VA Loan after Financial Difficulties

We live in Utah. We are trying to qualify for the maximum VA loan of $203,000. We filed for bankruptcy (Chpt 13) one year ago in January 2000. We are paying our creditors back at 100%. We have made our payments to our trustee on time every month. The only payment we have is $953 per month which is our payback amount. No other credit cards, car payments, nothing else. Our income is $110,000 per year. We are having trouble finding a lender. Don't lenders have to follow federal VA regulations? As long as we meet the criteria, don't they have to loan the money to us or be charged with some sort of discrimination, perhaps?

[Edited by luvnmontana on 02-13-2001 at 08:22 PM]

[HomeGuru]

Lenders do not have to loan you money if you filed BK a year ago.
You do not understand the role of VA in the mortgage loan prcess. Contact VA directly and find out the real facts.

A borrower who is paying off debts through a Cahpter 13 is eligible for a VA loan if the borrower has at least a 12-month satisfactory payment history of the Chapter 13. The trustee or bankruptcy judge must apprve the home purchase. Any Federal debt being paid thorugh the Chapter 13 must be paid in full, or verification received from the involved agency that the repayment schedule is acceptable.

Complete bankruptcy papers and a SATISFACTORY explanation from the applicant must be obtained for all bankruptcies 5 years old or less.

There is other qualfiying criteria that you must meet so this is not to say that a borrower in Chapter 13 bankruptcy who meets the above requirements will be approved for the maximum VA loan.

To those who took the time to reply: Thank you very much! You provided very insightful answers that were very much appreciated. Sincerely appreciated!

[HomeGuru]

You are welcome.
That's what you call teamwork.
Since David Miller did not mention it, I will say that your scenario in your intial post would not be considered discrimination on the part of the lender.

My response is VA's take on this. I suppose it's possible that some lenders may still not be willing to lend money to someone who recently filed bankruptcy even if VA will guarntee it. I think as long as VA will guarantee the loan, most lenders will do it. VA is the least requested loan because only veterans qualify so I think loan officers are least familiar with the guidelines so you might have to encourage the loan officer to check the VA guidelines concerning bankruptcy.

Tell them you get your information from Homeguru and Mortgageguru. Hey, that sounds pretty good. Is there room enough on this board for another "Guru". We could be partners, like Stan and Ollie or Beavus and Butthead or maybe even Starsky and Hutch. We could do the good cop bad cop routine.

Enjoyed your additional responses to my question. You are right, Mr. Miller, loan officers are not familiar with VA guidelines. Currently, due to all the hubbub connected with VA loans, we are trying another route and are still hopeful in acquiring another type of loan in order to buy a home.

I'm a strong believer in the team concept. Glad to hear others are as well! Thanks for allowing me to "pick your brains" and for sharing your knowledge with me!

Mr. Miller, I can tell your sense of humor is terrific!
I loved your "ad lib!"

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by David J. Miller
My response is VA's take on this. I suppose it's possible that some lenders may still not be willing to lend money to someone who recently filed bankruptcy even if VA will guarntee it. I think as long as VA will guarantee the loan, most lenders will do it. VA is the least requested loan because only veterans qualify so I think loan officers are least familiar with the guidelines so you might have to encourage the loan officer to check the VA guidelines concerning bankruptcy.

Tell them you get your information from Homeguru and Mortgageguru. Hey, that sounds pretty good. Is there room enough on this board for another "Guru". We could be partners, like Stan and Ollie or Beavus and Butthead or maybe even Starsky and Hutch. We could do the good cop bad cop routine.

HomeGuru response: well David, I guess there is room here for another Guru. But I get to play the bad cop. Hehehe.

You two have found a fan in me! Nice to know of a place to get some good sound advice and background knowledge, as well as a place to get a good chuckle! This has been a most enjoyable experience! : - }

[HomeGuru]

Y'all come back here soon, ya hear?

Homeguru,

I assumed you'd want the bad cop and I'll gladly be the good cop. It's the christian in me I guess.

[HomeGuru]

Yippee. I'm already practicin my rap.

Bad boy, bad boy,
watchya gonna do when they come for you,
bad boy.

Remember when I'm not doing law, I'm in a rap group.

Signed,
HomeBoy, lead rapper for
Scoop Doggie Poo

You guys have got me rolling with laughter! I've been so amused by you two and our three-way conversation! I kid you not! Whenever I see a reply from either of you, I can't wait to get it open because I know you're going to say something hilarious and I can't wait to find out what it is!

It's snowing here like crazy, but your comments are making the sun shine in the room! Even when I leave the computer and go into another room, I'm still laughing (literally out loud) just thinking about what you've written.

And, Homeboy (lead rapper for Scoop Doggie Poo), I think you missed your calling! You have so much talent! I can tell! "She said with a wee bit of sarcasm in her voice..."

And David, seeing that Homeguru is involved in law, it's only right that he plays the "bad cop" as it kinda fits his profile! Ha! Ha! Ha! Just couldn't pass that opportunity up! It's the Little Devil in me, I guess!

Thanks for making my Friday night such a great night after all! I wish you both the BEST of weekends!

Just to give you some feedback on my previous message to you several months ago...
We qualified for a VA loan for $202,000. We were approved by the court because we made our payments to our trustee for a year, with every payment made on time. Also, in the interim, we had not incurred any additional debt. All of these things made it possible. We did what the court had instructed us to do. That was the key.
This was one year after we filed for Chapter 13. Just a reminder, we are paying all of our creditors back at 100%.
Thanks for all the advice and answers you gave me. They were all accurate and I appreciated your frankness and honesty. By the way, our interest rate was 7.5% for 30 years. Thanks again to HomeGuru and David J. Miller!

[HomeGuru]

Wow, that's great news and a good rate too. From Guru mountain to Utah, good luck.