Can I Get a Mortgage With a Low Credit Score?

Often, yes. A credit score isn't a single pass-fail line. It's a variable that shapes which program reviews your file and what terms come attached.

Start with what a score actually is. It's one number built from several inputs: whether you've paid on time, how much of your available credit you're using, how long your accounts have been open, and how recently you've applied for new credit. Two people with the same score can have completely different files underneath.

Two situations in particular pull in opposite directions. One is a score lowered by late payments or collections. The other is a score that's low simply because your U.S. credit history is short. The first takes time. The second often moves faster than people expect, depending on how the file is organized. Recent immigrants and people who rarely use credit cards fall into the second group.

Other factors offset a thinner score. A larger down payment lowers your loan-to-value ratio. Solid reserves change how underwriting reads the file. Stable income matters too. And Conventional, Jumbo, and Non-QM financing each weigh credit differently — which is why a file declined in one place can be approved in another.

A few cautions. Closing old cards, paying off collections without guidance, or opening new credit mid-process can all push your score down rather than up. For over 30 years we've worked with borrowers whose credit is thin or complicated. We look at how the score was built before we look at the number.