What lenders see
The score thresholds that matter for Florida mortgages.
Different loan types have different floor scores. The lower you go, the higher your rate (and the bigger your down payment).
FHA
580
3.5% down. The most lenient federal loan.
Conventional
620
PMI required under 20% down. Better terms at 680+.
Best rates
740
You unlock the lowest interest tier. Worth the wait if you can.
DSCR (investor)
680
Most non-QM lenders want 680+. Some go to 660 with bigger down.
Jumbo
700
Required for loans over $766,550 in FL. 740+ to compete.
5 things to fix first
The highest-leverage moves.
Don't try to fix everything. Do these five in order, watch your score climb 30-80 points in 60 days.
Your credit-repair checklist
- Pull all three reports for free. AnnualCreditReport.com gives you Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at no cost. Don't pay for "credit monitoring" services to do this.
- Dispute every error you find. Wrong addresses, accounts that aren't yours, late payments that weren't actually late. Each bureau has 30 days to investigate. About a third of reports have at least one error.
- Pay down credit cards to under 30% of the limit. Utilization is 30% of your score. A $5K card with $4K balance hurts you more than the same balance spread across 3 cards. Get every card under 30% — under 10% is even better.
- Don't close old accounts. Length of credit history is 15% of your score. That 12-year-old card you never use? Keep it open. Charge a coffee on it once a quarter so it stays active.
- Don't open anything new. Once you start the mortgage process, hard inquiries and new accounts can drop your score 5-15 points each. No new cars, no new credit cards, no Affirm at checkout. Wait until after closing.
What to expect
Realistic timeline.
Credit repair isn't a quick fix. Here's how long each stage actually takes.
Week 1-2
Pull reports. Identify errors.
Free at AnnualCreditReport.com. List every issue per bureau.
Month 1-2
Dispute errors. Pay down cards.
Bureaus must respond in 30 days. Cards report to bureaus monthly.
Month 2-4
Score climbs. Build positive history.
Each on-time payment helps. Skip late, miss any, and reset.
Month 4-6
Apply for pre-approval.
Score should be stable and meet your loan-type minimum by now.
Do
- Pay every single bill on time, even by one day
- Keep utilization under 30% on every individual card
- Set up auto-pay for at least the minimum on every account
- Ask one card issuer for a credit limit increase (don't accept hard pulls)
- Become an authorized user on a trusted family member's old card
Don't
- Close old accounts, even ones you don't use
- Apply for new credit (cards, cars, financing) until you close
- Pay any "credit repair" company that asks for money up front (illegal)
- Co-sign for anyone — affects your debt-to-income
- Cash out a 401k for the down payment without talking to a CPA first
A myth worth busting
Paying off doesn't always remove it.
A common misconception: "I'll pay off this 4-year-old collection and my score will jump." Often, paying it actually drops your score short-term because it re-ages the entry as "active." If a collection is older than 3 years and you're closing soon, sometimes the right move is to leave it alone. Talk to a credit-repair specialist before paying off any old debt — the strategy here matters more than the dollar amount.
Want a one-on-one credit review?
Send us your three reports (or a screenshot of any one of them) and we'll loop in a credit-repair partner we trust. They'll give you a written plan free of charge, with the estimated score lift and timeline. No commitment.
Get a free credit review →
