The credit score you need to buy a house depends on the loan type — and the difference between loan types is substantial. FHA loans start at 500. Conventional loans start at 620. VA loans have no official minimum. But "minimum to qualify" and "score you should have" are very different numbers, and understanding that gap determines your interest rate and total cost.

As a licensed mortgage professional who works with borrowers across all credit profiles, I see this question every week. This guide gives you the real minimums, the rate tier breakpoints that actually matter, what specific items on your report are more disqualifying than a low score, and the fastest paths to get your credit where it needs to be before you apply.

Credit Score Minimums by Loan Type

The scores above are FICO scores — specifically, mortgage lenders pull FICO 2 (Experian), FICO 4 (TransUnion), and FICO 5 (Equifax) and use the middle score for qualification. These models can produce different numbers than the FICO 8 or VantageScore you see on a credit monitoring app. Your mortgage qualifying score may be 10–30 points different from what you see on Credit Karma.

Minimum Score vs. Rate-Tier Score: The Gap That Costs Real Money

Qualifying and getting a good rate are different things. Here is what the rate difference looks like on a real loan:

That gap — $121,680 over 30 years for a $300,000 loan — is why getting your score to 740+ before applying is worth significant effort and delay if you can improve your credit in 3–6 months.

Score Breakpoints by Loan Type

FHA Loans

FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and allow lower credit scores than conventional programs. Key breakpoints:

• 500–579: Eligible but requires 10% down. Very few lenders will actually approve at this level — most have overlays starting at 580 or 600.
• 580–619: 3.5% down payment eligible. FHA MIP (mortgage insurance premium) is required for the life of the loan on most FHA loans. Rates are significantly higher at this tier.
• 620–659: Better rate tier, still requires MIP. More lenders available.
• 660+: FHA rates are most competitive here. Still pay MIP, but pricing is much better than the floor.

FHA also has a 1.75% upfront MIP (financed into the loan) and annual MIP of 0.55% on most 30-year loans. This adds to the cost — factor MIP into your total payment comparison when evaluating FHA vs. conventional.

Conventional Loans

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-backed conventional loans use a risk-based pricing model. Every 20-point increment in credit score affects your rate through loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs). Critical breakpoints:

• 620–639: Minimum for most lenders. Significant pricing penalty — often the highest rates available under conventional.
• 640–659: Moderate pricing penalty. Still a meaningful premium over 700+ borrowers.
• 660–679: Price improvement. Starts to look more like mainstream conventional pricing.
• 700–719: Good tier. Strong rate access, reasonable LLPAs.
• 720–739: Very good. Near-best pricing.
• 740+: Best LLPA tier for most loan categories. This is the score target for conventional borrowers who want optimal rates.

VA Loans

VA loans are for eligible veterans, active duty military, and surviving spouses. The VA itself sets no minimum credit score, but individual lenders set their own minimums — typically 580–620. VA loans offer:

• 0% down payment
• No monthly PMI
• Competitive rates often below conventional
• More flexible underwriting for credit events

If you are VA-eligible, these loans are almost always the best product available regardless of credit score — the combination of 0% down and no PMI is unmatched by any other program.

What's More Disqualifying Than a Low Score

Credit score is not the only thing lenders evaluate. These items can disqualify you even with a 700+ score:

• Recent mortgage late payments: A 30-day late on your current mortgage in the last 12 months is often an automatic disqualifier for refinances and purchase loans. Lenders view mortgage late payments as the highest-severity negative item — they reveal willingness to let your primary debt go delinquent.
• Unpaid charge-offs: Conventional lenders typically require charge-offs to be paid or settled before approving a mortgage. The balance and recency matter — a $300 charge-off from 6 years ago is different from a $5,000 charge-off from last year.
• Active bankruptcy: You cannot close a mortgage while you are in an active bankruptcy. Chapter 7 requires 2–4 years post-discharge; Chapter 13 requires 2 years from filing or 1 year from discharge (with court permission).
• Foreclosure: Conventional programs typically require 3–7 years after a foreclosure. FHA requires 3 years. VA requires 2 years.
• Debt-to-income ratio: A 750 score doesn't help if your monthly debts consume 60% of your gross income. Most conventional programs cap DTI at 45–50%. FHA can go to 57% with compensating factors.

How to Raise Your Score Before Applying

If you're 3–6 months from applying, these are the highest-impact actions ranked by speed:

Fastest (Days to Weeks)

• Pay down credit card balances below 10% utilization. Under FICO 8, credit utilization is 30% of your score and updates monthly. Paying from 80% to 9% utilization can add 50+ points within one statement cycle.
• Dispute inaccurate negative items. If you have collections or charge-offs with incorrect dates, balances, or account details, dispute them. The bureau has 30 days to investigate — removals can come back in 30–45 days.

Medium-Term (1–3 Months)

• Add an authorized user account. Being added to a family member's low-utilization, long-history card adds their positive account history to your report. This can add 20–50 points depending on your current profile.
• Negotiate pay-for-delete on small collections. Small unpaid collections can be negotiated away for 40–60% of balance with a written pay-for-delete agreement. See the dispute letter templates for the pay-for-delete letter.

Longer-Term (3–6 Months)

• Work through charge-off disputes and negotiations. The full process for a charge-off dispute or goodwill removal takes 60–90 days. For large charge-offs that are blocking conventional approval, this timeline is unavoidable — but the payoff is significant.
• Open a secured card and build payment history. If your score is low partly due to a thin credit file (few accounts), a secured card with consistent on-time payments adds positive history that grows over time.

Working with a mortgage professional before you're ready to apply — 3–6 months out — is the highest-value thing you can do. A good loan officer will pull your tri-merge report, identify exactly what is depressing your score, and tell you the specific steps that will move you from your current score to your target score in the shortest time. That's what the Credit Fix Kit is designed to help you execute.

Credit Score FAQ for Home Buyers

What credit score is needed to buy a house in 2026?

FHA loans start at 580 with 3.5% down (500 with 10% down, but almost no lenders go that low in practice). Conventional loans start at 620. VA loans have no official minimum but lenders typically require 580–620. USDA loans require 640. For the best rates, target 740+ on conventional and 680+ on FHA.

Is 700 a good enough score to buy a house?

Yes — a 700 score qualifies you for conventional financing at competitive (though not peak) rates. You will access better pricing than borrowers in the 620–680 range, but you will still pay more than borrowers at 740+. Whether to apply at 700 or spend another 60–90 days pushing to 740 is a calculation worth making with your loan officer — the rate savings are real.

Does my credit score drop when I apply for a mortgage?

Applying for a mortgage triggers hard inquiries from each lender who pulls your credit. Each inquiry costs approximately 5 points. However, FICO models treat multiple mortgage inquiries within a 14–45 day window as a single inquiry — rate shopping with multiple lenders in that window will typically only cost you one inquiry's impact.

Can I buy a house with a 580 credit score?

With an FHA loan, yes — you need 3.5% down at 580. With a conventional loan, no — conventional starts at 620. At 580, your best options are FHA (3.5% down) or VA if you are eligible (0% down, flexible underwriting). Both programs work, but the rates are higher at 580 than at 640 or 700. If your timeline allows 2–3 months of credit improvement work, pushing from 580 to 620–640 before applying will meaningfully reduce your rate.

What mortgage credit score model do lenders use?

Mortgage lenders use FICO 2 (Experian), FICO 4 (TransUnion), and FICO 5 (Equifax) — not FICO 8, not VantageScore. These older models can produce scores that differ by 10–40 points from what you see on credit monitoring apps. The score that determines your mortgage eligibility is the middle of these three bureau-specific FICO scores. Ask your loan officer to pull a tri-merge report to see your actual mortgage credit scores before you start the application process.