Merril,

It's good to hear that you're taking advantage of some of those great real estate deals out there.

To answer your question, yes it is possible. There are a few lenders out there who will do FHA and VA financing in the score range you're looking at. Government lending is fantastic because it allows you the ability to qualify for a loan even with blemished credit.

As far as lending requirements go, we have NO MINIMUM score requirement on government lending (except for a 203K, we have a minimum score) CURRENTLY (this may not be accurate down the road).

Long story short, if the deal makes sense and it can be documented, we will do the deal. We have some of the best performing loans amongst our competitors which is why we can continue lending without a minimum fico restriction -- the deals need to make sense.

We're a national lender and we're licensed to lend in all 50 states.

Rob Weber
Mortgage Consultant
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
312.274.4136

Hello Merrill-

My name is Luke Allison and I am a retail Loan Officer with Flagstar Bank. My bank can consider your file for approval and will not deny it based on credit score. We can underwrite files down to a 550 score on our retail side. As far as lenders in the market go, we are one of the few taking Government files with scores that low.

Credit score can vary for a variety of reasons so the underwriter will consider your file based on the information on the credit report and the documentation that is sent in along with the loan package. For example, medical collections are routinely ignored from consideration while credit lates would be looked at with more scrutiny.

Please feel free to call me at your nearest convenience. Although I am based in North Carolina, I can close loans in all 50 states. I routinely do loans in Florida since I am originally from there.

Please call me
Luke Allison
Flagstar Bank
828-777-8828
Luke.Allison@flagstar.com

Hi Merrill,

Also a veteran here, USMC - 12 years

I spoke with our lender and he thinks that you would have difficulty with a score under 600. However, finding a home now that will consider a lease purchase will afford you the time to work on building your credit score while you negotiate a sales price at today's market value.

Jim Janolek