How hard is it to get a mortgage now? What kind of credit score do you need?

Question

I've heard that due to all of the foreclosures mortgage companies are getting tougher.

Answer 1

most FHA lenders now rquire a 580 ++ credit score and clean credit for the last year and 3% down payment + closing cost if not negoiateed in the sales agreement and 2 months reserves in the bank

Fannie & Freddie you must have at least 5% down and a 660 score but can write it down to a 620 score with higher Mi factors

I am a mortgge banker in TN&KY

Answer 2

20% down payment and credit score in the 700s for a decent interest rate.

It is nearly impossible to get 100% financing anymore and they are requiring larger and larger down payments from the borrower.

Answer 3

Traditional lenders require at least a 680.  While some others like SBA don't only consider your score as a factor.  You are right about the foreclosure crunch though.  I would suggest, in the interim you work on getting your score higher, because the max 850 score will be going up to 900 sooner than you think which would raise the 680 bar to 700.

Answer 4

heard that banks are requiring larger down payments and more critical of credit reports. I think you will be okay if you have a good history of paying back creditors on time (a fico score above 700 is excellent), good debt/ income ratio (do you have the capacity to pay a mortgage in addition to other bills), stable income, and some money saved up (depending on loan,  down pymts can range from 0 to roughly 20%). as your credit score drop so does the odds a bank/ lender can deny you a loan or if they do give you a loan chances are your interest rate will be higher because of the risk the bank/ lender is taking on you. like someone said earlier, talk to a mortgage consultant at your bank or lender and dicusss your options.

Answer 5

I just applied for my first mortgage and have found that it's all circumstantial. The best thing that I did was sit down with a mortgage consultant at the bank and discussed possibilities. Such as, if I put this much down on this price of a home, what will the monthly payments be. I found that putting only $500 more down took me into a completely different interest bracket. The people in the banks deal with these things everyday and can figure it out quicker than me trying to do it on my own. The most important things they look at is your income, credit score, down payment, price of house.

Answer 6

i do not know how much your score can be rasied but this will defeinitely help you out. i went to http://offur.com/fixcredit , a totally free service that helps you raise your credit and create a plan to keep it up. its pretty helpful.

Answer 7

Well depending on where you are. I believe in the US the lender criteria is much more stringent in comparison to what it used to be. In Canada the lending standards have pretty much been on deck from day one, so it's not that different.

From what I understand a credit score of 680 minimum for the most prime rates (700 for some lenders), a low debt to income ratio and a no derrogatories in the last 2 years. Oh yes you're gonna need a whopper of a down payment. Absolute minimum 5%.

Answer 8

There are still different options for 100% financing. There are gift programs to get you to 100% on FHA, as well as VA (veterans) and USDA which go to 100% without mortgage insurance. With FHA there are no score requirments but some lenders want to see a 580 fico but some will allow less or NO scores at all.

Answer 9

Talk to a realtor since each area is different.  Ask them what is going on in your area.  

Are things getting tighter?  Yes.  How tight is, frankly, hard to define.

They can run your credit report, and tell you what your options are.