By Ben Jimenez
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Denton, TX
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October 5, 2026
Practical floor: a 620 credit score opens most doors, 640 opens more of them, and 680 is where conventional pricing starts getting friendly. On debt-to-income, plan for 45 percent as the working conventional ceiling and know that FHA stretches meaningfully higher with a clean file.
Those are underwriting numbers, not opinions, and they matter in Denton because of what homes cost here. Depending on which tracker you use, Denton values sit anywhere from the low $350,000s to the low $400,000s, with Zillow putting the typical value near $350,000 as of mid-2026 and sold-price trackers running higher. At mortgage rates in the mid-7s, the payment on that is what your ratio has to absorb.
It depends on the loan, and the difference between programs is real:
The gap between 620 and 680 is not about approval, it is about cost. Same house, same loan amount, noticeably different payment for thirty years. If you are sitting at 640 and a few months of paying down card balances would get you to 680, that wait usually pays for itself.
Debt-to-income is your total monthly debt payments, including the new mortgage, divided by gross monthly income. Where the real lines are:
Compensating factors are what buy you the higher end of those ranges: cash reserves after closing, a long stable job history, and a small jump from your current rent to the new payment.
Down payment assistance, if you qualify. Both TDHCA and TSAHC pair a 30-year fixed mortgage with assistance of up to 5 percent of the loan amount. For TDHCA's first-time programs, first-time generally means you have not owned a home in the previous three years, which catches more people than they expect.
The other lever is unglamorous and works: pay down revolving balances before you apply. Credit card balances hit your score and your DTI at the same time, so a few thousand dollars moved off cards can do more for your approval than the same money added to your down payment.
Get a real preapproval before you tour anything, and ask the lender for two things: your actual score from all three bureaus, and what your approval looks like at your current DTI versus 5 percent lower. That second answer tells you whether paying off a car note changes what you can buy, which is the decision most Denton buyers are actually facing.
Once you know your real number, the house search gets much shorter and a lot less frustrating.
They pull all three bureaus and generally use the middle score, not the average and not the best one. If your scores are 610, 645, and 660, you are a 645 borrower.
If both of you are on the loan, yes, and lenders typically use the lower of the two middle scores. Sometimes applying alone qualifies for better pricing, though it also means only your income counts.
Yes. Even on income-driven repayment, underwriting uses a calculated payment that is often higher than what you actually pay. Ask your lender exactly what figure they are using.
It is possible through manual underwriting using alternative credit like rent, utilities, and insurance payment history. Fewer lenders do it and it takes longer, so start the conversation early.
Stop at least a few months out, and do not open anything new between preapproval and closing. Lenders re-pull credit before funding, and a new car loan at the wrong moment can undo the approval.
Get a straight answer on pricing, timing, and what it would take to get you moved.
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Ben Jimenez