Start on your credit today, and treat the two-year job milestone as your target date. If you have six to twelve months before you cross that milestone, that is the window to get connected with a reputable credit-repair company and start the work now. We would not lean on a bottom-of-the-range score if there is any way to avoid it. FHA's own floor is a 580 score for 3.5% down (500 to 579 means 10% down), but most lenders add their own 620-plus requirement, and in practice a file near the floor often ends up in manual underwriting. Manual underwriting is materially stricter: tighter debt-ratio caps and reserve requirements the automated system might never ask for, on top of weaker pricing. Getting the score up first solves all of that at once. Floors and overlays shift, so confirm current guidelines. We have seen motivated people move from around 580 into the low-to-mid 640s in roughly 90 days when they commit to the plan, though we cannot promise a number for anyone. On savings, limited reserves are a real constraint. Use these months to build the score and a cushion together, so you are not closing with your last dollar. The best starting point is a soft-pull review to see what is actually dragging the score, paired with a plan for the job timeline. That is exactly what we map out on the free Roadmap conversation.