At least I hope you are? Certainly, it would be nice to hear your folks say that to you. But how is your actual CREDIT worthiness when it comes to buying a house? What kind of a score do you need? These are good questions and they are best answered by your loan officer because qualifying credit scores vary from one lender to the next.. Sometimes you can have reasonably terrible credit and still buy a house. I know of several lenders who will go as low as 580 (where normally the lowest number for serious consideration is 620.) Something else to consider is there are a number of programs out there that will work with you to help you either build your credit so that bankers will treat you more favorably; and some will actually lend you money.
There are some other points worth discussing. The better your credit score, the better your chances of getting a mortgage commitment and a better rate. If you are in the 700’s, or 720 or better, you should be really good to go. This is not, however, an infallible rule, you could still get turned down when the loan officer takes a deeper dive into your creditworthiness. I know of one case where, the borrower who was getting divorced owned a business. The language in the divorce agreement read, “upon the resolution of the divorce, this business MAY be sold.” Just that one word, MAY, in the decree forced the lender to issue a declination letter to the would-be borrower. The logic here was that if the business was sold, the income that she was generating from it would no longer exist. So how would she make her monthly payments? Her credit was 745, so she thought she was golden. She was dumbfounded and needless to say very disappointed when she was denied. Not to worry, WE were able to find a different lender who was able to do a portfolio loan and the stipulation in the divorce decree became a non issue.
So moving forward, do what you can to build your credit and be vigilant about maintaining a high FICO score. I love Credit Sesame, a service you can find easily online that can be a life saver for you. But if you have been turned down for a mortgage, don’t give up and just watch the prices of Real Estate go up all around you. Get a second opinion, with a few adjustments, some flexibility and your willingness to press on, that and a resourceful agent in your corner. you might just find that that low a credit score doesn’t actually take you out of the market.
Hey, I wrote the book on Real Estate, literally.”
Author Brendan J. Cunningham is a New York Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker, lead of the Platinum Team at HusVar Real Estate, as well as an accomplished writer, Shakespearean trained professional actor, and podcaster.
Start your home search now at www.husvarre.com