For veterans and active-duty members, these often have no official minimum score, though many individual lenders set their own "overlays" (usually around 580–620).
Most traditional lenders prefer a score of at least for conventional loans. However, several government-backed programs are specifically designed for lower-credit borrowers:
Backed by the Federal Housing Administration, these allow scores as low as 500 (with a 10% down payment) or 580 (with a 3.5% down payment).
Research indicates that while "poor" credit—typically defined as a or a CIBIL score below 650 —presents a significant barrier to homeownership, it does not make it impossible.
