FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines To Qualify For Conventional Loans

This BLOG On FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines To Qualify For Conventional Loans Was UPDATED On December 15th, 2018

FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines are the rules and regulations that set the qualification requirements and standards for borrowers of Conventional Loans after a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharged date.

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two mortgage giants in the United States that set the rules for Conventional Loans
• Many borrowers ask if both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not government agencies why do banks and lenders need to conform with their guidelines?
• The reason that Conventional Loans are called conforming loans is that in order for Fannie or Freddie to purchase funded loans by banks and mortgage lenders, they need to conform to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac standards
• If the loans do not conform to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, neither agency will be buying their loans
• Lenders do not want to hold the loans in their portfolio
• Lenders originate and fund mortgage loans

In this article, we will cover and discuss FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines To Qualify For Conventional Loans.

How Does The Secondary Mortgage Markets Work

Here is how the mortgage process works with lenders:

• Lenders have a warehouse line of credit which is like a large credit line which is used to fund loans to borrowers
• Lenders use their warehouse lines of credit to fund loans
• Once lenders fund loans, their warehouse lines of credit gets used up and need to pay off the lines of credit in order to have available credit so they can fund more loans
• The way they clear their lines of credit is by packaging the loans they have funded and re-sell them to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac will purchase these loans by lender but every loan they buy needs to meet and conform to Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac Standards

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will set standards.

What Are Fannie Mac Standards?

As mentioned earlier, mortgage lenders do not want to hold mortgages in their books.

• They want to resell them to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• On this BLOG we will use Fannie Mae
• Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have similar standards

Both of these two mortgage giants are the Government Sponsored Agencies, GSA, that sets Conventional Lending Guidelines and buy Conventional Loans by private lenders.

Basics Of Fannie Mae On Conventional Loans

Here are the basic Fannie Mac Standards:

• Minimum Credit Scores of 620 FICO
• Debt to income ratio not to exceed 50% DTI for Fannie Mae
• Debt to income ratio not to exceed 50% DTI for Freddie Mac
• Maximum Conventional Loans Limits is capped at $453,100 in most parts of the country
• This holds true unless the property is located in a high cost county
• Need to abide by Fannie Mae Guidelines with regards to credit, DTI, and adverse items
• FNMA requires a seven-year waiting to qualify for a Conventional Loan after the recorded date of the foreclosure
• FNMA requires a four-year waiting period to qualify for a Conventional Loan after the recorded date of a deed in lieu of foreclosure
• FNMA requires a four-year waiting period to qualify for a Conventional Loan after the short sale date of a short sale

Borrowers can qualify for Conventional Loans after bankruptcy, deed in lieu, foreclosure, and foreclosure. However, FHA Loans have much more lenient credit standards than Fannie Mae does.

What Are FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines For 2019

Homebuyers can qualify for Conventional Loans after a bankruptcy as long as you have met the mandatory FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines.

FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines state the following:

• Homebuyers can qualify for a Conventional Loan four years after a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharged date
• Homebuyers can qualify for a Conventional Loan two years after a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy discharged date
• If a person had a mortgage part of their Chapter 7 Bankruptcy the following applies:
  • if the mortgage has been discharged in the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharge
  • and the deed has been transferred out of the name of the mortgage note holder
  • FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines state that there is a four year waiting period to qualify for a conventional loan from the discharged date of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharged date
• The deed to the property can be recorded at a later date and that does not matter

In order for this to work, the deed needs to be out of the name of the mortgage note holder.

FNMA Bankruptcy Guidelines On Late Payments After Bankruptcy

When you are applying for a mortgage, lenders do not want to see any late payments after a bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or a short sale.

• Late payments after bankruptcy and foreclosure is the kiss of death
• However, one or two late payments after a bankruptcy or foreclosure may not be a deal killer
• But it is considered extremely negative by all lenders
• The Automated Underwriting System will pick this up

Borrowers with late payments after bankruptcy who need to qualify for a mortgage loan, contact Gustan Cho Associates at 800-900-8569 or text us for faster response. Or email us at gcho@gustancho.com and I may have some solutions for you.