Illinois FHA Streamline Now Requires Minimum 620 Credit Score

For the last few months, there has been at least one lender in the US that doesn’t require a minimum credit score on Illinois FHA streamline refinance loans. Now, that has changed. Yesterday, an announcement was made that the last large lender to not require a minimum credit score for FHA streamline refinance loans is now requiring at least a 620 mid credit score. Taylor, Bean and Whittaker made the official announcement that they too were following other major US lenders in requiring a minimum of a 620 credit score for all Illinois FHA streamline mortgage refinances.

Minimum Credit Score Announcement Details

FHA Streamlines (credit and non-credit qualifying) and VA IRRRL’s with Credit Scores below 620 must be LOCKED prior to July 13, 2009 AND must CLOSE (Note Date) no later than September 15, 2009, and must be delivered to TBW within 10 days after closing Loans in this category locked on and after July 13, 2009 will require a minimum FICO of 620.

Clients will be required to obtain a 3 Repository credit report and utilize the standard method of determining qualifying FICO. Any Conventional, FHA (including Streamline Refinance), or VA (including IRRRL) loan that exceeds $417,000 with a Credit Scores below 660 must be LOCKED prior to July 13, 2009 AND must CLOSE (Note Date) no later than September 15, 2009, and must be delivered to TBW within 10 days after closing Loans in this category locked on and after July 13, 2009 will require a minimum FICO of 660.

Clients will be required to obtain a 3 Repository credit report and utilize the standard method of determining qualifying FICO. In addition, any previously announced minimum Credit Score requirements that TB&W has put into place, that did not have a specified Closing date, will be required to be LOCKED prior to July 13, 2009 AND must CLOSE (Note Date) no later than September 15, 2009, and must be delivered within 10 days after closing. Therefore, any loan, regardless of whether it may be locked, registered or approved, that has a qualifying credit score below 620 (with the exception of those loans that have specified higher FICO requirements) must CLOSE (Note Date) no later than September 15, 2009.

TB&W will continue to allow non-traditional credit for those borrowers with no useable credit for the loan programs that allow the use of such credit in accordance with published guidelines. TB&W is fully aware that these limitations may result in the inability for a particular loan to meet these specified deadlines. TB&W will work as diligently as possible to accommodate all loans in the pipeline. We will be unable to grant any extensions or exceptions to these requirements.

Illinois FHA Streamline Refinance: What Happens Now?

Although FHA guidelines don’t require a minimum credit score, pretty much all lenders now require that you have at least a 620 score for the Illinois FHA streamline refinance loan program. It is possible that there are still smaller lenders who can offer the Illinois FHA refinance streamline loan with no minimum credit score requirement, but don’t expect it to be easy to find them.

The Illinois Mortgage Rates site has officially launched! We will work hard to bring you the latest Illinois mortgage related information such as information about:

• Mortgage rates
• Lenders
• Loan officers
• FHA mortgage loans
• VA mortgage loans
• HomePath mortgages
• Reverse mortgages
• Government regulation
• Illinois mortgage news

and much, much more.

Please contact us directly with any questions that you may have about mortgages and we will work hard to provide the right answers!