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You are here: Home / Blog / Tips for Home Buyers

Your FICO score and how it affects your mortgage

January 15, 2021

Your FICO score

Are you about to apply for a mortgage loan in order to buy a home? If so, you may be curious about your FICO credit score and how this might affect your financing.

Here’s a look at how FICO scores can affect your mortgage and ways that you can boost your score to ensure your mortgage application is approved.

What is a FICO Score?

The Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) is the country’s leading producer of credit scoring information and the primary source most lenders will check to assess how much risk you present. FICO combines information from credit bureaus such as TransUnion, Experian and Equifax and produces a score ranging from 300 to 850. The the better your credit history, the higher your score, and the lower the risk you present to lenders.

In general, many lenders find scores above 670 as indicating good creditworthiness. Typically, the higher your score, the lower the risk and the more likely creditors are to lend to you. If you have a score below 620 or 630 you may find it challenging to get approved and below 580 it will be almost impossible.

How does your FICO Score affect your mortgage?

Your FICO score affects you in two main ways. First, your FICO score helps determine whether or not you’re approved for a mortgage. Second, interest rates offered by various lenders will change based on your FICO score. For example, an individual with a score of 800 and very clean credit presents much lower risk than someone with a score of 620, and thus a higher score generally means a lower rate.

How can you boost your FICO Score?

If you find that your credit score is a bit low and you’re concerned that it will have a negative effect on your mortgage application there are a few steps you can take. First, get a full copy of your FICO score and credit history so you can see who is reporting to the credit bureaus and what information they are providing. You may find that there are mistakes or old items that have not yet been removed, which you can then challenge to have taken off of your credit report.

While your FICO score can certainly impact your mortgage and your interest rate, you shouldn’t let a low score hold you back from applying.

How to obtain your credit report and FICO Score:

Federal law allows you to obtain a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit reporting companies. You can order your free report here. Note that the free credit reports do not contain your FICO score. To obtain credit reports that include your FICO score, you can order those at myFICO.com for a fee.

Applying for a home loan soon? Give me a call at (520) 333-0446 for a referral to one of my trusted lending partners.

Filed Under: Tips for Home Buyers Tagged With: Credit, FICO Scores

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"My husband and I are honored to recommend Russ Fortuno as the most efficient and professional real estate professional we have had. We feel very blessed to have found Russ while we were still in North Carolina. We planned to relocate to Green Valley, AZ and were interested in establishing a rapport and receiving listings prior to moving cross-country. By the time we arrived Russ pretty much knew what we were looking for. Even though the inventory was not terribly plentiful at the time we found our home the very first day we went looking!!! In addition to helping us find the perfect home, Russ was wonderful to refer us to local contractors and professionals in our area. He is a wealth of information and took the time to answer any questions we had. We also felt the step-by-step timeline Russ includes in his service was very helpful."
- M.P., Green Valley, AZ
"Russ Fortuno is an exceptional real estate professional. He is personable, responsive and really knows the Green Valley real estate market. Additionally, Russ is a strong buyer’s advocate, good listener and business professional. He gave his honest opinion on places and did not push in any way. Living in Northern California, we required an agent who has a spectrum of knowledge about Green Valley as well as being able to navigate a transaction via long distance. Trust is key in all real estate business but really was crucial with our purchase. Russ showed us many properties prior to COVID, we ended up putting an offer on a property that we didn’t see until the inspection was completed. Having trust in Russ made our long distance home purchase possible. It was a little scary doing business this way but I can say that we are very happy with our condominium and Russ made such a purchase smooth and a relatively easy process. I whole heartedly recommend Russ to anyone seeking real estate in the Green Valley area, we will use Russ for all our future Green Valley real estate business."
- S.M., Redding CA
"As out-of-town buyers, we were very impressed with how easy it was to buy a house with Russ. We went to Green Valley for a few days and were shown many houses that could have worked for us. We went home to MI and a few days later we were sent pictures of the perfect house. Russ toured the home, arranged for the inspection, made a walk through video for us, and handled the closing! Couldn’t ask for anything more! We would highly recommend using Russ as your agent."
- M.H., Rochester Hills, MI
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Russ Fortuno, Associate Broker

I'm a Southern Arizona native and year-round Green Valley resident. Whether you’re buying or selling a home in the Green Valley or Sahuarita area, you’ll experience unsurpassed service and professionalism at all stages of your real estate transaction. I welcome the opportunity to assist in your next home sale or purchase.
Meet Russ

Tierra Antigua Realty

18745 S. I-19 Frontage Rd., Ste. A105
Green Valley, AZ 85614
(520) 333-0446
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