Consequences to Your Credit Following a Short Sale

After selling your home in a short sale, many factors must be taken into account to determine your ability to obtain a mortgage.

Your post-short sale credit score may drop - usually around 100 points or more. This could prevent you from obtaining a favorable interest rate on any new home loan. Also, you may have to put more money down. In many cases, it often takes two to three years before you’re eligible for another mortgage.

As long as you were current on your older home mortgage before short sale, you will have to wait at least two years for a loan that is federally backed, such as those from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). If you are delinquent, it could take as long as three years. Private lenders, of course, are free to set their own time requirements.

Your credit score generally suffers a similar hit after a short sale or a foreclosure. However, most federally backed home loans don’t weigh your actual credit score or history too heavily when you go for a new home loan.