In these difficult economic times, I am commonly asked whether it would be better to have a short sale or a foreclosure on ones credit report. The answer is complicated and has lot of moving parts.  A short sale shows up on your credit report as a “derogatory report”; however, it will usually show up on your report as “short sale” or “settled for less then the full balance”. Of course, this will reflect negatively on your credit report. If you have not had any late pays prior to the short sale, your score will likely drop somewhere between 75 and 120 points. Each person’s credit score will vary depending on several factors, such as how much credit you have, how much of your credit facility you are currently using, and how long you have had certain types of credit.  You will unlikely be able to obtain a home loan for a couple years. As a general rule, if one has a foreclosure on a credit report, then the waiting period is up to 7 years. The period may be reduced to 3 years if you fit into one of the extenuating circumstances. You should speak with a mortgage broker to see which of the extenuating circumstances may help you reduce the hold period to 3 years. In fact, my best is advice is to speak with more than one mortgage lender so that you may educate yourself about various lender requirements. Please know that different lenders may vary their interpretation of the underwriting requirements, and private lenders may adopt their own underwriting requirements.