The Mortgage Score. The Floor Gets You In. The Tier Sets Your Rate.

Mortgage lending has two numbers that matter: the program’s minimum (the floor) and the pricing tier your score lands in (the rate). Clearing the floor gets you a yes; the tier decides what the yes costs for thirty years.

The short answer

Mortgage score floors are 580 for FHA (500 with 10% down), 620 for conventional, and no official minimum for VA. Clearing the floor is the easy part; conventional pricing improves at every band up to roughly 780, and that difference compounds for 30 years. The 800 Club's funding team maps the route on a free strategy call.

Written and reviewed by Christopher Blanco, Founder of The 800 Club · Reviewed August 2026

The Floors

Program Minimums — Where The Doors Are.

Program	Typical Score Floor	The Fine Print
FHA	580 (3.5% down) · 500–579 (10% down)	The forgiving door — with mortgage insurance riding along
Conventional	620	The floor is 620; the fair pricing starts far above it
VA	No official floor	Lenders overlay their own — commonly ~580–620
Jumbo	700+	Big loans, low patience for scuffed files

Lenders may also add their own overlays above any program floor — two lenders can quote the same program differently, which is one more reason to shop inside a tight window (mortgage inquiries cluster as one).

The Tiers

Why 740 Is The Real Number.

Conventional pricing adjusts by score band — the same loan literally costs more, in rate or fees, at every step down the ladder, and since the 2023 repricing the grid differentiates all the way up to roughly 780. The penalty compounds over a 30-year term into tens of thousands of dollars. So the honest goal isn’t “clear 620” — it’s enter the application at the highest tier you can reach, because no other few-month project in your life pays like moving one mortgage tier.

The Quirk

Mortgages Score You On Older Models.

Most mortgage underwriting still runs on the classic FICO versions pulled from all three bureaus — historically taking the middle score (or for couples, often the lower borrower’s middle score). Practical upshots: the score in your banking app is a cousin, not the number; all three bureaus matter (fix errors everywhere, not just one); and a co-borrower’s file can price the whole loan — sometimes one applicant on the mortgage is the better math.

Clean All Three Bureaus First The 740 Line →Which Score They Pull →

The Runway

The 6–12 Month Mortgage Prep.

Backwards from application: 12 months out — dispute errors across all three bureaus, resolve anything an underwriter must condition on. 6 months out — utilization to single digits, no new accounts from here, income documentation assembled. 90 days out — freeze the file’s motion: no applications, no limit requests, no closures, nothing that writes to the report. Then shop lenders inside one tight window and let the tier you built do the negotiating.

Start The Runway With Us → The Fast Lever First Back To The Hub

Straight Answers

Asked Constantly — Answered Once.

What credit score do I need to buy a house?

FHA lends at 580 with 3.5% down and as low as 500 with 10% down; conventional loans floor at 620; jumbo loans usually want 700+. Lenders add their own overlays above any program floor. Clearing the floor gets you a yes — the pricing tier your score lands in decides what the yes costs for thirty years.

Which credit score do mortgage lenders use?

Classic FICO versions pulled from all three bureaus, with the middle score used for a single borrower and typically the lower borrower’s middle score for couples. The number in your banking app is a cousin of this score, not the score itself. All three bureaus matter, which is why errors have to be fixed everywhere.

How much does a higher credit score save on a mortgage?

Conventional pricing adjusts at every band up to roughly 780, so moving one tier can change the rate or fees on the entire loan — over thirty years that compounds into tens of thousands of dollars on an ordinary mortgage. No few-month project pays like entering the application one tier higher.

Reading Is Free. So Is The Next Step.

Funding

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This page answers:
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