The FHA Back to Work program allows home buyers to obtain financing if they had a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale at least 12 months ago. This timeline is shorter than the standard FHA guidelines of 24 months with extenuating circumstances or 36 months otherwise. The primary requirements for the FHA Back to Work program are that a 20% decrease in income led to the “economic event”, or bankrupcy, foreclosure or short sale. A divorce situation where the household income decreased as a result does not count. The other requirement is to have completed the Back to Work counseling at least 30 days prior to entering into a purchase agreement or submitting a formal loan application.
From FHA:
“As a result of the recent recession many borrowers who experienced unemployment or other severe reductions in income were unable to make their monthly mortgage payments and ultimately were forced to give up their home. Some borrowers were left with no choice but to file for bankruptcy or short sale their home due to the inability to afford the mortgage payment. Because of these recent recession-related periods of financial difficulty, borrowers’ credit has also been negatively affected. FHA recognizes the hardships faced by these borrowers and realizes that their credit histories may not fully reflect their true ability or propensity to repay a mortgage.”
We can work with you to determine your ability to be approved and guide you to the counselors to become eligible for the program.
See the FHA Mortgagee Letter Here
Get your HUD approved counseling certificate from Springboard
Do You Qualify?
FHA will consider you for eligibility if you had a financial hardship in the past but can now document the following circumstances about yourself:
- You can document the mortgage or credit problems resulted from a financial hardship
- You have re-established a responsible credit history
- You have completed HUD-approved housing counseling
- You meet FHA loan requirements