I've had a bankruptcy in recent years. Can I get an FHA loan?

Generally a bankruptcy will not preclude a borrower from obtaining an FHA loan. Ideally, a borrower should have re-established a minimum of two credit accounts (such as a credit card, car loan, etc.) and wait 2 years since the discharge of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or have a minimum of 1 year of repayment with a Chapter 13 (the borrower must also seek permission of the courts to allow this). Furthermore, the borrower should not have any late payments, collections, or credit charge-offs since the discharge of the bankruptcy.

Although rare, if a borrower has suffered through extenuating circumstances (such as surviving cancer but had to declare bankruptcy because the medical bills were too much), special exceptions can be made.