My wife has "fair" credit but high income, so I want to include her on the loan. Do lenders take an average of mine and her FICO?

Hello the bank will use the lower of you two for credit score qualify. So if example your 750 and she is 650 they use 650 to qualify for loan and rates and programs. Thank you Robert Oliveira with Rockland Trust

Lending rules mandate that your loan is priced on the LOWEST MIDDLE score of ALL borrowers.. if you have a 800 and she is 610, then your loan is priced as a 610 score.. and for income to be considered, you must be on the loan.. 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. William J. Acres, Lender411's number ONE lender in Arizona. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com NMLS# 226347

Good answers already. If she has credit card debt paying balances to less than 30% of limit on each is usually an easy way to bump the score.

Mortgage lenders use the middle scores for the client, and with two borrowers are on the loan; they will use the lower of the two middle scores.