Credit Score to Buy a House in Chicago: Minimums for FHA, Conventional, VA and Assistance Programs

Published by Joe Bjorklund, Broker, Baird & Warner

The minimum credit score to buy a house in Chicago depends on the loan: 580 for an FHA loan with maximum financing (500 with at least 10% down), 620 for a manually underwritten Fannie Mae fixed-rate loan (no set minimum through Desktop Underwriter), no VA minimum, and 640 for IHDA down payment assistance (agency rules checked October 30, 2026).

Last reviewed October 30, 2026 · Chicago First Time Home Buyer editorial team

These are national and Illinois rules; they apply the same way to a home anywhere in the City of Chicago. Individual lenders can ask for more, so always ask a lender which minimum it uses.

Minimum credit score at a glance

Loan or program	Minimum credit score (agency rule)	Applies in	Source and reference date
FHA loan, maximum financing	580 or higher (minimum decision credit score)	All of the U.S., including Chicago	HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, Oct. 8, 2026 [1]
FHA loan, 500 to 579	500 to 579, with a loan-to-value limit of 90% (at least 10% down)	All of the U.S., including Chicago	HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, Oct. 8, 2026 [1]
FHA loan, below 500	Not eligible	All of the U.S., including Chicago	HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, Oct. 8, 2026 [1]
Conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae, approved through Desktop Underwriter (DU)	No minimum credit score	All of the U.S., including Chicago	Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01, Apr. 22, 2026 [2]
Conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae, manually underwritten	620 (fixed rate); 640 (adjustable rate)	All of the U.S., including Chicago	Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01, Apr. 22, 2026 [2]
Freddie Mac Home Possible (low down payment conventional), approved through Loan Product Advisor	No minimum score listed; the loan needs an Accept risk class	All of the U.S., including Chicago	Freddie Mac Home Possible fact sheet, February 2026 [10]
Freddie Mac Home Possible, manually underwritten	660 (fixed-rate purchase); 680 (1-unit ARM); 700 (2- to 4-unit home)	All of the U.S., including Chicago	Freddie Mac Home Possible fact sheet, February 2026 [10]
VA loan	No VA minimum; each lender sets its own (VA’s guide says lenders typically may want 620)	All of the U.S., including Chicago	VA Home Loan Guaranty Buyer’s Guide, April 2022 version [4]
IHDA loans and assistance (including IHDAccess Home)	640, regardless of loan type	Illinois, including Chicago	IHDA FAQs and Getting an IHDA Loan, read Oct. 30, 2026 [5][6]
Chicago HomeGrown Purchase Assistance	No minimum score listed; maximum back-end debt-to-income ratio 38%; your first mortgage’s own score rule still applies	City of Chicago	NHS Chicago HomeGrown page, last modified July 6, 2026 [7]
Cook County Down Payment Assistance	No minimum score listed on the County’s page; credit questions go to the program administrator, Club 720	Cook County, including Chicago	Cook County program page, read Oct. 30, 2026 [11]
FHLBank Chicago Downpayment Plus (DPP)	No minimum score in the program guide; the first mortgage’s lender and investor rules apply	Illinois and Wisconsin, including Chicago	DPP Program Guide 2026, updated October 2026 [12]

What credit score do you need for an FHA loan in Chicago?

FHA uses a minimum decision credit score. At 580 or higher you are eligible for maximum financing. From 500 to 579 the loan is limited to 90% of the home’s value, so you need at least 10% down. Below 500 the loan is not eligible for FHA insurance. These thresholds are set by HUD and are the same nationwide; Mortgagee Letter 2026-11 (October 8, 2026) keeps them unchanged when the new score models arrive [1].

How the decision score is picked: for each score model, the lender takes the middle score if three different scores are reported, the lower score if two are reported, or the only score if just one is reported. Each borrower’s score is the lowest of those, and the loan’s decision score is the lowest score among all borrowers [1]. If you buy with a partner, the lower of your two scores usually decides.

For how FHA compares with conventional and VA loans overall, see first-time home buyer loans in Chicago.

What credit score do you need for a conventional loan?

For loans sold to Fannie Mae, the answer depends on how the loan is approved. Loans run through Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter (DU) have no minimum credit score; DU weighs the score with the rest of your file. Manually underwritten loans need at least 620 for a fixed rate and 640 for an adjustable rate, and Fannie Mae’s Eligibility Matrix can require more depending on the down payment and loan purpose (Selling Guide B3-5.1-01, dated April 22, 2026) [2].

Freddie Mac sets its own rules. For its Home Possible low down payment mortgage, the February 2026 fact sheet lists no minimum score when the loan gets an Accept from Freddie Mac’s Loan Product Advisor; manually underwritten Home Possible loans need at least 660 for a fixed-rate purchase, 680 for a 1-unit adjustable-rate loan and 700 for a 2- to 4-unit home [10]. Ask your lender whether your loan will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, since that decides which rules apply.

What credit score do you need for a VA loan?

VA does not require a minimum credit score. Lenders set their own requirements and use the score to price the loan, so VA encourages veterans to compare lenders. VA’s buyer’s guide notes that lenders typically may want a score of at least 620 [4].

Credit scores for Chicago down payment assistance

Assistance programs can add their own minimum on top of the loan’s rule. IHDA requires a credit score of 640 or above, regardless of loan type, for its loans, including IHDAccess Home [5][6]. The City’s HomeGrown grant does not list a minimum credit score on its administrator’s page, but it caps the back-end debt-to-income ratio at 38% and requires a fixed-rate first mortgage, whose own score rules still apply [7]. Cook County’s Down Payment Assistance Program (re-opened July 20, 2026) lists no minimum score on its County page and sends credit questions to its administrator, Club 720 [11]. FHLBank Chicago’s Downpayment Plus guide sets no score of its own; the first mortgage lender’s and investor’s rules apply [12]. For every program and its current status, see down payment assistance programs in Chicago.

Which credit score models do lenders use?

Loan type	Score models accepted now (Oct. 2026)	What changes and when	Source
Conventional (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac)	Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0, chosen loan by loan	VantageScore 4.0 opened to all approved lenders Sept. 9, 2026; FICO 10T approved but not yet accepted; three-bureau (tri-merge) reports still required	FHFA, Credit Scores, updated Oct. 2, 2026 [3]; Fannie Mae B3-5.1-01 [2]
FHA	Classic FICO	FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 allowed alongside Classic FICO for FHA case numbers assigned on or after Jan. 1, 2027; tri-merge still required; same thresholds	HUD Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, Oct. 8, 2026 [1]

All borrowers on one loan must use the same score model or models [1][3]. More on the FHA change: FHA will accept VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T in 2027.

How to check and improve your credit before you buy

Get your credit reports from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can get at least one free report from each bureau every year, and the CFPB notes free reports may be available more often online [9].
Dispute errors with the bureau that shows them before you apply; a wrong late payment or an account that isn’t yours can lower your score.
Ask your lender which score model it will use (Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0) and what minimum it applies, since lenders can choose and can set their own requirements [3][4].
If your score is below a program’s minimum, a HUD-approved housing counselor can help; IHDA points buyers to housing counselors for credit help [5]. See homebuyer education in Chicago for local agencies.

A credit score is a prediction of how likely you are to repay debts on time, based on your credit reports; most scores range from 300 to 850 (CFPB, reviewed September 2, 2026) [8].

Common questions

What is the lowest credit score to buy a house in Chicago?

FHA allows scores down to 500 with at least 10% down; below 500 an FHA loan is not possible (HUD ML 2026-11). VA and Fannie Mae’s DU-approved loans have no set minimum, but lenders can apply their own.

Can I get an FHA loan with a 580 credit score in Chicago?

Yes. A minimum decision credit score of 580 or higher is eligible for FHA’s maximum financing, the same as anywhere in the U.S.

What credit score do I need for IHDAccess Home?

IHDA requires a credit score of 640 or above, regardless of loan type.

Does HomeGrown have a minimum credit score?

The program administrator’s page lists no minimum score, but it requires a back-end debt-to-income ratio of 38% or less and a fixed-rate first mortgage, which has its own score rules.

Is 620 the minimum for a conventional loan?

For Fannie Mae, 620 is the minimum for a manually underwritten fixed-rate loan (640 for an adjustable rate). Loans approved through Desktop Underwriter have no minimum score.

Can lenders use VantageScore instead of FICO?

For conventional loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, yes: VantageScore 4.0 has been open to all approved lenders since September 9, 2026; for FHA, starting with case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2027.

Next steps: compare loan types on first-time home buyer loans in Chicago, see the full process in how to buy a home in Chicago, and estimate payments with monthly mortgage payment on a Chicago home.

Sources

Cite this page: Chicago First Time Home Buyer, “Credit Score to Buy a House in Chicago: Minimums for FHA, Conventional, VA and Assistance Programs,” reviewed October 30, 2026, chicagofirsttimehomebuyer.com/buying-process/credit-score/.