Two years for FHA, four years for conventional, and the clock runs from your discharge date, not the day you filed. The specifics (confirm current guidelines, since program rules change): - FHA: eligible once two years have passed from discharge at the time your case number is assigned. Documented extenuating circumstances, something like the death of a spouse, can shorten that to no less than 12 months, but it is a high bar. Inside the two years, a file gets downgraded to manual underwriting. - Conventional (Fannie Mae): four years from the discharge or dismissal date, or two years with documented extenuating circumstances. VA sits at two years like FHA, which makes conventional the longest wait of the three. The bankruptcy itself does not raise the credit score you need. FHA's usual minimums still apply, and in practice most lenders will want an automated underwriting approval, which tends to take a score somewhat above the bare program floor. So if someone tells you FHA demands a 640 specifically because of your bankruptcy, they are wrong. The guidelines do not get stricter because a Chapter 7 sits in your past. Treat the waiting period as the opportunity it is. We have seen plenty of borrowers go from the low 500s to over 700 in that window by working with a legitimate credit consultant and rebuilding the right way. Do the right things and you come out positioned for a solid loan. Do nothing, or the wrong things, and the score can still be poor when the clock runs out. If you truly need to buy before the period ends, the only real path is a large down payment paired with a non-QM or hard-money loan, which is expensive and unrealistic for most people. For most buyers, using the two years to rebuild is the smarter play. When you are ready, the free Roadmap conversation maps exactly where your credit and qualification stand.