text: if i filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy a year ago when can i start buying a house? i filed last year october 15th and i have almost 10,000.00 left to pay off, with $300 a month payments...and i just need to know when i would be able to buy a home and when will it be off my credit.  i have an attorney but i feel he is not helpful enough.  hopefully my question is not to hard. lady_chris is correct.  bankruptcy is federal law.  while some portions of the process etc vary from state to state - the bulk of it is the same regardless of where it was filed.  you will have to have the approval of the trustee to obtain any new debt until your chapter 13 is completely over.  the validity of any debt made during this time is very questionable.  and very frowned upon by the attorney, the trustee and the bankruptcy court & judge.  even a secured credit card as someone mentioned.  the thought process i believe leans toward "if you can take on another debt - you could instead be paying more on the chapter 13 plan".  that would certainly be my argument should i have a customer in a chapter 13 that obtained a new debt without approval.  not a smart thing to do (without trustee approval).  talk to your attorney should you be interested in pursuing.  time frames vary from place to place - but here the norm is that it might take a few months to get an answer back to your request to take on another debt.  the chapter 13 stays on your credit report i believe for 10 years now, while a chapter 7 stays for only 7 ( i think ).    if your attorney is not providing the advice / service you need - you can call the trustee directly and ask about having a different attorney assigned to you (might be added cost).  there have been times i have seen customers change attornies for one reason or another.  good luck.