As the above table illustrates, those with credit scores below 630 are not a very good risk, so they will obtain a mortgage at a significantly higher interest rate and this will add anywhere from $50 to about $250 to their monthy mortgage payment and add thousands to the price of the home.
If your score is 660 or above, you can get a mortgage loan fairly easily since you are a pretty good risk. As stated above, the higher your score the lower your interest rate, so your goal shouldn't be to obtain a credit score of 660; it should be to achieve a credit score of at least 700. Some lenders will reward you if your credit score is higher than 725, by lowering your interest rate by about 1/4th of a percent. If it is between 700 and 724, it will be lowered by 1/8th of a percent.
Does an interest point or two make such a big difference in the price of the house? You bet it does! It means saving thousands in finance charges and a lower monthly payment. For example, paying an interest rate just two points higher means paying an additional $200 each month on your house payment on the typical $150,000, 30-year mortgage loan. That's at least $72,000 more you're going to pay for your house!
There are steps you can take to raise your credit score or overcome a low credit score:
(1) Offer a larger down payment so that you aren't borrowing so much money (2) Lower your debt-to-income ratio by paying off as much debt as you possibly can before applying for a mortgage loan in order to increase your credit score (3) Don't buy a car just before applying for a mortgage loan as it lowers your credit score |