Skip to content
(800) 411-3050

Get your credit ready for a home

Buying your first home or trying to get approved for a rental? Find out the score you need, where you stand, and what to fix first.

Free tool

How much home can I get with my credit?

See what I can afford

Free tool

How much home can I get with my credit?

A rough guide using common lender limits. Your lender decides the real number.

Try one

Car, student loan and card minimums. Not rent.

Home price, roughly

About $225,000

A monthly payment of about $1,860 with taxes and insurance, at 7.36% for a 30-year fixed loan.

  • Open: FHA loan, 500 with 10% down, 580 with 3.5% down
  • Open: Conventional loan, usually 620 and up, 3% down for first-time buyers
  • Open: VA loan, if you served, most lenders want 620
  • Not yet: USDA loan, in eligible rural areas, most lenders want 640
Get mortgage-ready

This is a soft credit pull, so it won’t impact your score.

Rates shown are averages by credit tier from published industry sources: car loans from Experian's State of the Automotive Finance Market (Q1 2026, new-vehicle averages, banded on VantageScore 4.0); mortgages from the myFICO Loan Savings Calculator (Curinos LLC data, May 2026, 30-year fixed at 80% loan-to-value, banded on FICO Scores); personal loans from LendingTree's analysis of closed personal loans on its marketplace (Q1 2026, loan amounts $5,000 to $54,999 and terms of 36 to 83 months). Because these sources band by different credit-scoring models, the same score may fall in different tiers depending on the product. Credit card tiers are illustrative estimates throughout; no comparable published tier table exists for revolving card APR. Tiers marked * are estimates rather than published figures, shown so the calculator can display a result where the underlying source publishes no tier at all. myFICO publishes no mortgage tier below 620, and most lenders decline at that level. Marketplace and survey averages reflect the borrowers and lenders in each source rather than the national market as a whole, and rates change over time. This is an illustration, not an offer of credit or a rate quote, and no result is guaranteed. No credit repair company can promise a specific score change.

This free tool gives a general estimate based on what you enter. The Credit Pros makes no representations or guarantees about any outcome.

What are you working toward?

Know your target score, then close the gap

  1. FHA loans start at 580 with 3.5% down. Most conventional loans start at 620.
  2. Pull all three reports. Mortgage lenders look at all three and use the middle score.
  3. Fix errors and pay down card balances first. Those move scores fastest.

Read next

Get mortgage-ready

  • 580

    minimum score for an FHA loan with 3.5% down

  • 620

    typical minimum for a conventional loan

  • Middle

    of your three scores is the one most lenders use

Can I buy or rent with my score?

Answers for the score you have today.

Guides for mortgage

Start where you are. Everything here is free to read.

Just learning

The basics of mortgage

Making a plan

Tools and plans you can use today

Ready for help

When you want us to handle it

Every mortgage guide

Common questions

What credit score do I need to buy a house?

It depends on the loan. FHA starts at 580 with 3.5% down, or 500 with 10% down. Conventional loans usually start at 620.

How long does it take to get mortgage-ready?

It depends on what is on your report. Errors can come off in 30 to 45 days. Building new history takes months.

Can I rent an apartment with bad credit?

Often, yes. Landlords weigh income, rental history and deposits along with your score.

More credit help

See your credit through a lender’s eyes.

Get your free credit review to see where you stand. This is a soft credit pull, so it won’t impact your score.

Start your free reviewor call (800) 411-3050