“No Minimum FICO” Sounds Great — Here’s Why It Doesn’t Mean What You Think
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This week, Fannie Mae made headlines with an announcement that sounded like a major breakthrough for credit-challenged homebuyers:
Starting November 16, 2025, loans submitted through Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system (DU) will no longer require a minimum 620 FICO score.
At first glance, that sounds like a game changer.
No minimum credit score? More access? More approvals?
Not so fast.
While the announcement is real, the impact is far more limited than the headline suggests — and for many borrowers, nothing meaningful actually changes. Meanwhile, at Doorly, we don’t play minimum-score word games at all. We evaluate what actually matters: your ability to repay.
What Fannie Mae Actually Changed
Fannie Mae’s updated Selling Guide now states that DU loan casefiles no longer require a minimum credit score. In practical terms, the long-standing “620 minimum” language has been removed for new automated underwriting submissions starting November 16, 2025.
However, Fannie was careful to clarify that underwriting standards themselves are not changing.
The DU system still evaluates risk using a broad set of inputs: credit history, payment patterns, income stability, assets, reserves, loan structure, and property characteristics. Removing a single numeric threshold does not mean DU suddenly approves higher-risk loans — it simply means the system no longer auto-rejects based on that one number alone.
As FHFA Director Bill Pulte put it plainly:
“Our underwriting standards are the same. This was a process change.”
Why the Headline Is Misleading
The phrase “no minimum FICO” implies something close to open access. In reality, several important constraints remain.
First, removing the number does not guarantee approval. DU still applies a minimum credit risk standard — it’s just embedded in the model instead of expressed as a clean cutoff. A borrower with a very low score and weak compensating factors will still be denied.
Second, multi-borrower scoring rules haven’t gone away. If two borrowers apply together, the system still determines which credit score is used for risk evaluation. In many cases, that still results in the lower borrower score driving the decision, especially once PMI or investor overlays are involved.
Third, overlays still exist outside of Fannie Mae. Many lenders, private mortgage insurance companies, and investors impose their own minimum credit score requirements regardless of what the GSE allows. So even if DU says “approve,” a PMI provider may still require a 600+ middle score — effectively blocking the loan from closing.
Fourth, this change applies primarily to automated underwriting. Loans that require manual underwriting still reference numeric minimums tied to LTV, loan purpose, and risk layering. For borrowers who already fall outside the clean DU box, those older rules often still apply.
In short: the headline suggests freedom, but the reality still includes plenty of guardrails.
Why This Matters — and Why It’s Frustrating
For years, borrowers have been told:
“You need at least a 620 FICO to even apply.”
Now that line has softened — but the system itself hasn’t truly adapted.
If you have:
- A FICO in the high-500s
- Non-traditional income
- A co-borrower with weaker credit
- A loan requiring PMI
- Or a file that needs manual review
You may still hit the same walls, just later in the process.
The disappointment simply moves downstream.
How Doorly Is Actually Different
At Doorly, we don’t market technical loopholes or scoring gymnastics. We don’t rely on blended scores, representative scores, or semantic changes to guidelines.
We believe something simpler and more honest:
A credit score is a snapshot — not the story.
Here’s how our approach truly differs:
We don’t have a minimum FICO gimmick.
Instead of starting with a number, we start with your financial reality.
We focus on ability to repay.
Income, cash flow, reserves, obligations, and sustainability matter far more than a single score.
We’re built for modern income.
Self-employed, gig earners, non-traditional pay structures — these aren’t edge cases for us. They’re the norm.
We’re transparent about criteria.
No surprises at the finish line. You’ll know what counts and why.
And most importantly: you build equity from day one.
With Doorly, ownership is real and immediate — not delayed, not rented, not conditional.
What Homebuyers Should Take Away
If you’ve ever been told that your credit score alone disqualifies you, this Fannie Mae update is worth understanding — but it’s not a silver bullet.
Before assuming the door is suddenly wide open, make sure you understand:
- Your full credit profile, not just the score
- Your debt-to-income ratio and reserves
- How co-borrower credit is evaluated
- Whether PMI or investor overlays apply
- Whether your file will require manual underwriting
For many borrowers, the traditional path remains narrow, technical, and frustrating.
A Better Way Forward
If you’re ready to own — not just qualify — you deserve a process that looks at your whole story.
At Doorly, there is no minimum FICO score standing between you and a conversation. We look at whether homeownership makes sense for you, financially and sustainably.
If the traditional system keeps telling you “almost,”
we’re here to look deeper.
Because access shouldn’t depend on a headline — it should depend on reality.