BEST ANSWER
Hi Christina,
Credit and short sale and foreclosure are actually the same. The point hit is 80 points if your other credit was in good standing. From your confession I believe that your other credit is not in good standing. The point hit comes from the three missed payments. Then you will have a Foreclosure or Short Sale listed on your credit report. A short Sale says "I TRIED TO RESPONSIBLY GET OUT OF A DEBT THAT I COULD AFFORD" Whereas a foreclosure says something else. However, Fannie and Freddie who set the guidelines for residential lending say that 36 months after either the short or foreclosure you can get a mortgage again. You might even get something sooner if you use credit repair and a local credit union. I have helped clients in as early as 6 months but typical results are 18 months from foreclosure back to homeownership.
With regard to a bk, the guidelines are actually 24 months for a new mortgage, but you definately would want credit repair because very few qualify for the new loan because of the credit score.
Finally, if you have a purchase loan on your California property then the loan is a non-recourse loan. However, if you refinanced your loan then your loan is a recourse loan which means the lender does have recourse. Now, if you have multiple loans on your property this get's sticky.
Honestly, I would suggest a short sale to at least have an opportunity to negotiate the potential deficiency against the recourse loan on the property. go rent for a while and get back into a sensible mortgage product in a home you can afford down the road. For a free 1 hour video please visit.
http://www.foreclosureoptionsnetwork.com
Sat Jul 4 2009, 13:59