Is There a Time Period I Must Wait After Bankruptcy to Buy a New Home?

There are no bankruptcy rules or laws that would prevent or prohibit a person from purchasing a new home or receiving a mortgage after a discharge is entered for their case.

However, a bankruptcy filing often negatively affects a debtor\’s credit score or rating significantly.

So the issue becomes whether or not the debtor can qualify for a loan from a lending institution, given the negative effect that the bankruptcy filing has on the ability to obtain credit.

Assuming that the debtor pays his or her obligations post-bankruptcy, the debtor\’s credit score usually improves over time, putting him or her in a position to obtain credit.  But there are no hard or fast rules — and no bankruptcy-specific laws — on when credit for a home loan could be available following the bankruptcy discharge.

To learn more about filing pro se, see Standard Legal’s Bankruptcy legal forms software page.