Can you get an FHA loan approved with collections on credit report?
I want to buy a house using an FHA loan. My credit shows loan payments for the past two years have been current and on time. However, while attending college, I had two judgements placed against me.
Chapter 13 was not an option because I was told I would not be able to continue to receive the student loans needed to complete my education. I satisfied one judgment and I am in the process of making a debt settlement agreement with the second one.
My credit score is 652 most likely due to the unsatisfied judgement. I have been at my current job for two years in May of this year. That is when I would like to start looking.
I have no credit cards. Should I apply for one before shopping for a mortgage or wait. I did not want my score to be dinged due to a credit inquiry?
Will be able to get an FHA loan?
—Chris
Short answer
Yes, but unresolved collection accounts work against you, and an unpaid judgment is the biggest obstacle of all. If you are settling a judgment, make sure the court record is updated to show it satisfied before you apply.
Key points on this page
- When a judgment is the remaining item, the court record has to show it as satisfied. Check that any judgment you already settled shows that way on your credit reports too.
- Aim for a debt to income ratio under 43 percent. Legitimate outstanding collection accounts skew that ratio and work against you. Some banks approve above 43 percent depending on your assets and other factors.
- FHA credit score requirements are about as forgiving as you will find. Under 500 will not qualify. Between 500 and 579 can mean a 90 percent loan to value limit. 580 or higher is a good baseline floor for most borrowers.
- Even with a healthy debt to income ratio, a loan officer may point to collection items as what is holding approval back, and that is more likely with an unpaid judgment.
- Opening new credit cards for the sake of credit diversity is unlikely to improve your odds, and new inquiries and accounts can lower your score slightly for a few months.
- Find a mortgage lender or loan officer you like and start the conversation a few months before you plan to apply.
Because your last collection account on your credit report is a judgment, you will want to be sure the court record gets updated that the account has been resolved. Does the other judgment you settled no show as satisfied on your credit reports?
Getting an FHA Loan with Collections on Your Credit Report
The home loan markets have changed in recent years. The housing boom bust and record foreclosures created an environment that tightened mortgage lending. And as of January 2014, most home buyers will want to be sure they meet the CFPB’s new ability to repay rules before you start shopping for a home loan. While this is not so much directed at you, it is good ground to cover for other readers:
1. Calculate your monthly income and expenses. Include all of your normal recurring bills (rent, car loan, credit cards, student loans, utility bills). In order to set yourself up for the best odds of getting approved for the loan, you want to have a DTI (debt to income ratio) of under 43%. This means your normal monthly recurring bills add up to less than 43% of your monthly income. Any legitimate outstanding debt collection accounts that show on your credit report are goingto skew your DTI and work against you.
Some banks will approve a loan if your DTI is higher than 43%, but it will depend on other assets you may have, and other outliers.
2. Credit score requirements from the FHA are about as forgiving as can be found. But the score you need depends on the loan you are applying for. At the time I am answering this, the FHA says you will not qualify with a credit score under 500. Credit scores between 500 and 579 can mean only 90% loan to value loans, and a credit score of 580 or higher is a good baseline floor for most borrowers.
Is 652 your middle credit score?
3. Collections and judgments on your credit report may need to be paid or settled. The debt to income ratio concern is addressed when collection accounts are resolved, but there are instances (more recently than I ever recall), where even if your DTI is well within what is considered healthy, your loan officer will indicate collection items on your credit reports are holding back loan approval. And this is certainly more likely with an unpaid judgment on the credit report.
You are settling the remaining judgment now, so be sure the court record is updated to show the judgment is satisfied before May.
How much credit diversity do you need for a mortgage loan?
I went into the above details so that later readers can get a grip on the issues that you seem to already have. And I am happy you have a realistic time frame and expectations (some people learn of collections on their credit report holding them back only after applying for a loan, and hope to still close in a matter of weeks). Your other question about applying for credit cards is more about diversity of credit.
Having established revolving consumer credit, like credit cards, is a small part of a healthy credit profile. Two such accounts are a normal part of a consumer credit profile, and are said to help enhance your credit scores (with all other credit score health benefits being observed).
Will the FHA loan you are looking at be more likely to be approved if you have more credit diversity with one or more new credit cards established? I do not think so. And you do run the risk of lowering your credit score for a few months as a result of new inquiries and accounts, even if only slightly.
It does not sound like you have connected with a mortgage lender or loan officer yet. I would encourage you to locate one you like and start the dialogue about your loan options in preparation for applying a few months from now. With the newness of the CFPB qualified mortgage rules, and ability to repay measures, there may be some minor things your lender/loan officer can help you get a head start on.
Anyone trying to resolve collection accounts on your credit reports in order to achieve credit goals, like a new home loan, is welcome to post about your situation in the comments below for feedback.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
My girlfriend has built up a credit card debt as high as $19,875.00 over 10 years.. She is now on disability to the tune of about $750.00/month. She cannot afford to pay the bills and live! Can she consolidate or should she file for Chapter 7? She is 60 and no longer works.
What would you suggest is her best course of action?
Thanks!
By the way Michael, her credit score is 610.
Thanks again!
You posted this comment on a page that focuses on getting a mortgage with bad credit. Is there more to her story than just the un-affordable debts that need to be resolved? Is she concerned about a mortgage in the next 2 to 3 years?
If there is no financing goal I would generally suggest someone on a fixed income like this look at filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. From a cost perspective you are saving thousands in chapter 7, and time to put this all behind her is on the order of 90 days compared to what can be a couple years if settling debts using only what she saves up from disability.
Hi Michael,
I’ve been trying to work on my credit since 2013, my Credit score was pretty bad. Today I don’t have any unpaid collections on my report and my Fico score is 643. Last month I was hit with a judgement. I called the court in my county and I was told that I need to get in contact with the lawyer representing the collection agency. Do you think I can settle the debt for less? I would like to by a house next year and now I feel like it will be impossible since I don’t have $3, 500 to pay them. I haven’t call the lawyer yet 🙁
Who it the creditor that sued? What is the name of the law firm that sued you?
the collection agency is Retail Recovery Services of NJ Inc, and the firm is Raymond Meisenbacher & sons, the court told me not to get in contact with the collection agency, I should call the lawyer. I don’t know what to do
I have a page up about negotiating and settling judgments. 50% is an optimistic, yet realistic target for settling many judgment debts. There are instances where you will end up paying more.
You do want to connect with the attorney if they are still involved in the file. That is show you typically have to negotiate with.
I am in the middle of buying a house and am suppose to close in two weeks, a bogus (not mine) account appeared in default from Verizon wireless on my credit report! What do I do! There is also a new line of credit on my report that someone must have opened in my name! Is this going to hurt me going further? I have already initiated a dispute with credit bureaus. What do you suggest?
It sounds like you may have a mixed file issue with 2 accounts that are not yours popping up on your credit.
I would dispute both accounts as not yours. Here is a short guide to disputing credit report entries.
Let me know what happens and lets go from there.
I went through a divorce in the past and then remarried, but during the divorce process and raising kids without that extra income, some credit cards that I had with my previous husband fell short. There are several items I have not settled on my credit report. I would like to buy a new house with my husband, but I’m fearful of these past collections etc. We have rented for four years and haven’t missed a payment and have been employed at the same job for several years. Any input would be appreciated.
Who did you owe those original credit cards to, and what are the balances showing as owed now?
Do you recall when you last made regular payments on them?
Hello,
I am in the process of closing(June 28th) on an FHA home loan.
At the start I had no collection and scores of trans: 725, Exp: 700 and Equifax: 712
Today I got an alert that 3 medical collections have been added to my equifax report as of yesterday for $32,$60 & $188
They are erroneous charges but if I dispute it with equifax at this stage can’t that jeopardize my closing date and earnest money?
Thank you for your time.
Small medical collections like this are handled differently than in years past. The may be overlooked in the underwriting process. Ask your loan officer or mortgage broker what they think of the situation. If they have been around a while, and done many loans, they will have seen this frequently enough.
If the collections popping up do not impede your loan from closing you will have time to deal with the erroneous credit reporting. If not… who are the collection agencies involved? Why are the charges bogus? Let me know and lets go from there.
Hello, My husband and I had some hardships about 2..5 years ago that’s currently effecting our credit scores. We would like to purchase a home a year from now. My credit (640) his (540). I’ve paid off 3 credit cards that were passed due and settled 1 last June that was in collections. I only have one AMEX left in collections for $5842. Should I pay it in full or settle how will a settlement effect my score, and getting us approved for a loan? My husband has a old electric bill $185 (we just discovered recently) & 1 credit card $700 in collections(we plan to pay these two in full within 4 weeks) $8000 behind in payments on a work truck he uses for his small business( we have been making payments towards, predicting to be caught up in 6-8 months-full balance $16000). What advice can you give us on getting our scores up quickly with in the next year? Thank you for your time and service.
How long has it been since you last paid on that Amex account?
Who is the finance company on the truck? Have you looked at any options to put the arrears on the back of the loan so you are not considered later while you are trying to bring the loan current?
I and my husband want to apply the fha loan this year. Our yearly salary is around 100,000. My husband has a good credit history n scores n he earns much money than me. However, I had few collections n judgement few years ago . I settled down all those balance already but may be still on my credit report . Now , I have zero balance on the collection . In this case , can we still apply for the fha loan ?
If the collections are resolved, and with your husbands credit history, you should be in good shape. Let me know if the loan officer or mortgage broker raises any red flags about those resolve collection accounts and lets go from there.
Thanks for your advise . However, is it still a problem that my credit scores only has around 600 because of my collections few years ago ?
It would be better if you had a 620 FICO score for an FHA loan, but you can get approved with a 580 in certain circumstances. What are your husbands credit scores?
My husband credit is good around 750. I m worried about my past collections even I fully paid them few years ago .
I like your chances 🙂
Three collections in account, planning to buy a home withing the next year. Is it better to pay a collections full amount or is it ok to do a settled amount. As I have heard paying it down lowers your score at first.
With old collections you do not get any bump from paying in full. Settling for less and getting the credit report to show a zero balance gets the same thing as sending them all the money.
There are people who see a slight and temporary credit score decrease when resolving collections. But there are others who see their scores leap when they do this. You should be fine because you are doing this a year ahead of time.
Who are the collectors and balances you are dealing with?
There are 3 account that total to 1,377 one from fingerhut account and 2 other for old credit cards
Small balance accounts do not often settle for as good a savings, but you should get some traction.
I want to buy a house within the next year or so and my credit shows that my credit card and Student loans for the past 6 years have been current and on time as well as my car payment payments(last 3yrs), like everyone else here,I’ve had a judgement placed against me Dec 2012 For a Credit card from First Financial bank my last payment to them was in may 2010 the amount owed was $3000. The judgement now is $8000 and the lawyers aren’t willing to work me on a lower lump sum.
My credit score is 689 due to the unsatisfied judgement. I have been at my current job for 3 years and my Dti is 41%.Would i be able to take out a debt consolidation to pay off the judgement and later be able to buy a home?
I have one credit cards Will be able to get any type of home loan?
Who is the named plaintiff on the lawsuit and who is the collection firm you are dealing with today?
What state are you in?
Hi the plaintiff is 1st Financial Bank, USA the lawsuit is for Mississippi but i live in Arkansas
An optimistic result will be 50% of today’s balance. You have a hill to climb sometimes with smaller regional bank negotiations, but it can be done. If you are prepared to pay more than half you are in even better shape. And given your goal being a year out you can slow play the negotiations if need be.
Mississippi allows contract interest on judgment debts. The debt can grow dramatically, as it has in your situation. The sooner you take care of it the better.
You should be in good shape to get an FHA loan if you take card of the judgment and can meet the other loan requirements.
Hello Michael,
I am a single mom of one with an income of about 40k.
I have a 571 credit score and three major items of judgements and liens all satisfied on my credit report, and I have hired Lexington law to try And remove those off of my credit history totally. I just found out about those items and immediately disputed them. After getting the results of “resolved /satisfied” I submitted the paperwork to Lexington law and the credit bureaus. I also have a three items in collection totalling less than 700 dollars. Lexington law is looking to help me get a debt consolidation loan to pay those off.
I am looking to purchase a home within the year.
My questions are… Do you think my time frame is realistic? Is there more I could be doing to fix my credit? Do you think I would qualify for an FHA loan?
Thank you for answering my questions.
You do not need Lexington Law to help repair your credit. You have already done some of the heavy lifting, and have realistic timelines set for your goals too.
Check out my video on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZaYoeWZXSU
The judgments being updated in the court record to show as satisfied put you well on your way to realizing your goals. You may be able to pay the remaining debt collectors half (or less) of what you owe by negotiating a settlement with them. Be sure to get all of the agreements to settle in writing before you pay.
Lexington will charge you $100 a month for as long as they can, and with no guarantee they will get what you need deleted. They may fail and leave consumer dispute language on your credit report that can cause home loan approval problems later.
If you settled the $700 worth of collection accounts for $300, you will get those items updated to show zero balance and resolved. That is a known outcome compared to a Lexington Law maybe, and for what will likely cost less. Your time line for applying for a home loan gives you a year for your credit to improve, and using FHA underwriting standards, I like how all of this will look for you in a years time.
Here is more about improving your credit to get approved for a home loan.
Thank you so much,
I didn’t pay them yet and I think today is the deadline for my decision. I thought it was a good idea for them to help after reading the reviews. I know about their monthly cost and thought it was worth it, before getting your expert advice. I don’t have much of any other credit on my credit history except for student loans (now in good standing for several months) and medical bills. Should I try and get those medical bills paid before applying for a home loan? It was my understanding that they did not harm my credit as much as other collection items. Am I completely wrong about that?
When it comes to getting approved for a home loan it is best to have resolved all collections on your credit reports. Medical bills are looked at differently than other items on your credit reports, but set yourself up for success.
My husband had a loan ($3400) that was sent to collections in 2014. We had no jobs and struggling to meet rent. In 2016, we are doing much better and have paid off a large portion of our debt. With the exception of this collection, we will be debt free by 11/2016. My question is, will coming to a payment agreement hurt our chances (credit score) of getting a house? We want to buy in 9/2017. Middle credit scores are 740 (me) and 685 (husband)
thanks!
It is likely this unpaid collection balance will prevent a home loan being approved. With that in mind, it just is what it is when it comes to any impact on the credit scores. If you do not negotiate a lump sum pay off, or engage in payments that your mortgage lender will approve of, you likely cannot accomplish the goal.
I prefer settling for as much a savings as can be negotiated in these circumstances. If your scores did dip from the newly paid collection, it would only be by a little, and only temporary.
Who is the lender and any debt collector involved now?
I had no idea you responded! lol I thought I would get an email saying a response is waiting for you. 😉
The lender was Springleaf Financial and it was sent to collections in 2014 but on the credit report, it says it was in 2015 when the collector (Calvary?) received it.
we have not gotten any phone calls or letters from the debt collector.
At this point, could i ask for a pay for delete and would I ask Springleaf or Calvary?
Thanks!
You will not be able to get Spring Leaf to delete the unpaid loan/charge off, but they should be reporting a zero balance as they sold the legal right to collect to Cavalry. You can call Cavalry to negotiate the settlement you need. They may refer you to a different collection agency they may have the account with at this time, and that is normal.
Cavalry is typically not going to accept a pay for delete. You can expect them to update the credit reports to show the debt is resolved and a zero balance owed. That is all you really need.
Hello,
My father and I plan on applying for an FHA loan soon. My Dad’s credit score is 800 and my current credit score is 598. I had two unpaind collections on my account that I just paid off. I also was using a lot of my available credit on my cards. Which we are paying down . I also have two late payments on two students loans from a year ago and they are current. I also had a late payment on one of my cards in feb 2016. I am trying to get deleted. We are hoping to apply by June 2015 or July 2015. For my DTI it is 19% currently. Do you think I will be okay? What is all the criteria for the FHA laon?
Thank you
You can get an FHA loan with a 580 and some good reasons for why your credit is in the tank. Those are the exception though. You typically want to have a 620 or higher with no unresolved collection debts on your credit reports.
Do not miss any more payments anywhere.
Your fathers credit may carry you through. Have you connected with an FHA lender to go over what you will need to get approved based on what he/she sees today?
We have paid off all collection accounts waiting for them to post closed on my credit report. I have also paid my credit cards down to 49% revolving credit. With my credit score of 598 I had been using 98% of my credit cards. We are trying to get them down under 30% prior to applying.
We have not met with a lender yet. We were trying to get my credit score to the 620-640 range.
What do you think? Are we on a good track?
I think you are right on track! Check your credit reports and pay for your actual FICO score in another month and let me know how much it went up by.
Hello Again,
So since we paid my collections off and paid our debt down to 56%. My credit scores are transunion 667 and equifax 654 and experian 608. We have paid our debt down to 39% trying to get it below 30%. Is there any other recommendations? We noticed on experian I had a collections. Which I will be paying off on Monday. Are we ready to apply or wait?
If you have the necessary debt to income and ability to pay, and it appears you do, or are really close, I would negotiate the settlement with any remaining collector and them talk to your loan officer or broker and get going.
It would be way cool if you posted updates along the way 🙂
We live in California. My husband is not going to be on the loan with me, but they are making him do a credit report because his credit is considered mine. My husband has a collection on a student loan that says charged off/collection and status closed on one creditor and on another it says open. The lender is saying I have to settle this prior to applying for the pre approval through them. But, with FHA guidelines it is saying they can’t use the spouse negative credit report to hold me back from a loan, is this correct? So bummed hearing this today. We are trying to buy through a brand new community.
Who is the broker or bank you are working the loan through?
How much is the student loan for? Is the loan federal or private?
The preferred leander is freedom mortgage. The student loan is 27000 it says on the credit report chargeoff/collection then is has a balance of 8000. This is with my spouse who will not be on the loan. The loan is through Navient. After googling it says it was split off from sallie mae which is federal? I am not quite sure which one it is.
They recommended running our credit to see where everyone stands. Between the four of us Myself (husband and Dad (Mom) we make 225,000. To see what it says on the credit report.
I called navy federal and they said they wont consider it, but it may go to underwriting. But, it shouldn’t be a problem.
I don’t know what to do. What do you think? Will this hold us back from our dream home?
Are you saying Navy Federal will not consider the same thing the other lender is holding things up for? In other words, Navy Federal Credit Union is going to overlook that one issue and likely find the loan if everything else is approved?
When I called Navy Federal. The Loan advisor said it should not be a problem. It may need to go to the UW. But, should not be concerning. In your professional opinion, what do you think? The loan opened in 2004. And it says I think sent for collections/Charge Off in Sept 2012. Everyone says not worry about it because the income is so much. I just don’t want to run my credit a billion times. I just got my score up.
All home loans go through a form of underwriting, but if you were specific about the issue I think you have a better shot than with the lender you are trying to go through now.
Is his a federal student loan, or a private loan? Do you know when he last made a payment on the loan?
We think it is a private student loan. Because they usually wont settle the debt from what we researched. And they definitely won’t usually settle for less than half. It is also joint with my father in law he had to co sign. Date of last payment was Sept 2009 from what the credit report says.
Okay. If you do want/need to settle it let me know.
We applied for a pre qualification today. They pulled my fico score and it is 580! I was shocked to hear this. As my credit scores are 676 675 684 :(. Will I still be to qualify for the loan?
Give me a call for a consult Samantha. I want to dig into some details and see if I can help you understand what is happening, and your ability to accomplish your goals. You can reach me through the hot line number 800-939-8357, option 2 rings me.
Hello,
My husband and I have a very large student loan that went to collections and we ended up with a judgement against us. We have been paying on this monthly for a year, but we will not be able to pay it off anytime soon (it’s like $40,000…an unsecured student loan we took out 10 years ago not thinking about how we could pay it back with interest). Besides that, we have a pretty clean credit history, with his middle credit score being 724 and mine at 696. Do we have any chance of getting approved for a mortgage? FHA maybe?
It is possible to get a mortgage with FHA while you show consistent payments on that debt. You have to meet all the other criteria for the loan of course.
Talk with a an experienced mortgage broker about what your options are and how you can make progress.
My husband and I were approved for an FHA loan this month. I received a letter from Midland Credit Collections the next week on an account over 6 years old. The collections is not appearing on my credit report and has not appeared on my credit report. When I spoke to the my realtor she instructed me not pay it because it would cause changes on my credit report. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want this to stop us from buying a home! What should I do?
How much is the debt for?
Hello,
I noticed that you said all of the collections have to be paid or taken care of in order to get a pre approval. However, FHA does not require one to pay off or settle collections. Can you explain your take on this?
There are instances where manual underwriting can clear qualified individuals for financing with collection accounts unpaid. That has always been the case really, but the number of people that would apply to is pretty small. But there are more and more people that can show they are engaged in an agreed upon repayment plan with a collection account(s) that can still get financing approved (meeting all other requirements of course). This is becoming more common (and was always there in principle not necessarily in reality).
Automatic underwriting will discourage most people when they have unpaid collections. An independent broker willing to work hard for their clients for FHA financing will often yield a better outcome for people with collections and a 620 credit score or lower.
My wife and I have a collection account from 2012 for $27K, that we are disputing for a apartment rental. The balance and allegations are not consistent with the information of the original creditor. We have disputed the account with the three major credit agencies, however they are still present. I was told to set up a payment arrangement and make three monthly payments prior to seeking approval. Is this the only option.? We want to purchase a home ASAP! Our middle score is 660.
I would first look at how you can raise a lump sum in order to settle the old debt and be done with it. This is a viable path to saving the most money and is often better for your credit too.
What amount of money can you raise quickly to settle the debt?
I was contacted by them via mail to settle for $9.4K. I am not willing to pay for something that we do not owe. I thought the new FHA laws allowed these type of debts to be worked through and still obtain a mortgage. Like I said, I am not willing to pay for something I do not owe.
Can you outline why you do not owe the debt?
I actually found a home that I am interested in purchasing, within this month…
The debt is only showing on experian, so should I go to the experian website and dispute this charge?
I would. Post an update if it does not come off and we can go from there.
Ok. Thank you.
Hello. I have a question. My ex-husband had an old debt with a rental place. The collection agency that bought the debt, has now placed this under collections, on my report as well. I never signed for or agreed to his contract. My ex-husband cannot find the original contract, seeing this was a couple of years ago. I want to buy a house, soon, so I sent a certified letter to the collection agency, not acknowledging the debt, but to negotiate a settlement amount or a pay for delete. It has been 30 days and I have still not heard from the collection agency. What should I do? How should I go about getting this removed? The debt is $1722. Should I just pay this, even though it was not mine?
If I am not under contract for the debt I would want to dispute the validity of the debt and not pay anything.
How soon are you trying to buy a home?
Within the next couple of months.
My husband and I are trying to get pre-approved for an FHA mortgage through Quicken. They are using my middle score 646 (my husband’s was 720) because I make more money. Combined we make approximately $100k. Quicken asked me to get some accounts that have been marked as disputed cleared up so they will not say disputed. I have 3 or 4 accounts in collection from my college days and I worry that if I call them to remove the dispute they will reset the statute of limitations. These accounts went into collections around 2011-2012. I am not sure what happens if the dispute notation is removed. Will I still have to pay these open collections to get a loan? If so, will it hurt my credit?
Sorry, the part about using my credit score wasn’t meant to say because I make more money. I meant to say we need both incomes for the loan because I make more money, but his score is better.
No worries. Let me know what the disputes are from or about, the collectors reporting and balances, and I can offer detailed feedback.
I need more information about the collections Ann. What were you disputing? Was this the result of a credit repair company?
Your concern appears to be more about unresolved collections than it is about credit reporting disputes.
Who are the debts owed to and what are the balances?
I have had collections active in my account that are 6 years old and some older. I even had received a letter from one of them (the one with the highest amount) about them not being able to bring me to court because of the age of the account. we had difficulty in 2008-2009 living with one paycheck and a baby on the way. we have asked the help of a debt consolidation/settlement in order to pay for debt we have and not run away. however, for some confusing reason, some accounts didn’t make it to the program leaving me with $4,118. Having said that, we also hoping to apply for an FHA loan in texas. will these account hold me back from getting a loan? are they worth paying or will it just open up a can of worms for me and drop my credit down. my current credit score is 670.
How long until you were looking at applying for the FHA loan?
Who is collecting and/or reporting to your credit about those last remaining unresolved accounts?
were looking to get a home by September this year. The collectors are Calvary, Midland Funding, Portfolio, SW, and Debt Recovery. Calvary was the one that gave the notice of SOL. As of this writing, one account has been removed lowering amount to $3,400.
If the debts that are showing unresolved are not scheduled to fall off your credit reports from age before September, you will want to do something about them. Any unpaid collection debts on your credit will hurt your ability to get approved for and FHA loan.
I would take a really close look at each debt collectors report and make cross reference with the original creditor. If the last payment to any creditor was more than 7.5 years ago you will want to dispute those off. If any will not be more than 7.5 years since the last payment by September, those will be the ones I want to negotiate a settle for a lower pay off.
You are ahead of this right now in order to meet the September goal.
FHA loans with most banks and brokers will have a 620 credit score floor, but there are exceptions. Do you know your credit scores?