Many lenders now require a credit score of 700 as opposed to 650, the previous standard.
In other markets, the insurers are requiring a credit score of at least 680 — an indication of how the definition of a good credit score has changed as the economy has deteriorated.
GMAC Financial Services, for example, now requires a credit score of at least 700, leaving G.M. scrambling to reassure consumers that its dealers can still get them loans from "hundreds of banks".
The reason, says the company: By partnering with Divvy, tenants — some of whom have credit scores as low as 550, which is considered "very poor" by the consumer credit ratings agency Experian — can build their credit scores and eventually land a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which requires a credit score of at least 580.
Most refinancing companies require a credit score of 680 or higher, a debt-to-income ratio under 40percentt, and a minimum monthly salary of $2,000 to qualify for the best refinancing options available.
Most lenders have what are known in the industry as "overlays," which are extra requirements or standards that allow them to require higher credit scores as a precaution, regardless of loan type.
Larger loans typically incur even larger premiums, while at the same time some insurers may require higher credit scores from borrowers in areas with declining property values.
The complaint alleges that the company shuts out low-income borrowers by requiring higher credit scores than are necessary to meet the standards of the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages mainly for low- and moderate-income families.
I have no major plans for anything that would require amazing credit scores.
And leasing programs and financing through attaching the solar cost to property taxes typically require good credit scores that some homeowners with low incomes might not have.
