Each program sets its own floors, and meeting a minimum is a long way from an approval. The rundown by program: - Conventional (Fannie and Freddie): down payments start at 3 percent for qualifying buyers. The familiar 620 score is really a manual-underwriting and lender-overlay number now. Fannie's automated system no longer enforces a hard 620 minimum and instead assesses the full application, though many lenders still hold the 620 line in practice. - FHA: 3.5 percent down with a 580 or higher score. Scores from 500 to 579 can still qualify with 10 percent down, and below 500 is ineligible. Those are FHA's own floors; most lenders overlay a 620 requirement. - VA: zero down with sufficient entitlement, and the VA sets no minimum credit score at all, only satisfactory credit. The 580-or-so floor you'll hear quoted is a lender overlay. We've seen VA refinances close in the low 500s where there was substantial equity, but that's the exception, not the plan. - USDA: zero down. USDA sets no regulatory minimum score either, but its automated system only issues an Accept at 640 and above. Below that, the file drops to a cautious manual underwrite, so the practical benchmark is 640. With fair credit, FHA is usually the most flexible starting point. Which program fits depends on your whole file rather than the score alone, and the free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes, where we run your real numbers) is a good way to see the programs side by side.