[bratty]

foreclosure damage credit and for how long vs. bankruptcy? Is foreclosure less damaging to credit than bankruptcy. Clarification of the two would be great. Thank you.

[Bills.com]

The length of time accounts appear on your credit report is governed by federal law, specifically the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Generally speaking, negative listings such as foreclosure will appear on your credit report for seven years from the date of charge-off, while bankruptcies will appear for ten. However, that does not mean foreclosure is a better choice than bankruptcy automatically, if your primary goal is to rebuild your credit score. Mortgage lenders will look long and hard at a credit report that has a foreclosure because this evidence of past behavior is a clue to how likely this borrower will repay the loan in the future. Bankruptcies can be caused by many events. If a bankruptcy was due to a rare event -- such as a divorce, medical catastrophe, or a lawsuit related to a business dispute -- lenders will look past the bankruptcy if the borrower's credit history shows evidence of repayment of other loans. Therefore, even though a bankruptcy appears on credit report for a long time, it is not necessarily a death sentence against future borrowing.You may have other options -- short sale and deed in lieu of foreclosure. I realize a discussion of these options exceeds the scope of your question, but if you are facing foreclosure these are two options to consider. I am leaving a link below to an article that discusses the positives and negatives of short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, and foreclosure.