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More lenders taking Ficos below 620

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Anonymous
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More lenders taking Ficos below 620

hello. just wanted everyone to know that i was preapproved through both quicken loans and bank of america and my midscore is not 620. it is 615. I was offered an intereste rate through both companies of 4.8% Bank of america stated that they are considering all scores for FHA at this time. they are more concerned about overall credit profile and debt to income ratios.

 

I am very excited that they are finally lighting up on the strict credit guidelines, giving us who are right on the borderline an opportunity to own a home. I hope some of the rest of you will be able to take advantage of this as well.

 

Happy mortgage loan hunting!

 

 

Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
DallasLoanGuy
Super Contributor

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

BofA has never had a minimum fico at retail..... well, at least, not below the FHA minimum of 500

 

Wholesale loans ,however, must pass the 620 muster.....

There are many lenders for sub 620 score loans.  Don't get your hopes up..... Sub 620 deals are scrutinzed.

Retired Lender
Message 2 of 9
MaisCher
Frequent Contributor

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

 

Yeah I was gonna say the same thing. I know a few people who have been told "Sure, we can do your loan. Your pre-approved, heres a letter, go find a house" then they get to underwriting and things start to get a little less easy and it doesn't work. Bank of America just did this to some friends of mine who thought they would be closing this week. They had an approval letter weeks ago, found a home, signed a contract and then the loan officers entire outlook started to change. Didn't make it out of underwriting and aren't getting the house.
Good luck, but I definitely wouldn't mentally move in any homes just yet.

 

   

Current Score: EQ 699 TU 719 EX ? as of April-2016

Message 3 of 9
aroyal
New Contributor

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

I just closed on my BofA home loan on may 28th with a 4.5% rate. I had a mid score of 609 when approved. I built the home. So it worked out for me.


Starting Score: eq 383tu 417
Current Score: eq 577tu 609
Goal Score: 700


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Message 4 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

has anyone heard anything about Quicken? would i be better off going through them? I was pre-approved through them also. I don't have any debts except one student loan and my income is good so i don't see why it would fall through. I am only 5 points away from 620 and its because my revolving credit history for most of my CC are less than two years. If it falls through it wouldn't make any sense but I appreciate the warnings. I just don't see why they would go through the hassle of trying to get your business for nothing. How does that benefit anyone? Especially them.

Message 5 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

I'm curious about this as well.   Quicken has said they go to 580 for FHA.  Surely this can't just be a ploy to get people to apply because why would they want a bunch of applications they can't fund?

Message 6 of 9
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

Here is a good post by one of the mortgage gurus mickie08 written on May 27th:

 

 

although there are still lenders that are allowing 580 scores (they are few and far between), that does not mean that anyone with a 580 will get approved.  The underwriting for these loans that are sub 580 score loans is very strict and is alot less flexible if there is anything that is wrong or comes up.  In most cases, the companies that advertise lower FICO scores try to get you in the door and then work on credit to get it over 620, or they have a higher denial rate than companies with higher minimum standards.  The bottom line is that most people who are sub 600 have something recent enough that is likely to cause an issue.  Also, these lenders are going to be stricter on DTI, income sources, etc. usually.  In the end, some people get through but alot get led on and end up denied at the end of the day.

 

Also, they will have higher fees and rates in general.

Message 7 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

I wouldn't call me a guru by any means.

 

Anyways, the bottom line is that someone with alot of past credit problems who maybe just has not taken alot of interest in bringing up their score but who can show stability in both finances and their employment can get approved under 620.  In reality that is not usually the case.  Most people that hover around 620 tend to have recent credit issues (past 24 months) and/or high debt and low down payment available.  As Dallas like to campare it to....  Pretend your file is getting split up on a scale.  All the ggod things on one side and the bad things on the other.  A sub 620 score is a heavy weight that will have to be counterbalanced by everything else in your file being put on the good side (i.e job history, DTI, down payment, recent credit history, etc).  But, if say you are at 605 FICO and are trying to get approved for a 45% backend DTI, those 2 negatives are likely to be too much to get approved.  Same goes for 605 and recent late or collection activity, etc.  In any of these cases, you will pay a premium for the loan if you do get approved.  I have seen 1/4 to 1/2 % interest rate increase and higher fees in alot of these type cases, and very often there are the type of things that fall apart for many reasons...For instance, just  say you are at 605 when you apply.  Well, for 30 days FICO does not count your inquiry against you.  But with sub 620 scores, there are almost certainly going to re-check credit right before close to make sure nothing has changed and there is no new debt.  Well, say it takes you 15 days to find a house and 30 days to close (a very fast turn-around).  By closing, your score will have been hit with the new inquiry point loss so you will probably be at more like 595 or so.  Any drop in FICO score is enough for an LO to deny, but add in the fact that you are already below the normal minimum and you can have some trouble even if the rest of your file is golden.

Message 8 of 9
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: More lenders taking Ficos below 620

 


@Anonymous wrote:

I wouldn't call me a guru by any means.

 


 

Ok how about...............mickie08 who probably has forgotten more about mortgages than I'll ever know.

 

Is that better????  Smiley Happy

 

 

From a BK years ago to:
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3/10 EQ- 800
4/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

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Message 9 of 9
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