Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

A discharged bankruptcy is not ever a barrier to purchasing a house, per se. It is, generally, a barrier to getting a loan. There is no fixed number of months or years. Your ability to buy a house, using a loan, will depend upon many things, including your current income, the size of down-payment you can make, your other debts, your job stability, the reasons for the BK7, perhaps on whether you can get a co-signer or guarantor, whether you insist on the lowest possible interest rate or are willing and able to pay a risk premium, and on and on. Generally speaking, it'll still be pretty tough to get a loan after 20 months; 72 would be easier, but there are so many factors involved I would never say categorically that you have to wait until the 7 drops off your credit report. Maybe seller financing would work. Talk to a few loan brokers and see what they think.

As soon as you rebuild your credit and a lender will make you a loan. 6-8 years is probably typical.