Bad Credit Defined

Most mortgage loans are classified based on your FICO score (credit score). Bad credit is a subjective decision, not a pure mathematic interpretation. If your credit score is less than 620, you might “qualify” for a bad credit designation. Hopefully, your report does not show a mortgage delinquency as part of your score as that will further hurt your ability to get a reasonably priced mortgage. If you have sporadic 30-day delinquencies on plastic card accounts, you should still qualify for good mortgage terms. However, should you have a variety of 60-day delinquencies on some of your accounts, this will pose a problem. If you have one or more 30-day delinquencies on installment loans (for instance, auto or student loans), your score will fall further than unsecured accounts (plastic card). Should your report include one or more 30- or 60-day delinquencies on a mortgage loan, you have truly reached the category of “bad credit."