There once was an era when not everybody had heard of the term “short sale,” much less experienced one firsthand. At the moment, with the housing crisis dragging on for several years, and the economy sluggish, it’s just about a household phrase.
Things have changed, and many thousands of home-owners have sold their home with the aid of a short sale. Hence, people really want to know how soon they can purchase a home again after a short sale, because their lives are financially sound again and they want to take advantage of presently low prices.
There is often a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings about the implications of selling your house through a short sale, but the answer in summary is quite simple: You can acquire a home again usually a couple of years after short selling your previous home. Conditions can be different, and there will never be a strict rule, but it is feasible by law to accomplish this.
For you to have the best chance of buying a home again after two years have passed from your short sale, you need to follow some very simple tips to getting your credit back in shape.
First, always make sure your credit report says the home loan on your house was “Satisfied.” Technically, it was, even if they took less than the amount of the loan, because they accepted the offer. The bank could have rejected the sale and repossessed the property.
Second, ensure you pay every payment on time without fail. Regardless of what bank cards you have, pay them consistently (then pay them off as soon as possible!).
Third, be sure that your debt to credit limit ratio on any given credit line, and on all credit lines put together, is no more than 50%. This will show you are a good credit risk and do not ever over-use your credit.
Fourth, have at least three different trade lines of credit. A trade line is a category of credit, like a car payment vs. a credit card vs. a cell phone. Mobile phone accounts are legitimate trade lines, as are college loans, and any unsecured debt. You should demonstrate a balance between opening and managing credit accounts and paying them down so you don’t get overburdened with debt.
And fifth, check your consumer credit rating well before you fill out an application for a house loan to help you to find any inaccuracies and get them corrected. You do not need to use costly “credit repair” schemes. Just get your financial circumstances in order and always keep them that way and your credit score will represent your credit worthiness.
Mr. Harper is an author and coach that specializes in topics such as Minneapolis condos, Minneapolis real estate, and other real estate topics. He publishes a free newsletter on real estate marketing tips to help small business clients succeed.