WHAT CREDIT SCORE IS NEEDED TO BUY A HOUSE?

texas house

Michelle Zambrano | January 11, 2020


There’s no need to stress out biting your nails while you wait to learn if you’re approved for a mortgage or not. 

It’s simple. The minimum credit score needed to buy a house in New York depends on the mortgage program.

The 3 most common mortgage programs are:

Conventional - 620 minimum score
FHA - 580 minimum score
VA - 580 minimum score

How Credit Scores Affect Your Payments

Your scores tell the bank how likely you are to miss a payment. 

Lower scores means a greater risk to the bank. The result is you pay a higher interest rate.

How much more? Check out this graphic:

credit scores

These are not today’s interest rates. This is just an example to illustrate the effect your credit has on your monthly payment. 

You can clearly see the potential savings you stand to realize when you take measures to make sure your scores are as high as possible before applying for a loan.

While you can qualify for a loan with a 620 score, (in this example) you’ll spend $270,000 more on interest payments over the life of the loan. 

That money could easily fund your retirement account, the 529 plan for your children’s college education, a new car, or even a second home! 

How Your Credit Scores Are Calculated

There are 5 factors that determine your credit scores.

Payment history (35%) - making payments late will negatively effect your credit scores 
Debt utilization (30%) - Carrying high credit card balances will negatively effect your credit scores.
Age of credit (15%) - Older accounts are better than new accounts.
Mix of credit (10%) - Keep a mixture of credit cards and loans to improve this area.
New inquiries (10%) - Too many credit inquiries in a short period of time will adversely effect your credit scores.

Get Your Credit Mortgage Ready

There are several steps you can take to improve your credit scores before you apply for financing. 

Get a recent credit report from each of the 3 bureaus. 
Check your credit report for payment history errors. Lenders can make mistakes. Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it is possible to remove any error which cannot be verified or is not reporting accurately. 
Pay down your credit card balances at least 60 days before you apply for a loan. It make take a lender as long as 60 days to update your balances with the credit reporting agencies.
Stop applying for new credit and don't make any large purchases with credit.
Pay your bills on time. Just one new late payment can decrease your credit scores over 100 points. 

Follow these steps to reduce your interest payments and save money for the future.

Apply for Down Payment Assistance

Once you've obtained your mortgage pre-approval, the next step is to apply for down payment assistance. 

There are a number of grants and loan programs available to home buyers that need help with their payment and closing costs.

Simply click the button below to find out if you qualify.

There is no credit check and no credit card is required.

You are not under any obligation to buy anything at any time.