Yes, you can likely buy a house with a 664 credit score, as it falls in the "fair" range (580-669) and meets minimums for many loan types, especially FHA, VA, and USDA, but you'll likely get higher interest rates than with excellent credit; focus on government-backed loans, low debt, and shop around for lenders.
What Is a Good Credit Score to Buy a House? To increase your odds of approval and qualify for a lower-rate mortgage, you should aim to have a credit score in the good range or higher. That's a FICO® Score of at least 670.
Trying to raise your credit score?
For most people, increasing a credit score by 100 points in a month isn't going to happen. But if you pay your bills on time, eliminate your consumer debt, don't run large balances on your cards and maintain a mix of both consumer and secured borrowing, an increase in your credit could happen within months.
The 3-7-3 Rule in mortgages isn't a loan type but a federal timeline from the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, ensuring borrower protection by mandating disclosures within 3 business days of application, a 7-business-day wait between the initial Loan Estimate and closing, and another 3-day wait if significant changes (like APR) occur, giving borrowers time to review costs before committing to a loan.
A FICO® ScoreΘ of 664 places you within a population of consumers whose credit may be seen as Fair. Your 664 FICO® Score is lower than the average U.S. credit score. 17% of all consumers have Scores in the Fair range (580-669).
The lowest credit score to buy a house can be 500 for an FHA loan with a 10% down payment, but most loans require higher scores, with conventional loans needing around 620, and VA/USDA loans having no official minimum but lenders often preferring 580-640+, meaning the actual minimum depends heavily on the loan type and lender.
Ways to improve your credit score
Paying your loans on time. Not getting too close to your credit limit. Having a long credit history. Making sure your credit report doesn't have errors.
Is 30% of your income too much to spend on rent? Yes. You should spend no more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay on rent. Spending 30% or more will mean not having enough room left over in your budget to put toward other important financial goals like saving for a down payment on a home.
The most you can borrow is usually capped at four-and-a-half times your annual income, but this isn't guaranteed. Use our Mortgage repayment calculator to get an idea of how much you could borrow based on your salary.
The 15/3 credit card payment method is a strategy to potentially boost your credit score by making two payments per billing cycle: one about 15 days before your statement closes (to lower reported utilization) and another around 3 days before the payment due date (to cover the rest and avoid late fees), though its actual impact on credit scoring is debated. It works by keeping your reported balance lower when the card issuer reports to bureaus, but experts note the specific timing isn't magical, and focusing on the reporting date is key.
It's partly true: most negative items like late payments and collections are removed from your credit report after about seven years, but the underlying debt often still exists, and bankruptcies (Chapter 7) last 10 years, so your credit isn't entirely "clear" but mostly refreshed from old negatives. The 7-year clock starts from the date of the original delinquency, not when you paid it off or sent to collections, and the debt itself can still be pursued by collectors.
While the FICO® 8 model is the most widely used scoring model for general lending decisions, banks use the following FICO scores when you apply for a mortgage: FICO® Score 2 (Experian) FICO® Score 5 (Equifax) FICO® Score 4 (TransUnion)
Lenders often require a credit score of at least 620 and a minimum down payment of 5% to qualify for a Conventional loan, while an FHA loan may be available with a credit score as low as 580 and a minimum down payment of 3.5%.