To buy a $1 million home, which typically requires a jumbo loan, a credit score of at least 700 to 720 is generally required. While some lenders may accept a minimum of 680, a score of 740 or higher is usually necessary to secure the best interest rates. Higher scores and significant cash reserves are often required due to the increased lender risk.
What credit score do I need for a million-dollar home in Los Angeles? For homes over $1 million in LA, most lenders require a credit score of 720 or higher, with many preferring 740+. Jumbo loan requirements are stricter due to the higher risk.
It's usually shown as a percentage of the home's price. The amount you need can depend on the lender and type of loan, but for most conventional loans, 20% is the ideal amount. So, if you're buying a $1 million home, you'll usually need to put down at least 20%, which is $200,000.
"A homeowner can secure solid mortgage terms with a credit score of 700 or higher," he adds. "740 is typically the score necessary to qualify for the 'best' rate, but there are products and programs out there that will improve interest rates for FICO credit scores above 760 or 780."
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.
Income is one of the most critical factors considered by lenders. To purchase a $1 million home, typically, an annual income of at least $225,000 is required. However, this requirement can vary based on several other factors.
A deposit is the first lump payment you need to make when you want to buy a property. So traditionally, a 20% deposit is advised. So that's 20% of the total property value. So if you're buying a house for a million dollars, that would mean you would need $200,000 as a deposit.
The 2-2-2 credit rule is a guideline for building strong credit, suggesting you should have two active credit accounts (like cards or loans) for at least two years, with consistent on-time payments for those two years, often with a minimum credit limit of $2,000 per account, to demonstrate financial responsibility to lenders, especially for mortgages. It's a benchmark to show you can handle credit well over time, reducing lender risk and improving approval odds for major loans.
Getting an 800 credit score in just 45 days is challenging, as significant scores usually take time, but you can make rapid progress by focusing on paying down credit card balances to lower utilization (under 30%, ideally under 10%), paying all bills on time, disputing errors on your credit report, and possibly becoming an authorized user on a trusted account, while avoiding new credit applications. The most impactful actions for quick changes involve reducing high balances and fixing mistakes, as payment history and utilization are key factors.
To afford a million-dollar home comfortably, you'll typically need a household income of around $300,000 or more, along with substantial savings for a down payment, closing costs, and cash reserves.
To afford a $750k house, you generally need an annual income of around $170,000 to $230,000, but this varies significantly with interest rates, down payment, property taxes, insurance, and other debts, with lenders often using the 28/36 rule (housing costs under 28% of gross income, total debt under 36%) as a guideline. A higher interest rate or more debt requires a higher income, while a larger down payment or lower property taxes can reduce the needed income.
The down payment can vary significantly, typically ranging from 3% to 20% of the home's cost. On a $1 million house, a 20% down payment would be $200,000. A down payment of this size would reduce the loan principal for your mortgage to $800,000, lowering your monthly down payment to $5,056.54.
The 28/36 rule is a tool lenders could use to assess an applicant's potential risk for a new loan, specifically a mortgage. The rule suggests that a borrower use no more than 28% of their income on housing, and no more than 36% of their income on overall debts.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $178,000 and as low as $27,000, the majority of Credit Card Limit For 100K salaries currently range between $61,500 (25th percentile) to $135,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $177,500 annually across the United States.
It could wreck your credit
If your mortgage is too big, keeping up with those payments could mean falling behind on other bills. And if that happens, your credit score could take a serious beating. You'll generally see your score fall substantially with just a single late or missed bill payment.
Closing costs are fees required to fund your mortgage and to transfer legal ownership of the home from the seller to the buyer. Closing costs typically include origination fees, home inspection and appraisal fees, title search and insurance fees, and recording fees.