Buyers ask me this expecting a single number. There are really two: the score that gets you approved, and the score that stops you overpaying for the next thirty years.
The approval thresholds
Different loan programs have different floors, and lenders can set their own overlays on top of the program minimum.
FHA reaches lowest. It is designed to, and it is a legitimate path for buyers rebuilding credit or short on down payment. The trade is mortgage insurance that, on current FHA terms, generally does not fall off the way private mortgage insurance does on a conventional loan.
Conventional sets a higher floor but gets meaningfully better as your score climbs, and the mortgage insurance is removable once you have enough equity.
VA has no program-set minimum, though nearly every lender applies one. If you are eligible, this is almost always the strongest option available to you in Texas, and a lot of veterans in this corridor do not realize how strong.
The number that actually matters
Approval is binary. Pricing is not. Lenders price in tiers, and moving up a tier changes your rate, which changes your payment every month for as long as you own the house.
The gap between a mid-600s score and a mid-700s score is not a rounding error on a Central Texas purchase price. Over the life of the loan it is a serious number. If you are close to a tier boundary, spending sixty days getting over it is one of the highest-return things you can do before you buy.
What to fix, in order
Utilization. The fastest lever. Paying revolving balances down well below their limits can move a score within one or two reporting cycles. This is usually where the quick points are.
Do not close old accounts. Length of history helps you. Closing the card you have had since college hurts.
Do not open anything new. Not a car, not a furniture line, not a store card at checkout. New credit during the process can retrigger underwriting and has killed deals at the closing table.
Dispute real errors. Pull all three bureaus, look for accounts that are not yours or balances that are wrong, and dispute them early. This takes time, which is why it belongs at the start.
The Texas-specific part
Your score affects your rate, and your rate is only one line in a Central Texas payment. Property taxes here are high and, in the newer parts of Leander and Georgetown, a MUD can add more on top. A great score on a house with a punishing tax rate can still be a worse monthly number than a decent score on a house without one. Build the whole number, not just the rate.
What I would do
Talk to a lender before you think you are ready. Not to apply — to find out where you actually stand and what specifically is holding the score down. That conversation is free and it frequently reveals that someone is sixty days of discipline away from a materially better loan.
If you want an introduction to a lender in this corridor who will give you a straight read rather than a sales pitch, ask me.
