Buying when it has not been easy
Overcoming buyer hurdles in Utah.
Maybe your credit took a hit, maybe there was a foreclosure or a bankruptcy a while back, maybe you are self-employed and worry the numbers will not add up. Whatever it is, you want a straight answer about whether buying is even possible for you. That is what this guide is for.
Not sure which hurdle is yours? Start with low-down-payment options in Utah, no commitment.
On this page
Can you still buy?
The honest answer, before anything else.
Let me answer the question you came here with, plainly. Can you still buy a home after a rough patch with your credit, a foreclosure or a bankruptcy in the past, or with self-employment income that is hard to document? Often, yes, though not always, and not always right away. The honest truth is that it depends on your specific situation, and the only way to know for sure is to look at the real numbers rather than guess from the worst day you remember. Plenty of people who assumed they were years away find out they are closer than they thought, and some find out they need a little more time. Both answers are useful, and both beat not knowing.
So this guide does not sell you false hope, and it does not write you off either. It walks you to the one move that turns the question from a worry into a fact: finding out where you actually stand. After a foreclosure or bankruptcy there are waiting periods before certain loans are available again, and those are real, but how they apply to you is a lender question, not something to guess at online. Below is the honest path, then a library of guides for whichever hurdle is yours.
What you control
Your next steps, your savings habits, and choosing to find out the facts instead of assuming. A setback does not have to be the final word.
What takes time
Rebuilding credit, and the waiting periods after a foreclosure or bankruptcy. These are real, but they are knowable once you ask the right person.
Where I come in
Helping you find out where you actually stand, laying out your real options without judgment, and being honest about timing either way.
The honest path
From worried to knowing, in order.
When the road has not been smooth, the right first step is not to guess and it is not to give up. It is to find out the facts. Here is a calm order to work through, with a deeper guide for each piece a click away.
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Name the real hurdle
Credit, a past foreclosure or bankruptcy, self-employment income, low savings, or some mix. Being honest about which one is yours is the start. Start with your credit.
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Get pre-approved to see where you stand
This is the honest tool. A real look at your income, credit, and savings tells you what is possible right now, instead of a fear in your head. Find out where you stand.
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Understand any waiting period
After a foreclosure or bankruptcy, certain loans have a waiting period before they are available again. A lender tells you exactly how that applies to you. Buying after foreclosure.
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Look at your real options
There are low-down-payment options, options for self-employed buyers, and assistance programs for buyers who qualify. We sort which ones fit you. Low-down-payment options.
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Build the gap, if there is one
If the answer is not yet, you get a clear plan: what to rebuild, what to save, and roughly how long, so the wait has a finish line. Buying after bankruptcy.
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Find your number and search
Once you know what you qualify for, you learn what that buys in the areas you are weighing, and you start touring with confidence. Browse homes.
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Make a strong offer and close
With a real pre-approval in hand, you write an offer sellers take seriously, go under contract, and get the keys. The full buyer's guide.
Where you stand
Knowing beats guessing.
If you take one thing from this guide, take this. The worst thing you can do is assume the answer and never check. Most people carry a number and a story in their head, the credit score they had at their lowest, the year of the bankruptcy, a hunch that self-employed income does not count, and they let that story decide whether they even try. The honest move is to replace the story with a fact. Getting pre-approved is a real look at your income, your credit, and your savings, and it tells you where you actually stand today, not where you stood on your hardest day.
That fact cuts both ways, and both ways help. Sometimes you find out you can buy now, with low-down-payment options or assistance programs for buyers who qualify, and the worry was bigger than the reality. Other times you find out you are not quite there, and you get something better than false hope: a clear plan and a finish line. After a foreclosure or bankruptcy there are waiting periods before certain loans come back, and the exact timing is a lender question, so I will tell you honestly rather than guess. Because I am licensed in both real estate and mortgage lending, I can help you see the financing and the search as one picture, taking one role on your purchase and never both at once. For the loan-type details behind any of this, Choosing your loan breaks them down.
Guides by situation
Your hurdle, its own honest guide.
This hub is the map. Whichever challenge is yours has a guide that gives the honest version, the Utah specifics, and the real options, without judgment and without false promises. Start wherever your situation is.
Buying with bad credit
What a lower credit score really means for buying, what lenders look at, and the simple moves that help you get ready, no judgment.
Read the guideBuying after foreclosure
Whether and when you can buy again after a foreclosure, how waiting periods generally work, and the honest path back to owning.
Read the guideBuying after bankruptcy
Buying a home after a bankruptcy, how the timing tends to work, and the steps to rebuild toward a real pre-approval.
Read the guideSelf-employed home buying
Buying a home when you work for yourself in Utah, how lenders look at self-employed income, and the options built for you.
Read the guideLow-down-payment options
The low-down-payment options and assistance programs available in Utah for buyers who qualify, and how to find out which fit you.
Read the guideRebuilding your credit
What actually moves a credit score in the months before you buy, which steps waste your time, and how to get purchase-ready in Utah.
Read the guideBuying after a short sale
When you can buy again after a short sale, the waiting periods by loan program, and how to rebuild toward your next Utah purchase.
Read the guideBuying with an employment gap
Buying with a gap in your work history is workable more often than people fear. How underwriters read gaps, what a letter of explanation does, and the escrow rule that helps.
Read the guideFrom renter to buyer
Making the jump from renting to owning in Utah: how to time your lease against a purchase, what breaking a lease can involve, and what changes once the home is yours.
Read the guideCollections and judgments
Collections, charge-offs, judgments, or a tax lien on your report is often workable, with conditions. What each one is, how underwriting reads it, and which ones generally must be cleared before you buy.
Read the guideRelocating after a disaster
Rebuilding after losing a home to fire, flood, or hurricane, at your own pace. Renting first to steady yourself, the insurance-settlement wait, rebuilding lost records, and buying when you are ready.
Read the guideMore guides for tougher buying situations are rolling out as part of this hub. Facing something that is not here yet? Ask me and I will give you a straight answer.
Why work with me
Straight answers from an agent who knows the financing.
Here is the part a guide cannot do for you. When the road has been bumpy, it helps to have one honest person who has walked buyers through the hard cases for two decades and will tell you the truth either way.
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Twenty years in Southern Utah. I have helped buyers across Iron and Washington counties get to the keys after credit trouble, a past setback, or tricky income. I know which paths work.
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Agent and lender, one picture. I am licensed in both. I can help you see the financing and the search together, taking one role on your purchase and never both at once, so nothing falls through the gap.
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Honest, with zero judgment. I will tell you the truth about where you stand, even when it is not yet. No false hope, no sales push, and no making you feel small about a hard chapter.
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Statewide, told straight. In Southern Utah I am your agent. Anywhere else in Utah, I connect you with a vetted partner agent I trust in your area and stay involved. Either way, you get a local who knows the streets.
Questions, answered
What buyers ask when it has not been easy.
Often yes, though it depends on your full picture, not your credit score alone. Lenders look at your income, your savings, and your history together, and there are options for buyers with lower scores. The honest way to find out is to get pre-approved, which shows where you actually stand today rather than where you stood at your lowest. If you are not quite there yet, you get a clear plan to rebuild toward it. The buying-with-bad-credit guide on this page walks through what helps.
There is usually a waiting period after a foreclosure before certain loans are available again, and exactly how long depends on your situation and the loan, so the right answer is the one a lender gives you for your case. The good news is that the door is not closed forever, and many people buy again after one. Rather than guess at a timeline online, get pre-approved so you know precisely where you stand and what the path back looks like. For the loan-type details, the Choosing your loan guide on this site explains how the programs work.
Yes, many people do. Like a foreclosure, a past bankruptcy usually comes with a waiting period before certain loans are available again, and how it applies to you depends on the type of bankruptcy and your situation. It is a lender question, not something to assume from a worst-case story in your head. The smartest move is to find out where you actually stand and get a clear plan, and a bankruptcy in the past does not mean owning a home is off the table.
Yes. Being self-employed does not stop you from buying a home, it just means lenders look at your income a little differently, usually through your tax returns and your business records. There are options built for self-employed buyers, and plenty of business owners and freelancers own homes. The key is documenting your income clearly, and getting pre-approved early so you know what you qualify for. The self-employed home buying guide on this page covers how it works.
Possibly, and more often than people expect. Many buyers assume they need far more saved than they actually do. There are low-down-payment options, and down payment assistance may be available for buyers who qualify, plus Utah Housing programs built to help people make the jump from renting to owning. I will not quote you a number here, because your number depends on your situation. The honest way to find out is to get pre-approved, with no guessing and no pressure.
Get pre-approved. It is a real look at your income, your credit, and your savings, and it replaces the worry in your head with a fact about where you stand today. It is honest both ways: sometimes you learn you can buy now, and sometimes you learn what to rebuild first and roughly how long it takes. Either answer beats not knowing. Tell me your situation and I will help you find out, without judgment and at no cost.
Keep exploring
Let's find out where you really stand.
I am Scott Buehler, and I have helped people across Southern Utah get to the keys, including plenty who thought a rough credit chapter, a past foreclosure or bankruptcy, or self-employment income put it out of reach. Tell me your situation, honestly, and I will help you find out where you actually stand and what your real options are. No judgment, no cost, and no pressure.
Not in Southern Utah? I will connect you with a partner agent I trust in your area, and stay involved.