Why Home Buyers Should Still Care about Having a Higher Credit Score, Despite Fees Dropping for Buyers with Lower Credit Scores

A new fee structure went into effect on May 1, 2023 that reduced the mortgage fees for home buyers with lower credit scores, while increasing them for buyers with higher credit scores.

Regardless of whether or not you have a high credit score, or a low one, it might make you feel like you don’t need to care about improving or maintaining as high of a credit score as possible.

You should care because having a lower credit score will still cost you more when you get a mortgage than it does for those with a higher credit score, and on other types of loans and credit you might obtain. This only applies to mortgages being bought and guaranteed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and there’s no guarantee that this fee structure will be in place forever.