Can I Get A VA Loan With a Bad Credit Rating?

While most VA home loan requirements are looser than those set by traditional banks, the VA still has some requirements when it comes to borrower credit score. If you would otherwise qualify for a VA mortgage, but have a bad credit rating, there are still ways to qualify for a loan that meets your budget and needs.

Buying a home is a very major personal and financial commitment. When buying a home, one of the biggest choices that you will have to make is picking a mortgage. For those that are members of the VA, or active military members, a great mortgage option would be to take out a VA home loan. VA home loans have a variety of approval criteria, which are generally not as tight as those set by most mortgage lenders.

Get a Co-Signer

One of the best ways to get a VA home loan if you have a bad credit rating is to get a co-signer to sign onto the mortgage. A co-signer is an individual that will take on the financial responsibility of the mortgage if you miss some payments.

Since there is another person that is taking on the financial requirements of the loan, the VA home loan lenders will be willing to take their financial situation into consideration. This will include reviewing the co-signers financial position and credit score.

Normally, it would be ideal if the co-signer were someone that will be living with you, such as a spouse or other family member.

More Money Down

One of the reasons why the VA takes credit score into consideration is because they often provide loans with as little as zero money down. While this is a great advantage for veterans that may not have a lot of cash saved, it does add risk to the lender and servicer.

If you have a bad credit rating and are not able to qualify for a traditional zero-down loan with the VA, a good option may be to put more money down instead. While it is not necessarily within their policy, if you are able to put down up to 20% of the purchase price, the lender may be willing to look past the poor credit score and approve you for the loan. However, you may still be charged a higher interest rate and fees.

Wait and Rebuild Credit

The last option that you may have for getting a VA home loan is to wait to buy the home and look for ways to rebuild your credit in the meantime. VA home lenders normally want their borrowers to have a credit score of 620.

If your credit score is in that range, it likely will not take too long to improve it to the 620 level. There are some easy and fast ways that you could improve your score, which would include paying down credit cards, opening a secured loan and show quality payment history for a few months, or have negative fraudulent information removed from your report. These tasks could lead to a quick improvement in your overall score.

Call Jimmy Vercellino – VA Loan Specialist

As an award-winning, nationwide loan originator specializing in VA loans, I can help you qualify even if you have a bad credit rating, or help you increase your credit score so you will qualify for a VA home loan. Contact me today!