What credit score do I need to buy a house?
Two different thresholds get confused here. The mortgage insurers set a minimum credit score of 600 for an insured mortgage. A lenders set their own bar, commonly in the high 600s, which is a pricing preference rather than a rule.
Caution: What we have not checked
Because the two thresholds are different, a score can be high enough to insure and still not high enough for the lender you walked into. That is a lender decision, not a disqualification, and it is why the same file gets three different answers from three institutions.
Score is also only part of it. Lenders read the depth of your file, how much of your available credit you are using, and any recent missed payments, and a thin file with a high score can be treated more cautiously than a long file with a lower one.
Below the A bar, B lenders will lend at a higher rate plus a lender fee, and the fee is quoted per file rather than published, so ask for it in writing alongside the rate. Below that, private lending is equity-based: the property and your down payment decide it rather than your score, and the cost means it functions as a bridge with a stated exit.
On improving a score, the two levers borrowers control are how much of each limit is drawn and how recently they applied for new credit. We are not citing a threshold for either, because the scoring models are proprietary and the round numbers repeated online are not published rules.
Answer it with your own numbers
You will need: annual income, monthly debts, down payment, credit tier.
See which lender tier your profile lands inNext questions
What is a B lender and what does it cost me?
A lender that takes borrowers the banks decline, at a higher rate plus a lender fee of roughly one percent of the loan. It is a two or three year bridge back to A pricing, not a destination.
Canada-wide
I am self-employed. Can I still get a mortgage?
Yes, and the constraint is documentation rather than income. A lenders generally want two years of filed returns and use your net taxable income, which is the number your accountant has spent years minimizing.
Canada-wide