According to FICO, a consumer with a starting FICO credit score of 720 will see his or her score drop by 130 to 150 points after a foreclosure. By comparison, that consumer's score will drop 95 to 115 points after a short sale. FICO spells out this and further mortgage delinquency scenarios in a blog post.

Minimum waiting periods before borrowers are eligible for a Fannie Mae loan after a foreclosure or short sale also favor short sales somewhat. Homeowners who went through a foreclosure and did not strategically default have to wait three years, compared with two years, under certain circumstances, for those who went through a short sale.

Results are shown here. The first chart shows the impact on the score for each stage of delinquency, and the second shows how long it takes the score to fully “recover” after the fact.

•The magnitude of FICO® Score impact is highly dependent on the starting score.

•There's no significant difference in score impact between short sale/deed-in-lieu/settlement and foreclosure.

•While a score may begin to improve sooner, it could take up to 7-10 years to fully recover, assuming all other obligations are paid as agreed.

•In general, the higher starting score, the longer it takes for the score to fully recover.

•Even if there’s minimal difference in score impact between moderate and severe delinquencies, there may be significant difference in time required for the score to fully recover.

This study provides good benchmarks of score impact from mortgage delinquencies. However, it is important to note that research was done only on select consumer credit profiles. Given the wide range of credit profiles that exist, results may vary beyond what's in the charts.