Backed by the Federal Housing Administration, these allow scores as low as 500 (with a 10% down payment) or 580 (with a 3.5% down payment).
Lenders often look at the "entire financial picture" rather than just the number. Research from OJO Labs highlights that homeownership is "disproportionately difficult" for low-credit groups because they lack visibility into the tools that can offset a bad score. These "compensating factors" include: can you buy a house with poor credit
If traditional mortgages are out of reach, researchers point to more "creative" (though often riskier) financing: Hitting the Wall: Credit as an Impediment to Homeownership Backed by the Federal Housing Administration, these allow
Newer underwriting models, such as FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 , are beginning to incorporate positive rental history into credit files to help "thin-file" or low-credit borrowers. 3. High-Interest & Non-Traditional Alternatives Backed by the Federal Housing Administration
For veterans and active-duty members, these often have no official minimum score, though many individual lenders set their own "overlays" (usually around 580–620).