Can I Refinance My Mortgage If I Have Poor Credit?

If you have bad credit and you're in the market to refinance your mortgage, you need to consider what kind of deal you can get in light of your low credit score. Your credit score is a numerical representation of your ability to manage credit. Lenders use this number as one factor in determining whether to give you a loan. While having a bad credit score may not prevent you from refinancing, it will make it harder to get the loan.

Bad Credit

One of the most commonly used credit scores, the FICO score, ranges from 300 to 850. The Federal Citizens Information Center reports that a person with a score of 700 or more generally has good credit, while those with scores lower than 600 or so have bad credit. If you have a bad credit score, you're much less likely to get a loan, though it is up to each individual lender to determine who they want to give loan to.

Lender Requirements

Lenders establish different criteria when giving loan. While creditors may consider a 600 score as bad credit, you may still be able to get a refinancing loan. For example, the Federal Housing Authority, or FHA, requires borrowers to have a minimum credit score of only 580 before it will give the borrowers a low down payment loan, though it still gives loans to those with lower scores, but it requires a larger down payment, according to CNN Money.

Refianance Terms

If you have bad credit and find a lender willing to give you a mortgage refi, that doesn't mean you should take it. A refinance loan, like any other, comes with interest rate terms. While the average refinance rate may be lower than your current mortgage, lenders typically offer higher interest rate loans to borrowers with bad credit than they do to those with good credit.

Other Concerns

If you're considering a mortgage refinance, your credit score is not the only factor you need to keep in mind. Lenders will also evaluate your current debt obligations in light of your income level. Known as a debt-to-income ratio, lenders typically prefer that your total debt obligation payments make up no more than about 36 percent of your income, according to lendingtree. Even if you have a good credit score, a high debt-to-income ratio may make it harder to get a loan.