Here’s the question…

“My fico score is 597 and I was wondering if that score is too low to get qualified for a mortgage in today’s market.”

Low FICO Score & Mortgage Qualifying

A credit score of 597 is considered subprime…and those loans are gone. You only hope…and it’s probably an outside shot, is some of the new FHA loan programs. I’m afraid a lot of the new programs are more hype than real, but it can’t hurt to call and find out.

Not everyone has the ability to do FHA loans, so pick a a local, reputable, FHA approved lender. If you have other positives to offset the negative credit score, like a large 401K or long time on the job…make that known from the outset.

A lot of folks believe there credit scores are worse than they really are. Either way, don’t assume you know your scores. Know all three of your credit scores before shopping.

You can get all 3 scores at the link below and save yourself a lot of trouble.

Another thing to do is try to improve that FICO score.

A couple of easy tips to improve the score is make sure any credit card balances don’t exceed 60% of the credit line. In other words spread your debt around or pay it down so none of your cards exceeds 60%. Start paying the minimum payment plus 20%…it shows you are not a “revolver”…and your score improves.

Hope that helps…

Thanks for the question.

Good Luck!

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