West Virginia USDA loan with a 622 middle FICO

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

Currenty I am working with lexington law to repair my credit. Most everything is very very old and if it wasn't for my newborn and out growing the 900sq/f, I would be happy renting, waititng on repair results. I would like to obtain a USDA loan. My DTI is under 15% and I have been at my job for 5+ years. I have an established savings account for some time with around 3k to play with plus another 3k comming in April from a bonus. I have a bankruptsy discharged in 2005, that should be removed shortly (but as i under stand it, it is not impacting my scores anymore). So basicaly I'm worried to start contacting lenders and getting nailed with inquires. I have found a home that fits what I want almost too perfectly and i'm tring very hard not to get emotionaly invested in this property. But the "what - ifs" and "should I try" questions are always in the back of my mind. Any advice?

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

Right off the bat, I have to ask the obvious questions since you didn't say-- have you confirmed that your income & the house you're looking to buy meet the requirements set forth by the USDA? If so, did you qualify for the Direct or Guaranteed?

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Right off the bat, I have to ask the obvious questions since you didn't say-- have you confirmed that your income & the house you're looking to buy meet the requirements set forth by the USDA? If so, did you qualify for the Direct or Guaranteed?

Yes to both, I qualify for a guaranteed loan (make too much for the direct) and the house is in an approved area per the USDA website.

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

I mostly know about the Direct, because that's the route we're taking, but I do know that some lenders will allow scores such as yours. All I can suggest is hunting around until you find one then take it from there, but others in this forum may have other suggestions. Best of luck to you! We lived in a 650 sq. ft. bungalow when our daughter was born, so I know the frustration you're going through.

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
I mostly know about the Direct, because that's the route we're taking, but I do know that some lenders will allow scores such as yours. All I can suggest is hunting around until you find one then take it from there, but others in this forum may have other suggestions. Best of luck to you! We lived in a 650 sq. ft. bungalow when our daughter was born, so I know the frustration you're going through.

Thanks, We have a 4 year old and a just turned 1 year old. My girls deserve a house and a yard to play in. This is the first time I ever entertained the thought of purchasing a house, so I am completely in the dark on most everything. I have been reading on how the process works and it seems no two are the same and I always feel that I won't have enough cash to get the job done. I have no idea what to expect for closing cost or appraisal fees...... Very scary..... probably the number one reason I have never tried. Pretty scared I'll do somehting wrong and make it to where I'll never be able to buy a home. The lenders I did talk to awhile back blew me off as soon as they pulled my credit. Its a lot better now, almost 100 points better) but I still worry about hard inquiries pulling my score down when shopping for a mortgage.

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

Aww, hey-- there's nothing you can do that will keep you from EVER buying a house. I started out completely freaked out & scared too. The only way I ease the anxiety is by reading & re-reading everything I can regarding the loan we chose. It sounds like you need to do some obsessive mortgage studying too! Here's a link to the USDA Guaranteed handbook. I highly recommend a pot of coffee & maybe a pen & paper for notes. The more you read, the more you'll know & the less scared you'll be. You can do this!

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

Mike - I'm new here and this is my first post. I noticed the "West Virginia" in the heading which is what prompted me to reply as I am in Morgantown. Generally, from my understanding in communicating with the Fairmont-Morgantown Housing Authority, you need a 640 for a USDA loan. But listen, I just saw my credit scores jump 30-40 points (at least) in one month just by paying down credit cards and the overall utilization percentage going down. Transunion is slow to update so I am still waiting to see how much I gained there. My Experian mortgage score alone has jumped 44 points and I am still waiting on two accounts to report so I expect an even bigger boost. And that is in one month! As soon as the Experian score updates I am going forward with a VA loan. Keep the faith - I know, I've been there. If you are sitting at 622 you are almost there for a USDA loan if the qualifying score is indeed 640 (and there may be other options even now to explore with your present score). Have you checked with the West Virginia Housing Development Fund? They have different loan products and down payment assistance programs. It's worth a look: http://www.wvhdf.com/ (Where in WV are you, if it is ok to ask?)

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

I'm looking at a House just South of Huntington. Also, thats just it... I only owe 15% of my avalible credit one revolving lines.. The only other one I have is completely paid off (still open). Nothing seems to update and myfico has me at 45% UTI . I paid everything down way over a month ago... That one of the reason I rolled the dice with Lexington Law... Plus I have a few things on my credit that need to go away.... 9 year old accounts that just seemed to get re-aged over and over with no contact from the collection folks (calvery portfolio recover) from what I hear they are the worst.... 3k charge off is now over 8k somehow...

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

Nice... just got a credit increase on a account I dont use.... LOL... just 5 seconds ago... sweet...

Anonymous · ‎03-01-2015

A credit increase may help as it will lower your overall utilization. But here is where patience is a virtue. When everything is reported and updated to reflect where you are really at - the scores will follow. Believe me, I know how frustrating it can be waiting on that one account to report so you get the few point bump you need to qualify. But hang in there. You're close. And you are checking the actual mortgage scores rather than going by the FICO 8 scores (or some other model like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame), correct? On MyFICO you can see all three FICO 8 scores and two out of the three actual mortgage scores that the lenders see (they use different FICO models than FICO 8) and they are spot on in my experience (I just had mine pulled by Veterans United last week and the mortgage scores were right on the money). You can see what your Equifax and Experian mortgage scores are on here (Transunion does not currently offer them to consumers). That's empowering because you know exactly where you stand before you apply.