VV,

Jim's assessment is pretty spot on. You'll find a big difference in what's offered to you from the 600-619 range to the 620-640 range. The issue is not with the FHA, individual lenders are very particular about the credit risk portfolio they carry. Many lenders also have their loans serviced by larger banks like BofA, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc. and so they need to make sure that those lenders like your file too.

The long and short of it is that yes, you will qualify. How good your rate gets depends on what the particular lender offers depending on your credit scores, debt ratio, and Loan-To-Value. Good luck!

Kind regards,

Jason Diperstein
E Mortgage Management
800-793-9633 ext. 156
jdiperstein@emmloans.com

FHA technically has no credit score requirement, that being said, each lender overlays their own credit score requirements on FHA loans, and they have been setting the bar higher lateley. Roughly speaking, in todays market, and for loan amounts 417K or lower, the best rates are available to folks whose scores are 640 or above. From 600-640, there are many fewer lenders, and your interest rates are a bit higher. There are a very few lenders left that work in the 500-600 credit score range, and the rate there are typically one point higher than the best rates you see advertised.
I hope these comments help, Jim

Most lenders offering FHA loans today require a minimum FICO score of 620. A handful of lenders will go down as low as 580. If you have only two scores, it will be based on the lower of the two. If you have 3 scores, it will be based on the middle score.