Patrick's Quick Answer
Getting above 620 is not a years-long project. A 30 to 50 point increase over 2 to 4 months is not uncommon if you run the fast-track action steps and avoid the credit Do Not Do's. The goal is simple: get your scores above 620 so you qualify for FHA or conventional. FHA will theoretically look at you below 620, but it gets harder, and why risk it when moving your score is not hard once you know which levers to pull.
If your FICO scores are below 620, you are not stuck. You are just below a line, and the line is closer than you think. 620 is roughly where FHA and conventional underwriting start treating you like a real candidate. Below it, your options narrow and every approval gets harder. Above it, the door opens. And the distance between the two is not a mystery: a 30 to 50 point increase over 2 to 4 months is not uncommon when you run the right steps. I have watched San Antonio renters do exactly that while their lease was still running.
What the 620 line actually is
620 is the floor where conventional loans generally start and where FHA gets comfortable. It is not a magic number that makes you rich. It is the threshold that gets your file into the pool of buyers lenders and sellers take seriously. Below 620 you are fighting the system. At 620 and above you are playing with it, and that switch changes everything about how your transaction feels.
The realistic math: 30 to 50 points in 2 to 4 months
The number that should drive you is not the 100 point jump some phone ad promises you in a week. It is the honest number: 30 to 50 points over 2 to 4 months. That is real, repeatable, and for most buyers more than enough to move from below 620 to right above it. Nobody here is promising overnight magic. The math rewards the right moves, made in the right order, over a couple of billing cycles.
Run the fast-track action steps
The path up is the same five fast-track steps I laid out for raising a score fast: cut revolving balances to 30% of your credit limits, 10% for maximum impact; ask a long-standing card to raise your limit; get added as an authorized user on a low-utilization account; add your rent and utility history through a third-party service; and dispute errors plus paid collections, the longer play. Each one is legal, each one is specific, and together they move the number. I break all five down in The 5 Fast-Track Action Steps to Raise Your Credit Score.
Avoid the credit Do Not Do's
Raising your score is half the battle. Not wrecking it is the other half. The four Do Not Do's apply here harder than anywhere else: do not open any new accounts, do not pay off installment loans early even if fewer than ten payments remain, do not contest collections that are correct, and do not close $0 cards. Every one sounds reasonable, and every one can quietly move your numbers the wrong way. The full list and why each one backfires is in The 4 Credit Do Not Do's.
Below 600? Do not fall into an emotional funk
If your scores are below 600, the first thing to fix is not your credit, it is your attitude. I have seen buyers spiral into a funk over a number, decide they are years away, and do absolutely nothing. That is exactly backwards. A 30 to 50 point move starts from wherever you are today. Below 600 just means you have more room to climb, and the steps are identical. The buyers who get above 620 are not the ones with perfect credit, they are the ones who stopped being embarrassed and started executing.
Yes, FHA can theoretically approve you below 620. Do not bank on it
Can you get an FHA approval with a score below 620? Theoretically, yes. Some programs and some lenders will look at it. But it gets harder: more scrutiny, more compensating factors, fewer loan options, and a file that reads weaker to the seller across the table. Here is the thing though. Moving your score above 620 is not hard once you have identified the action steps. So why volunteer for the hard version of the loan when a couple of months of honest work gets you the easy one?
Reality Bites
Scores below 620 are common and they are fixable. What is not fixable is the time you waste being embarrassed instead of acting. A 30 to 50 point move takes 2 to 4 months, and it only starts counting the day you start. Every month you wait is a month you are not climbing, and in a market like San Antonio, a stronger score is what separates a pre-approval that wins a house from one that gets ignored.
Patriot Pro Tip
Before you hand a credit repair company a dime, let Lawrence the Loan Officer run the math on your actual file. A soft-pull credit review does not touch your scores, and it tells you exactly which card to pay down and by how much to legally and quickly get above 620. You are buying a house, not a lottery ticket, so act like it and work the real numbers.
Getting above 620 is the difference between fighting for a loan and walking into the process with options. It is one chapter of the Essential First-Time Homebuyer Roadmap. In my free live webinar I walk through the whole process from this exact starting point, credit and cash, all the way to getting your keys. If you want your own scores looked at and a plan built around your numbers, that is a conversation worth having.