Rick and his team were very helpful with getting us prepared to put an offer on a house. They made the process pretty easy and quick! -Danielle Summers

 Isolated collection accounts “may” not be required to be paid off for loan approval.  The collections will need to be reviewed prior to an offer being submitted, so you have a full understanding of what’s needed for approval. 

 Are typically collections in which the creditor is no longer pursuing collection of the account.  Charge off accounts will need to be reviewed in advance to make sure the Underwriter is OK with the circumstances regarding the account. 

 In most cases the disputed accounts need to be resolved before you move forward with a loan.  When an account is in dispute your credit report is not counting the tradeline in your scores.  Once the account is resolved we can repull your credit to see what impact the results have on your credit scores.  In some cases, accounts that are being disputed that have $0 balance can be left as is. 

 All judgements must be paid in full or already in a satisfactory payment plan.  In some cases, underwriting will accept an open judgement that has been paid on for 3 to 4 months. 

Your credit file will need to be reviewed to see if you were having credit issues prior to enrolling the plan.  In most cases underwriting will be looking for a 12-month satisfactory payment history after enrolling and counseling agency approval.  The plan and history will need to be reviewed by an underwriter prior to

being pre-approved.

 The Fact that a bankruptcy exists in a borrower (or spouse’s) credit history does “not” mean a VA loan can not be obtained.  There are a couple different bankruptcy options.  If you have filed a BK within the last 7 years of applying for a loan you will most likely have to provide all your BK papers.  You will also need to reestablish a positive credit history.  This is needed to show timely payments being made, but it will help also bring your credit scores back up.  A Chapter 7 is a liquidation bankruptcy that wipes out most of your debts.  A chapter 13 is a filing that indicates an effort to pay creditors back at usually a discount 

 2+ years since discharged and with established credit usually meets VA guidelines.  If you are applying and it’s been over 12 months, but under 2 years you “may” be considered for an exception.  The exception will be based of the reason for the BK.  Your reason would need to be reviewed by an underwriter to see if the exception is granted.  In most cases if the BK was discharged within the last 12 months it will generally not be possible to determine a satisfactory credit risk.  You will want to explain the situation to see if an exception can be granted. 

 At the time of application if you have finished making all payments “satisfactorily”, the underwriter may conclude that there is re-established satisfactory credit.  If there has been at least 12 months of satisfactory payments made and the Trustee or the Bankruptcy Judge approves of the new credit, the underwriter “may” give an exception.  

 In most cased you need a 2-year history from the sale or discharge to be considered a satisfactory risk.  In some cases, you may be allowed to purchase before the 2-year period.  You will want the documentation and explanation reviewed by an underwriter for the exception.