Need a mortgage, and have bad credit?  You can probably still get a loan, but you are going to pay dearly for it.  A loan officer explained the rating system for mortgage rates based on FICO or credit scores and the cost to borrow.  While we are used to buyers shopping different lenders for loans, a lot has changed in just a short time.  It may be pointless for buyers to shop for better rates if their credit is not the best under this system.  It may be like a dog chasing their tail and going nowhere especially if they have bad, damaged or impaired credit.  Investors have implemented, "Risk Based Adjustments."  Simply stated "Risk Based Adjustments" is the relationship between the an individuals credit score and the loan to value. The higher the credit score the better the LTV. An example: a customer with a 740+ MID FICO will get the best Loan to Value (LTV) adjustment, 95% LTV with no hits to the rates. As the FICO score of the individual applying for the loan goes down so does the Loan to Value, 680-699 scores will be limited to a 90% LTV and a .75 hit to the rate. The lowest acceptable score that will be accepted is the 620 - 639 scores, and even though you can still get the 90% LTV, there is a whopping 2.75 hit to the rate. This confirms that investors are willing to lend, but the customer will pay for it.  I thought this was very interesting, and even though I do not make loans, I like to keep abreast of the current trends.