If you are an Illinois resident living in Joliet or Will County who has been involved in a foreclosure or short sale of your home, you may want to know how long you have to wait in order to purchase a new home. The time a resident must wait will depend on many factors. A foreclosure will affect a person’s credit more than a short sale will and therefore will cause the resident to wait a longer period of time before purchasing a new home. A resident who was involved in a short sale may not have to wait at all.

If a Joliet or Will County resident was not in default on the loan involved in the short sale and they made all of their old mortgage and other installment debt payments on time for at least 12 months leading up to the short sale they do not have to wait any period of time before purchasing a new home, depending on the lender.

If the Illinois resident was in default on the prior loan at the time of the short sale then they must wait 3 years in order to obtain another FHA loan. This three year waiting period starts from the date of the short sale or from the date the FHA loan paid the claim on the short sale. (If the resident had a previous FHA claim.) An Illinois resident may qualify for a FHA loan sooner than 3 years if they can show that a serious illness or death contributed to the prior default, a divorce caused the default (limited circumstances), or a job loss caused the default and the person is now employed. An Illinois resident attempting to shorten the 3 year waiting period by using one of these exceptions must also show they had good credit prior to the circumstance that lead them to default.

A Joliet or Will County resident who went through a foreclosure on their home must wait until their credit score has been raised sufficiently for a lender to give them a new mortgage. This time frame will depend on the individual borrower and lender and will vary from person to person. If you are a Joliet or Will County resident who has gone through a foreclosure or short sale on their home and are interested in purchasing a new home call Hamilton and Antonsen at 815.729.9220 to set up a free consultation.

Written by: Michael Pollock