The number people quote at parties is usually 720, and it is wrong. There are real loans available a long way below that. What changes as the score falls is not usually whether you can buy. It is what it costs you.
The rough floors
FHA allows the minimum down payment at 580 and above, with routes below that when the down payment is larger. Conventional loans generally want 620 as a starting point. VA sets no minimum of its own, though individual lenders apply their own overlay. Jumbo lending expects strong credit, because a person rather than a computer is deciding.
Those are floors, not targets. Between 620 and 760 the score mostly affects pricing and mortgage insurance rather than approval.
What the underwriter is actually reading
The score is a summary. The file underneath it is what gets read, and it can tell a much better story than the number does.
- Recent payment history. Twelve clean months matters more than a rough patch three years ago.
- Utilisation. How much of your available credit you are using, right now. This is the fastest lever you have.
- Collections and charge-offs. What they are, when they happened, and whether they were medical.
- Seasoning after a major event. Bankruptcy and foreclosure have waiting periods, and they are shorter than most people assume, particularly on FHA.
The fastest things you can do
If we have sixty to ninety days, there is usually real movement available.
- Pay balances down, do not close the cards. Closing a card removes its available credit and can push your utilisation up, which is the opposite of what you want.
- Pay before the statement date, not the due date. The balance reported to the bureaus is usually the statement balance. Paying early changes what gets reported.
- Do not open anything new. Not a car, not a store card, not a phone on finance. Wait until after closing.
- Check for errors. They are more common than they should be, and a genuine mistake can be disputed and removed.
Do not let the number stop you asking
The worst outcome I see is somebody who assumed they would be turned down and never asked, then found out two years later they had qualified the whole time. A conversation costs nothing, and a mortgage inquiry has a small and short lived effect. Several inquiries while you are shopping for a mortgage count as one.
If you are not ready yet, I will tell you that too, and we will build a plan with a date on it. That is a far better answer than silence.
This article is general information, not financial advice. Your situation is specific, so let's talk about it.
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