Written by the Simply Approved Mortgages editorial team
Reviewed for program accuracy by our Simply Approved Mortgages underwriting desk — Licensed mortgage originators (NMLS) — Colorado & Florida. We summarize published federal program rules; we do not set them. This article is educational and is not a quote, approval, or commitment to lend.
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The FHA itself sets two credit thresholds:
- 580 FICO or higher: 3.5% minimum down payment
- 500–579 FICO: 10% minimum down payment
- Below 500: Not eligible for any FHA financing
But the FHA's rules aren't the whole story. Lenders add their own "overlays" — internal credit standards stricter than the FHA's. Most lenders won't go below 580, and some require 620 or 640 even for 3.5% down.
What scores get approved in practice
Across the last 12 months at Simply Approved Mortgages:
- 580–619: approvable with manual underwriting, compensating factors required (reserves, low DTI, stable income)
- 620–679: standard automated underwriting, typical approval
- 680–739: strong approval, best FHA pricing tier
- 740+: best pricing, but often a conventional loan beats FHA at this score
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The four credit metrics underwriters actually look at
- FICO score (mid score of the three bureaus, lowest score of two co-borrowers)
- Payment history — especially the last 12 months on housing, autos, and revolving accounts
- Open collection accounts over $2,000 — must be addressed
- Time since major derogatory event — 2 years post-Chapter 13 discharge, 4 years post-Chapter 7, 3 years post-foreclosure (with re-established credit)
Five-step plan to add 40+ points in 60 days
- Pull a free 3-bureau report from AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute every inaccuracy
- Pay every credit card down to under 30% utilization, then under 10% if possible
- Ask for a credit limit increase on existing cards (no hard pull from most issuers)
- Don't open or close any accounts during the 60 days before applying
- Become an authorized user on a long-standing account belonging to a family member with perfect payment history
A 580 score becoming a 620 can drop your FHA rate by 0.25–0.5% — that's $50–$100/month for the life of the loan.

