What credit score do I need to buy a 350k house?
To buy a house with a conventional loan, for example, you'll need at least a 620 credit score. But don't worry. Even if your credit score hovers somewhere in the 500 – 600 range, you can still secure a home loan. While every lender is different, knowing your score and how it may impact your loan application is key.
You'll typically need a credit score of 620 to finance a home purchase. However, some lenders may offer mortgage loans to borrowers with scores as low as 500. Whether you qualify for a specific loan type also depends on personal factors like your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), loan-to-value ratio (LTV) and income.
Putting down the standard 20% can help you avoid paying mortgage insurance and interest and could save you thousands of dollars. So you can expect to pay between $10,500 an $70,000 as a down payment on a $350,000 purchase.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans need at least a 580 FICO Score with at least a 3.5% down payment (which amounts to $10,500 on a $300,000 home). Conventional loans require a minimum FICO® Score of 620 along with a 3% down payment (which amounts to $9,000 on a $300,000 home).
Mortgage lenders typically want to see a score of 620 or better before approving a conventional mortgage.
Assuming a 30-year fixed conventional mortgage and a 20 percent down payment of $80,000, with a high 6.88 percent interest rate, borrowers must earn a minimum of $105,864 each year to afford a home priced at $400,000.
What income is required for a 400k mortgage? To afford a $400,000 house, borrowers need $55,600 in cash to put 10 percent down. With a 30-year mortgage, your monthly income should be at least $8200 and your monthly payments on existing debt should not exceed $981. (This is an estimated example.)
How much do I need to make to buy a $300K house? You'll likely need to make about $75,000 a year to buy a $300K house. This is an estimate, but, as a rule of thumb, with a 3 percent down payment on a conventional 30-year mortgage at 7 percent, your monthly mortgage payment will be around $2,250.
Assuming a 20 percent down payment on a 30-year fixed-rate loan at an interest rate of 7 percent, you can afford the payments on a $240,000 home, according to Bankrate's mortgage calculator.
Annual Salary | $40,000 |
---|---|
Home Purchase Budget (25% monthly income on mortgage payments) | $103,800 |
Home Purchase Budget (28% monthly income) | $109,500 |
Home Purchase Budget (36% monthly income) | $141,100 |
Home Purchase Budget (40% of monthly income) | $156,900 |
How much can I borrow with a 580 credit score?
You can borrow anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $100,000+ with a 580 credit score. The exact amount of money you will get depends on other factors besides your credit score, such as your income, your employment status, the type of loan you get, and even the lender.
Some types of mortgages have specific minimum credit score requirements. A conventional loan requires a credit score of at least 620, but it's ideal to have a score of 740 or above, which could allow you to make a lower down payment, get a more attractive interest rate and save on private mortgage insurance.
While most lenders use the FICO Score 8, mortgage lenders use the following scores: Experian: FICO Score 2, or Fair Isaac Risk Model v2. Equifax: FICO Score 5, or Equifax Beacon 5. TransUnion: FICO Score 4, or TransUnion FICO Risk Score 04.
The 30% rule for home buyers
If your annual salary is $100,000, the 30% rule means you should spend around $2,500 per month on your house payment. With a 10% down payment and a 6% fixed interest rate, you could likely afford a home worth around $350,000 to $400,000 (depending on the cost of taxes and home insurance).
In today's climate, the income required to purchase a $500,000 home varies greatly based on personal finances, down payment amount, and interest rate. However, assuming a market rate of 7% and a 10% down payment, your household income would need to be about $128,000 to afford a $500,000 home.
Assuming you have enough in savings to cover the down payment, closing costs and cost of regular upkeep, yes, you probably could afford a $200K home on a $50K annual salary. Using our example above, the monthly mortgage payment on a $200K home, including taxes and insurance, would be about $1,300.
Most buyers nowadays have housing payments in excess of 40% of their gross income. By today's standards, even in a 6% to 7% interest rate environment, you can qualify for a $400,000 home with as little as $70,000 of income with a 20% down payment – depending on your property tax and insurance rates.
The annual salary needed to afford a $400,000 home is about $127,000. Over the past few years, prospective homeowners have chased a moving target: homeownership. The median sales price of houses sold in the U.S. stood at $417,700 in the fourth quarter of 2023—down from a peak of $479,500 in Q4 2022.
A person who makes $50,000 a year might be able to afford a house worth anywhere from $180,000 to nearly $300,000. That's because your annual salary isn't the only variable that determines your home buying budget. You also have to consider your credit score, current debts, mortgage rates, and many other factors.
On a $350,000, 30-year mortgage with a 6% APR, you can expect a monthly payment of $2,098.43, not including taxes and interest (these vary by location and property, so they can't be calculated without more detail). The payment would jump to $2,953.50 for a 15-year loan.
How much is a monthly payment on a 300k house?
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) | Monthly payment (15-year) | Monthly payment (30-year) |
---|---|---|
6.25% | $2,572.27 | $1,896.20 |
6.50% | $2,613.32 | $1,896.20 |
6.75% | $2,654.73 | $1,945.79 |
7.00% | $2,696.48 | $1,995.91 |
Putting down this amount generally means you won't have to worry about private mortgage insurance (PMI), which eliminates one cost of home ownership. For a $400,000 home, a 20% down payment comes to $80,000. That means your loan is for $320,000.
On a salary of $36,000 per year, you can afford a house priced around $100,000-$110,000 with a monthly payment of just over $1,000. This assumes you have no other debts you're paying off, but also that you haven't been able to save much for a down payment.
For many single-family homebuyers in California, the FHA loan limit is $498,257, but in more expensive areas like Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Cruz and San Francisco counties, you could borrow as much as $1,149,825.
FHA loan limits | Most areas | Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands |
---|---|---|
One-unit | $498,257 | $1,724,725 |
Two-units | $637,950 | $2,208,375 |
Three-units | $771,125 | $2,669,275 |
Four-units | $958,350 | $3,317,400 |
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