Credit Score for Conventional Loan?

Yes, for now.. Guidelines are changing, but for right now you can put 5% down on conventional, however with a 680 credit score, your monthly mortgage insurance premium will be pretty high.. You might want to compare with FHA.. 3.5% down. 1.75% upfront premium which can be financed, and 1.25% annual premium paid monthly... but the rates on FHA are about 1/2% lower than conventional... I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

Paul, I was talking to some lenders the other day and they mentioned that if you do not have at least a 740 credit score, it would be very difficult to get private mortgage insurance for a conventional loan with only 5% down. I too would suggest looking at the FHA loan program. The mortgage insurance is higher but the rates are very low right now. If you have anymore questions, you can reach out to me. I am licensed in Florida and located in Orlando. I hope this information helps you.

680 is the magic number for getting a Conventional loan with PMI. It's not all about finding a lender to do it, mostly it's about your lender having a mortgage insurance company that will insure it. You should compare an FHA to a Conventional loan - rates, down payment, monthly payment, etc. I would be pleased to prepare a Loan Comparison for you. There is no cost for this, it is simply a side-by-side comparison of your options. I also lend in Florida.

Its not the bank you should be concerned with, its the PMI. you are eligible for a loan with 5% down and a credit score of 680. But you may have a hard time getting PMI. FHA is probably a better option for you.

The better question you need to consider is will I be able to get private PMI with a credit score of 680 and only 5% down. Typically you should have no problems getting the financing accomplished as long as you adhere to all the other loan criteria. The potential issue is that after your loan is cleared to close from the lender it still has to be re-underwritten by a private PMI company and they look at credit, debt to income ratio, loan to value and also zip code. They base their risk heavily on the area and if you are in an area with extremely high foreclosures you may not be able to get PMI which makes the loan a bust. I would suggest the loan officer you work with checking the eligibility of PMI for your loan and then if you cannot get PMI I would go with FHA or put 20% down.

not on a conventional loan,, we do offer that product but as a private banking product. we can offer loans on property that are underwater and over 100% LTV. conventional lending has no ability to do this, and qualifications are based on the borrowers financial profile