What does my credit score need to be to buy a $250,000 house?

There's no single number that gets you into a house. That's the part people don't always hear first. Different loan types carry different minimum credit score requirements. Some programs accept scores in the low-to-mid 600s. Others want to see scores well above that before they'll move forward. What your score determines isn't just whether you qualify. It shapes what you're offered, and what that loan costs you over time. Two buyers purchasing the same house can end up with very different monthly payments because their credit profiles are different. Here's what that means practically. If you're sitting on a score you're not sure about, the first conversation isn't with a real estate agent. It's with a lender. A good lender will pull your full picture, walk you through what they're seeing, and tell you honestly where you stand. Sometimes that means you're ready now. Sometimes it means you're three to six months away from being in a much stronger position. Both of those are useful things to know. In Denver, where competition in certain price ranges has been real and sustained, showing up with a fully underwritten pre-approval, not just a pre-qualification letter, matters. Sellers and their agents notice the difference. Your credit score is part of what makes that pre-approval solid. The question underneath the credit score question is usually this: am I actually ready, and if not, how close am I? That's a better place to start than wondering what the magic number is. Tammy Morran, The HomeBridge Group @ eXp Realty