Mortgage lenders tend to use all three of your scores – from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax – to evaluate you for a home loan. As mentioned, there are different versions of the FICO score, and each credit bureau uses a specific one to determine borrowers’ creditworthiness.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows the lender or broker to share the report they receive with their customer. However, if you choose to do so, you must be prepared to explain the report, and the information in it, to your customer.

Financial institutions – including credit card lenders, mortgage lenders, auto lenders, and more — often use this information to determine whether or not to provide you with credit and how much you will pay for it. Insurance companies, employers, and landlords can also request to access your credit report.

Payment history: Lenders also will review your payment history on credit cards, loans, lines of credit and anything else that shows up on your credit report. They want to make sure you have a track record of on-time payments that could indicate you’ll be a responsible mortgage borrower.

Limits on Recent Credit Applications Lenders have a cutoff on what they want to see. So, for example, some may say they won’t approve anyone who has more than two applications for credit in the past six months or three in the past year. If you’re over the limit, your application may be automatically denied.

Thankfully getting a mortgage after using payday loans is possible, yes. As we explain later in this article, most lenders decline customers who have recently used payday loans, some even decline if they show in credit history at all over the last six years.

Payment History More than anything else, lenders want to get paid. Accordingly, a potential borrower’s track record of making on-time payments is of particular importance. In fact, in calculating a potential borrower’s FICO score, payment history is the most important factor. It accounts for 35% of the score.

The answer depends on what type of mortgage you want. You’ll need a FICO credit score of at least 500 to qualify for a Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, loan, but other programs may require a score of 620 or higher.

FHA loans are designed to create opportunities for homebuyers whose credit scores are less than ideal or who can’t afford to make a down payment on a conventional loan. Federal guidelines allow lenders issuing FHA loans to consider “nontraditional credit histories,” including candidates with no credit score.

Use Seller Financing. If you can’t get a traditional mortgage loan, seller financing is another option. You become the owner of the house, but the seller is the bank, so you’ll make payments to the seller every month. Since you’re the legal owner, you can still sell or refinance the property.