January 12

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FHA Financing for 620 FICO Scores

By Leesa Sandoval

January 12, 2011


It still exists…FHA financing for those who have limited credit or for those who may be credit challenged.  We are still able to offer FHA financing for a new home loan with a 620 FICO score.

The first thing to point out is that credit overlays do apply so please call us today and let’s discuss your situation!

On October 4, 2010 the credit score guidelines tightened for FHA.  At that time it wasn’t uncommon to hear that a borrower needed a minimum credit score of 620 along with three active tradelines.  Recently you may have heard that banks have increased that minimum to 640 and some even as high as 660.  Luckily we are not one of them.  Our minimum credit score to qualify for home loan financing through FHA is still 620.

We will still require that as a borrower you have at least three active accounts (tradelines) all of which have reported for at least 12 months.  That being said let’s say you only have your auto loan reporting on your credit report but you have been renting an apartment for the last 12 months and all of the utilities are in your name.  Well, we are in good shape because we can verify through your landlord your rental history and through your electrical/gas/television company your payment history.  This means you will now have three tradelines.

This relaxed requirement is also great news for Realtors who have clients maybe just starting out or who have maybe had some issues in the past.  As a result of our unique stance on these changes we are still able to offer FHA financing to most qualified borrowers.

There are some compensating factors we look for with this loan.  We do like to see that an applicant has a couple months of reserves (401k, savings, checking, retirement, etc).  We also like to see a slightly lower debt ratio than on most FHA loans (ideally at or below 45%).  Finally, we are unable to offer this as an FHA rehab loan with the exception of the Escrow Holdback program.

Please call me today for a pre-approval or if you are under contract but are having trouble finding a lender I would love to be of assistance, especially if your FICO score is 620 or above.  We can help and would be happy to discuss the options with you!

Leesa Sandoval

About the author

• Leesa Sandoval
• 972.725.9110
I have been a Mortgage Loan Consultant in Dallas, TX for over 13 years, and I specialize in FHA 203k Rehab Mortgage Financing .....(Read Full Profile)

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