannie Mae rules. (Fannie Mae changes rules frequently. You can check the latest rules at Fannie Mae's site.)

However, you might wait only three years if you can show extenuating circumstances for your foreclosure, which are defined as "events that are beyond the borrower's control that result in a sudden, significant, and prolonged reduction in income or a catastrophic increase in financial obligations." These include:

• Losing a job
• Getting divorced
• Having unexpected medical expenses

There's one last alternative if waiting isn't your thing--you can obtain seller financing, essentially bypassing the traditional mortgage. If both parties are amenable, you can enter into a lease with an option to buy, or take a mortgage directly from the seller. You'll most likely have to show some hefty reserve funds, but if you've turned around your financial situation quickly after your foreclosure, it's worth a shot to deal directly with the seller.

Keep in mind that sellers may be motivated to agree to this if they need to sell and the potential buyers they've met with can't obtain a conventional mortgage--perhaps because they've been through foreclosures, too.

5. Be honest about your foreclosure.
When you're ready to apply for your new mortgage, don't try to hide your foreclosure. On the contrary, be proactive and reveal the steps you've taken to remedy the problems that led to your foreclosure.

Tip: Try a mortgage broker, who can work with a variety of lenders to find you a loan. When you work directly with a retail lender, like a bank, they have a limited pool of loans to offer you. But a good mortgage broker--one with a vast network of lenders--has many options, and may be able to find a mortgage solution if the foreclosure in your past is creating challenges in obtaining one.

If you stay disciplined and positive, the American dream--obtaining a mortgage and owning a home of your own--can, indeed, be yours again. Even after foreclosure.

Visit Houselogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Barbara Eisner Bayer has written about mortgages and personal finance for the past 16 years for the Motley Fool, the Daily Plan-It, and Nursevillage.com, and has been the Managing Editor for CompleteGrowth.com, Mortgageloan.com, and Credit-land.com. She's grateful that she now knows where to turn if she ever struggles to meet her mortgage payment.

 
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