Help to buy a home with bad credit

Buying a house with bad credit — or, more accurately, a low credit score — can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.

Purchasing a home requires having money for a down payment, a solid history of paying your bills over at least the past year or two and a steady income. You’ll also need to meet the lender’s minimum credit score requirements. While higher credit scores earn more favorable loan terms, it's still possible to buy a home with bad credit.

What is the lowest credit score to buy a house?

Credit scores from 500 to 579: Theoretically, you can qualify for a mortgage with a credit score as low as 500, but you’ll be limited to a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. With a credit score from 500 to 579, you’ll need a down payment of at least 10% for an FHA loan. The lender will want you to pay off any outstanding collections and judgments.

Credit scores from 580 to 619: You might qualify for an FHA loan with a down payment as low as 3.5%. Or, if you are eligible, you could qualify for a VA loan — a mortgage guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Help to buy a home with bad credit

Credit scores of 620 to 699: Your mortgage opportunities increase. You may qualify for a conventional loan, which isn't backed by a government agency like the FHA or VA, with a minimum credit score of 620.

Credit scores of 700 and up: Lenders are more willing to extend credit when you have a credit score from 700 to 739, and a score of 740 or higher will yield the lowest interest rates.

Knowing and improving your credit

As a potential homebuyer, it’s important to reduce debt, accumulate as much cash as you can and review your credit history. Knowing your creditworthiness is an essential step in buying a home with bad credit. To find out, examine your credit report and check your credit score.

The smart home for your credit

NerdWallet tracks your credit score and shows you ways to build it — for free.

Help to buy a home with bad credit

There are a variety of places you can find your credit report, including personal finance websites like NerdWallet, the financial institution where you bank and the government-mandated website annualcreditreport.com.

Check your reports for errors. Look for accounts that haven’t been updated correctly or anything else that doesn’t accurately reflect your true credit history. If you do find errors or inaccuracies, you can dispute them with the credit bureaus or the creditor reporting the information.

Clean up your credit history. Making on-time payments may help your credit score. And a better credit score can lift your chances of getting a more affordable home loan.

Your free credit reports won't include your credit scores. To see scores for mortgages, you can purchase a full report from myFICO.com. The most economical approach is to sign up, download the first month’s information, then cancel the service before the next billing cycle.

Help to Buy is a government scheme that helps first-time buyers purchase their first home. It offers an equity loan up to 20% of the property's value to add to a minimum 5% deposit.

Having a larger deposit means you can achieve better interest rates, apply to a broader pool of lenders, and find it easier to secure a mortgage at 75% Loan to Value.

These equity loans are interest-free for the first five years, after which time you need to either refinance the loan or start paying interest at 1.75% and increasing year on year.

However, if you have bad credit, can you apply to Help to Buy? And will a mortgage provider consider your application?

We'll cover these topics in this guide, but if you have further questions or need assistance with your mortgage application, give us a call on 0330 304 3040, or email the Revolution team at [email protected]

Can I Apply to Help to Buy with Bad Credit?

Yes, you can. Help to Buy has a few criteria as below, but it doesn't require a credit check or a minimum credit score. You must be:

  • Aged over 18.
  • Be resident in the UK.
  • Buying your first home.

The issue is that Help to Buy is the equity loan proportion of the transaction - you will still need to apply to a mortgage lender for the home loan, using your Help to Buy funds as a deposit.

Therefore, you need to consider which lenders will approve your mortgage application. A lot depends on what sort of bad credit issues you have and how long ago they occurred.

Fortunately, an independent broker can identify bad credit specialist lenders even in a more serious credit scoring situation - give us a call if this applies, and we'll recommend the mortgage providers most likely to approve your loan.

Whats the lowest credit you can buy a house with?

It's recommended you have a credit score of 620 or higher when you apply for a conventional loan. If your score is below 620, lenders either won't be able to approve your loan or may be required to offer you a higher interest rate, which can result in higher monthly payments.

Can you get a loan with a credit score of 500?

Anyone with a minimum credit score of 500 can apply for an FHA loan. But if you already have a 620 or higher credit score, it makes more sense to go for a conventional mortgage. Whereas you can make a minimum down payment of 3% for conventional loans, the lowest money down for an FHA loan is 3.5 percent.

Will HDB check credit score?

Banks use your credit score to determine how likely you are to repay your debts, determine your loan quantum, or how much they are willing to lend you. You need to ensure that your credit score is good if you plan to borrow money from the bank. In fact, the same applies if you choose to borrow HDB loans.

How to buy a house in Texas with bad credit?

You can still buy a home even with bad credit. Even with a credit score of 500, you can qualify for a mortgage with an FHA loan. Working with one of the best mortgage companies Texas offers is the best way to learn about minimum credit scores and income qualifications for loans.