First time home buyer- Which mortgage FICO socre do they use between couples?

[Anonymous]

Hey Forum,

   My fiancee and I are looking at purchasing a home and I have mortgage scores: 696, 644 and 625 with a Ch 7 bankruptcy that closed December 2014 and an income of 39k. My fiancee about a year ago started missing some student loan payments and has a credit score of around 600 and haven't pulled her mortgage scores yet and her income is about 50k. Whose score are they going to look at? My scores are higher, but her income is higher so in reality we need both incomes to qualify for a home. We are both first time home buyers in Georgia and are going to go the FHA route. We plan to put 3.5% down then we want to refinance within first 6months to get a lower rate. Our ideal home price is between 200k-250k. We want to buy in the next 15months but want to know where we should start. Should we contact a real estate agent and FHA licensed lenders first? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreaciated.

Thanks,

Steve

[Anonymous]

They will use the mid mortgage score of the lowest score. So, if her mid score is lower than yours, that's the one that they will use.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Make sure that your fiancé is in good standing on her student loan. FHA is flexible in many of ways; federal loan defaults is not one of them.

Also, since you have some time. I would suggest you start working with a local lender. We are able to make suggestions on ways to increase your scores and pay off/down any liabilities that may effect your approval. Most consumers do not know how to calculate old accounts (collections, charge-offs, medical, etc).