Can You Get A Mortgage With a FICO Score of 450?

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December 6 , 2004

“I have a home worth $142,000 on which I owe $81,000, so I have $61,000 of equity. I want to turn the equity into cash, but my credit is poor, in the mid-400s, and I can’t find a lender who will deal with me. Do you know any lenders who will help me?”

I do, but I won’t tell you who they are. Some are in jail, and the others ought to be in jail.

Credit scores range up to 850, with anything above 720 considered an "A" and anything below 620 considered sub-prime. This is rough because many other factors are relevant to the way borrowers are categorized, but it does illustrate where a score of 450 places you.

The probability that a borrower with a credit score of 450 will default is considered to be so high that no interest rate is high enough to compensate a lender for the risk. The only lenders who might be interested in you, therefore, are those who figure they can move some of your equity out of your pocket into theirs when you default. I have no intention of being the one to introduce you to them.