Yes, you can buy after a bankruptcy, and once you clear the waiting period the loan process runs the same as anyone else's. The waiting periods differ by program and by chapter. Confirm current guidelines before you count on a date, but this is the shape: - FHA: eligible two years after a Chapter 7 discharge (as little as 12 months with documented extenuating circumstances, and inside two years the file goes to manual underwriting). You can even get FHA financing during an active Chapter 13, once 12 months of on-time plan payments have elapsed and you have written permission from the bankruptcy court or trustee. - VA: two years after a Chapter 7 discharge, and sometimes one year with re-established credit plus evidence the bankruptcy was outside your control. In an active Chapter 13, a year of on-time payments plus trustee permission can work. - Conventional: the longest wait on a Chapter 7, four years from the discharge or dismissal date (two years with documented extenuating circumstances). After a Chapter 13, two years from discharge or four years from dismissal. Once you are eligible, nothing about the application is special. Two things actually move the needle: your credit score, and whether your creditors reported the discharge correctly. Accounts still showing balances that were wiped out can suppress your score, and a good credit-repair company can push the bureaus to fix that reporting. Rebuilding tends to go faster than people expect. We have seen borrowers reach scores in the 740-750 range within about two years of a filing, though we cannot promise a number. Start with a soft-pull review so we can see where the score sits and whether the discharge is reporting cleanly.