The minimum gets you in the door. The tier you land in decides what you pay every month for 30 years.
Conventional loans generally want a 620. FHA officially allows 580 with 3.5% down (even 500 with 10% down, though few lenders actually do it). VA has no official floor — most lenders want ~620. Those are the doors. But the number on the door is not the number that costs you money.
Lenders price conventional loans in credit tiers. The practical effect on a $400,000 loan: a 740+ borrower might get 6.5% — about $2,528/month. A 640 borrower might pay around 7.125% for the same loan — about $2,695/month. That is $167 more every month, roughly $59,977 over 30 years — for the same house.
Run your own scenario at both rates in the mortgage calculator — comparing two rates side by side makes the credit-score cost concrete.
760+: best pricing, nothing left to squeeze. 740–759: essentially top-tier. 700–739: good, slight premium. 660–699: noticeably pricier. 620–659: approved but expensive — this is where waiting often beats buying. Below 620: FHA territory, where rates are decent but low-down FHA mortgage insurance never cancels without refinancing.
Two or three months of boring behavior moves scores more than people expect: get every card below 30% of its limit (below 10% is better), dispute actual errors on your reports (annualcreditreport.com is the free official site), and do not open or close anything before closing day. Moving from 680 to 720 can be worth tens of thousands over the loan. Meanwhile, check what payment fits your budget with the DTI calculator.
Does shopping multiple lenders hurt my score?
Mortgage inquiries made within a shopping window — 14 to 45 days depending on the scoring version — count as a single inquiry. Collect several quotes inside two weeks and compare freely: the rate differences are worth far more than a few score points.
Which score do lenders actually use?
They pull all three bureaus and use the middle score (with co-borrowers, the lower of the middles), on mortgage-specific FICO models. That's usually not the number your banking app shows, so expect a gap in either direction and don't panic over it.
Should I close old credit cards before applying?
No. Closing cards shrinks your available credit (raising utilization) and shortens your average account age — both push scores down exactly when you need them up. Pay them down, leave them open.
What if I barely have a credit history?
Thin files have levers: some services report your rent and utilities to the bureaus, becoming an authorized user on a family member's old, clean card adds its history to yours, and a secured card used lightly for six to twelve months builds a real record. Meanwhile, check what payment you could carry with the DTI calculator.
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