Is a mortgage possible with a bad FICO?

[kd529]

is a low down payment mortgage possible with a FIFO under 580? I don't care about higher rate or pmi, I just want out of renting and can refi when credit gets better. Bad credit is all old. 

[jd403]

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@kd529 wrote:

is a low down payment mortgage possible with a FIFO under 580? I don't care about higher rate or pmi, I just want out of renting and can refi when credit gets better. Bad credit is all old. 

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FICO under 580, lenders are very few and far between.  The higher over 600 the better.  You should pull your 3B report from here with your mortgage scores included.  Will give you a better idea on where you stand

[StartingOver10]

For mortgage lenders they use the mid score of your mortgage FICO scores and not your FICO 8 scores.  As pointed out by the pp, get your mortgage scores here, you may be in better shape then you think.

Having said that, for those lenders that do issue mortgages with your scores under 580, they want larger down payments because the risk of loan default  is higher. There are subprime loans and hard money loans available - but you are looking at a min of 25% to 35% down. FHA will allow loans under 580 (all the way to 500) and if you find a lender that will do those types of mortgages they want a min of 10% down to meet FHA requirements. It might be easier to increase your score than to come up with the extra funds. IDK. 

Why don't you work on your score now before going for a mortgage? Visit the rebuilding forum. Some people have been able to increase their scores substantially in a matter of months.  

[Anonymous]

A small percentage of lenders will do FHA under 580, but FHA guidelines require 10% down between 500-579.

[kd529]

Thanks for the posts. Trying to increase score but it seems no matter what I do it either doesn't move or goes down. Only new credit in years is a car loan on time for last 12 months and no positive movement. 

[Imperfectfuture]

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@kd529 wrote:

Thanks for the posts. Trying to increase score but it seems no matter what I do it either doesn't move or goes down. Only new credit in years is a car loan on time for last 12 months and no positive movement. 

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You need credit cards.  You should still visit rebuilding forum.  I want from 563 to over 700 in 10 months.

[Imperfectfuture]

As an add on, not caring about the house payment leads to problems, and worse credit. Plus, your income must support the house payment and the sub prime car payment.

[kd529]

Which cards approved with 563 credit?

[kd529]

What I meant about the house payment was I have had mortgages in 13% when rates where high. A 5% versus a 3% is no big deal.