Purchasing a home in NJ after a short sale. Options? INFORMATION PLEASE. (PMI, loan)

[ENJ]

Hello everyone,

I had this thread posted in another section of this forum until someone told me there was a real estate section where I should be able to get some help.

My family and I are going through a situation in trying to purchase a home and we would appreciate any information on this topic. Our situation is as follows;

We used to live in the tristate area 6 years ago but due to trying new grounds we moved to the south for a couple of years and returned to NJ in 2009. Due to the downgrading economy, no help from banks at all, and the transfer of my husbands job to NJ, we had to conduct a short sale of our home which happened in January 2009.

We are currently renting and we are trying to see if it could be possible to purchase a home after a short sale and if so, how can we go about in doing this. I have contacted a couple of realtors, banks and even some mortgage brokers and it seems as if everyone is in the wrong page.

Some people say that you can buy a home after a short sale after two years, and some say three years. Either/or they say it is also with only 20% down and "certain banks" only would qualify you.

I would appreciate any information that anyone with knowledge of this can give me. We have two years now in NJ after this short sale was conducted and we want to be able to purchase a home soon, qualifying for FHA if possible but we really would like to know if we could purchase a home soon or if we have to continue renting.

All information, tips, suggestions and assistance will be greatly appreciated. If you are a realtor, or someone that can really give me some assistance please post or instead PM me.

Thank you for reading this thread.

[NinaN]

I'm sure you will get plenty of answers on here. But go to How to Buy a Home Again after Foreclosure, Bankruptcy, or Short Sale for step by step instructions on how to proceed after a short sale or foreclosure. They are personal friends of mine and good people running this.

[aneftp]

"Carrie shared the latest Fannie Mae guidelines with us. After a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, preforeclosure sale, or short sale, there is a mandatory waiting period of two years for a loan with an 80% maximum LTV (loan-to-value ratio), or four years for a loan with a 90% LTV. If the borrower can document extenuating circumstances, the waiting period for a loan with a 90% LTV drops to two years.

Since the couple had the money for a down payment, they could get back in the game if they were ready. Carrie also explained that another option: Laura could try to qualify for the loan on her own. They could still hold title to the home jointly, even if Lisa wasn’t a co-borrower.

Carrie also described FHA guidelines, which are even more generous. The couple could get an FHA loan with a down payment of only 3.5%. The APR at the time of the quote was a jaw-dropper, at less than 5%. (Keep in mind rates can change daily, and depend on individual circumstances.) FHA requires a three-year wait after a short sale or foreclosure, however."

Getting A Mortgage After Short Sale or Foreclosure - Forbes

[msdmoney]

Could the job involve another relocation?

What banks will loan aside, I wouldn't buy a home without 20% down to avoid the PMI, and buying with only 3.5% down could put you underwater again from day one. If you have to move again, you would be looking at another short sale.

[nmb30]

Originally Posted by ENJ

Hello everyone,

I had this thread posted in another section of this forum until someone told me there was a real estate section where I should be able to get some help.

My family and I are going through a situation in trying to purchase a home and we would appreciate any information on this topic. Our situation is as follows;

We used to live in the tristate area 6 years ago but due to trying new grounds we moved to the south for a couple of years and returned to NJ in 2009. Due to the downgrading economy, no help from banks at all, and the transfer of my husbands job to NJ, we had to conduct a short sale of our home which happened in January 2009.

We are currently renting and we are trying to see if it could be possible to purchase a home after a short sale and if so, how can we go about in doing this. I have contacted a couple of realtors, banks and even some mortgage brokers and it seems as if everyone is in the wrong page.

Some people say that you can buy a home after a short sale after two years, and some say three years. Either/or they say it is also with only 20% down and "certain banks" only would qualify you.

I would appreciate any information that anyone with knowledge of this can give me. We have two years now in NJ after this short sale was conducted and we want to be able to purchase a home soon, qualifying for FHA if possible but we really would like to know if we could purchase a home soon or if we have to continue renting.

All information, tips, suggestions and assistance will be greatly appreciated. If you are a realtor, or someone that can really give me some assistance please post or instead PM me.

Thank you for reading this thread.

Hi ENJ,

Were you late on your mortgage before or during the short sale?

[ENJ]

Thank you everyone for your responces. Well my situation was that we were trying to find ways to lower our monthly payments so that once my husband got his transfer and we were ready to move back to NJ we would leave it renting without any problem but the banks had no help with the modification so our final option was to just sell it as a short sale which in order to begin the process we had to default on the loan and not make the payments which is what these banks tell everyone in order to begin the short sale process.

Right now we are interested in getting a loan with FHA but we are only going to have two years in February and I believe it is 3 years until i can qualify to purchase a home with FHA.

I wanted to know what other options I might have in order to qualify for an FHA loan before the 3 years if possible or should I just consider waiting? I am even thinking of maybe just seeing which homeowners who are selling homes might be interested in owner financing until I could acquire the loan, etc.

Thank you again for the help everyone and hope to continue hearing from you.

[SmartMoney]

Originally Posted by ENJ

Hello everyone,

I had this thread posted in another section of this forum until someone told me there was a real estate section where I should be able to get some help.

My family and I are going through a situation in trying to purchase a home and we would appreciate any information on this topic. Our situation is as follows;

We used to live in the tristate area 6 years ago but due to trying new grounds we moved to the south for a couple of years and returned to NJ in 2009. Due to the downgrading economy, no help from banks at all, and the transfer of my husbands job to NJ, we had to conduct a short sale of our home which happened in January 2009.

We are currently renting and we are trying to see if it could be possible to purchase a home after a short sale and if so, how can we go about in doing this. I have contacted a couple of realtors, banks and even some mortgage brokers and it seems as if everyone is in the wrong page.

Some people say that you can buy a home after a short sale after two years, and some say three years. Either/or they say it is also with only 20% down and "certain banks" only would qualify you.

I would appreciate any information that anyone with knowledge of this can give me. We have two years now in NJ after this short sale was conducted and we want to be able to purchase a home soon, qualifying for FHA if possible but we really would like to know if we could purchase a home soon or if we have to continue renting.

All information, tips, suggestions and assistance will be greatly appreciated. If you are a realtor, or someone that can really give me some assistance please post or instead PM me.

Thank you for reading this thread.

You are running into something we call in the industry, "overlays." Overlays are where the investor imposes additional restrictions in addition to the agencies (Fannie, FHA and so on). If you are hoping to go with minimum down (FHA) it will depend upon if your mortgage went late when you sold by short sale. If you were late, you will have to wait for 3 years to the day to be eligible FHA. Conventional offers a bit more flexibility with a down payment. Here are the guidelines for Fannie and FHA. PLEASE NOTE: Investors or lenders may impose their own requirements on top of these guidelines, the reason you are getting different answers.

[SmartMoney]

And then, FHA (this may take 2 posts for FHA):

[SmartMoney]

and page 2,