Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can’t catch a break. You lose your job, you have a medical emergency, or your business fails. Before you know it, you are forced to file for bankruptcy.

But now you’ve pulled yourself back from the brink and you’re back on your feet. You’re thinking of buying a home again. Can you buy again after bankruptcy?

The answer is often yes.

Each of the major loan types – VA loans, USDA loans, conventional, and FHA – all have clear guidelines regarding when you can buy a house again after bankruptcy.

Buy again after bankruptcy | Quick check chart

Look at FHA first to buy again after bankruptcy

The FHA loan program normally states at least two years need to have passed after the bankruptcy discharge to qualify for a new loan.

But recently introduced was FHA’s “Back to Work” program, which allows borrowers to buy again just one year after bankruptcy.

This program aims to help borrowers whose bankruptcy was due to the economic downturn of 2008. To qualify for this program, you must have lost 20% of your income for 6 months prior to filing for bankruptcy. In addition, you must show perfect rent history and re-established credit for the 12 months prior to your loan application.

In addition, you must be working with adequate income to qualify for the new FHA loan. For those who meet the guidelines of this program, it’s a great way to get back into a house after bankruptcy.

Conventional loans after bankruptcy

Conventional loans require the longest waiting period of any loan type. But, for those with a good re-established credit score and a good down payment, it’s worth looking into a conventional loan, since it’s the least expensive of any loan type.

If you filed a Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy, you must wait four years from the discharge or dismissal date of the bankruptcy. But, a two-year waiting period may be allowed if the bankruptcy was due to circumstances beyond your control, such as a medical emergency.

Related: Buying Again after Foreclosure

For Chapter 13 bankruptcies, the waiting period is two years from the discharge date or four years from the dismissal date. But, a two-year waiting period after the dismissal date may be permitted if the causes of your bankruptcy were beyond your control.

VA & USDA loans

You should look into a Veterans Administration (VA) loan if you have current or former military experience. For VA loans, the lender will analyze the circumstances around the bankruptcy to determine whether you are a good candidate to buy again.

The waiting period is typically two years from the discharge of the bankruptcy. In fact, the VA handbook states that a bankruptcy that occurred more than two years ago may be disregarded from the credit analysis.

For bankruptcies that occurred between one and two years ago, chances are slim that you will be approved. But it is possible, given you have obtained credit accounts and have perfect history on them, and the bankruptcy was caused by circumstances out of your control, such as a medical event, unemployment, or the death of a spouse.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans allow those who are looking to buy a home in more rural areas to do so with zero down payment. USDA loans require a three-year waiting period from the discharge of the bankruptcy. There are no exceptions or reduced waiting periods for this program.

As with all the loan programs, the USDA loan requires that you show a re-established credit history and have had near-perfect history since the bankruptcy.

You can buy again after bankruptcy

Though not always an easy road, just about everyone can buy again after bankruptcy. Lenders recognize that things happen in life, but that people can rebound, learn lessons, and be great borrowers again.