The rule of thumb is that most lenders won't give you a new house loan for 2 years after the sale date (not the mere listing date) of your short sale, but it could be longer or shorter, depending on the lender. FHA has a written policy to wait 2 years before giving a new FHA loan. Some people say you can always get a loan if you're willing to pay for it--higher interest rate and bigger down payment (i.e., "hard money lenders"), but I would not expect one of the "big 5 banks" to consider you for at least 2 years, and even then you'll need to have brought your credit rating back up to their standards (which I understand is now in the 700+ range).
Answered on Jun 03rd, 2013 at 1:57 PM