620 will be the required FICO on FHA/VA going forward.

[DallasLoanGuy]

Hearing this from a lot of my loan officer buddies...  

My company announced the same.

May still be a few holdout lenders using older guidelines for a while... But the bar has been set.

Please don't shoot the messenger.

[Anonymous]

If you lock your rate before the company increases the qualifying score, are you safe?

[nicemann]

Wow that's going to make it hard for some people to get their new home.  It is what it is.

[Anonymous]

As much as it sucks, it is truly how it should probably be.  Although it is great there were (and stilla re a few) loans at less than 620, people with lower FICO should probably work on getting the FICO up and rebuiilding credit prior to buying that way their financial situation is in stronger shape should anything happen down the road.

[WannaHouse]

I agree. I think the lower scores have a higher chance of defaulting. It's not 100%, but probably a high percentage. We have worked really hard to get our scores up in the 650 ranges, so this won't affect us, thank God! We are still looking!

[Anonymous]

There may be a greater chance of default with the lower scores, but honestly how many of us have higher scores only because we did a lot of research and "played the game"?

I'm driving a newer car, financed through Chrysler. I might have paid cash for a beater, which would have cost me a lot less and allowed me to put more in the bank. But I knew the installment car loan through a mainstream lender would be a major help in re-establishing credit after BK.

We disputed baddies, researched which credit cards to apply for, and so on.

Am I really that much better a risk than someone who got in financial trouble, then paid their debts and cut up their cards?

I just don't think that numbers tell the whole story, but they're relied on so heavily these days....

[WannaHouse]

I didn'T play the game. I found My Fico, and realized that all these years of not qualifying were because of bad info on our credit reports. All we did was clean up incorrect info. I think people need to be educated about their credit, and learn how to properly maintain it; THAT will help stop defaulting.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about that deemac - playing by the rules also shows responsibility. You could look at it another way... it would have been easier for you to buy a beater car and certainly a lot cheaper, but financing a car forces you to pay the consequences of irresponsible decisions. The easier route isn't always the more responsible route. A better car also helps in the realm of stability (usually) 

[john398]

I heard a local radio mortgage guy mention this, this morning, so what I the score required for the best mortgage rate now for FHA?

[Anonymous]

It's a flat minimum score for FHA, i think. Which would be 620 now. Basically, you don't get better rates for a higher score with this loan.