Can a felon buy a house?

Do you have a felony on your record and are wondering if you can still buy a house? The short answer is yes. Federal and state governments don’t bar formerly incarcerated people from owning a home, even with a felony conviction. That said, those leaving the carceral system face some unique challenges that those without a felony history may not. Can you overcome those challenges? Absolutely.

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Yes, someone with a felony history can get a mortgage loan. In fact, formerly incarcerated felons can access the same types of home loans that anyone without a criminal history can. However, you might find the most favorable pathway to approval is through mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

“Other than VA loans, FHA loans are the most forgiving on guidelines,” said Reed Letson, a mortgage broker with Elevation Mortgage who is based in Colorado Springs, Colo., in a phone interview. “They’ll approve you down to a score of 580 with a 3.5% down payment and as low as a 500 when putting 10% down.”

Speaking of VA loans, veterans with a felony history keep their VA loan eligibility so long as their discharge status isn’t dishonorable. Those with a dishonorable discharge would have to petition to have their VA benefits reinstated, Letson said in an email.

Letson recently helped a client who served an extensive felony sentence in Leavenworth, a federal prison in Kansas, qualify for a VA mortgage and become a homeowner. His key takeaway for anyone with a felony history looking to buy a home?

“Just because you’ve been incarcerated and have a felony record doesn’t mean you can’t get a mortgage just like someone with no felony record,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world, and homeownership is possible.”

Now, let’s dive into the steps you or anyone with a felony history can take to transition from formerly incarcerated to fulfilled homeowner.

If you don’t know someone with a felony history, you might think that a felon’s life becomes like anyone else’s the moment they step out of prison. Grab a smartphone, rejoin society as a free soul, take charge of your day, and inhale fresh air on demand, right? The truth is much more nuanced and creates barriers to homeownership.

“Correctional institutions aren’t preparing incarcerated persons to become homeowners. They’re preparing you to be under supervision via parole, probation, and even employment at some level,” said Yusef-Andre Wiley via a phone interview. He’s the founder and CEO of TimeList Group, a firm based in Lancaster, Calif., that works with the formerly incarcerated to reshape their lives and become productive in society.

“Often, when people get out, they’re blindsided around the obstacles to even become renters, much less homeownership,” Wiley said. If people were incarcerated before the rise of the internet, they could find it even more difficult to build the financial footing required to buy a home.

In a world where buying a home — from learning about homeownership to applying for a mortgage — is predominantly online, the formerly incarcerated may lack the tech skills that the non-incarcerated take for granted. For example, Wiley entered the carceral system as a felon on the cusp of age 21 when smartphones and the on-demand nature of the internet weren’t a part of daily life.

When he exited prison at 42, the world had changed in so many ways, and learning technology was like learning a new language. Not only do felons re-entering society have to navigate the basics of finding housing and employment, but they also have to learn mainstream technology and gadgets to gain the same access to housing and housing information as everyone else.

Employment and credit disruptions

Whether a felon’s sentence is three or 30 years, it still creates a significant gap in credit and employment history. Mortgage lenders want a recent and stable history for both, and rebuilding takes time.

“Just think of swiping a debit card and having a PIN number,” Wiley said. “Even if someone was arrested in the past 10 years, they may not have used [these tools] because of their criminal lifestyle.”

Not only do the formerly incarcerated likely emerge from prison with significant trauma, but they may also have trust issues with mainstream society. To effectively build or rebuild their credit score and employment history, felons may need a more patient path to gain trust in systems that regularly deliver paychecks and demonstrate a steady, responsible use of banking and credit.

Some felonies carry a heavy burden once someone’s released from prison. Convicted sex offenders must always register with sex offender registries, which makes their home addresses a matter of public record. While registries use information to help keep communities and their residents safe, they can also make it more difficult for felons convicted of these crimes to buy and keep a home.

Felons re-entering society may have paid their legal debts, but society at large can be reluctant to let a criminal’s past stay in the past.

“Technically, you’d be hard-pressed to find any lender with a blanket statement of ‘We don’t work with people with criminal backgrounds,’” said Dr. Lee Davenport in a phone interview. She’s a fair housing advocate and strategic real estate advisor at Real Estate Bees. “But they will focus on credit and income gaps.” When you explain gaps with incarceration, lenders may find perfectly legal means to deny a mortgage application.

1. Create and stick to a budget

Learning how to build and stick to a budget is key, said Wiley, for any former felon looking to achieve housing independence and buy a house. Knowing how to manage a budget puts you in the financial driver’s seat — a skill that might need some fine-tuning after years spent having others make decisions for you.

To start, Wiley suggested using role-play scenarios similar to those he uses with participants in his housing skills course. “Ask yourself, ‘If I only had $2,000 and I was moving into my first apartment, what would you spend it on?’” He said another great question to ask to start your budgeting journey is, “If you need to save 30% of your $2,000 each month and still pay your bills, how would you do that?”

2. Re-establish your employment and income history

Letson said lenders will want a recent, consistent employment history of at least six months if you’re pursuing an FHA loan. This means documented employment, either as an employee through paycheck stubs and W-2 or as an independent contractor through showing income on a 1099.

You can also boost your banking history by opting for direct deposit every payday. When applying for a mortgage, a lender can easily see that your paycheck stubs match your direct deposit history.

“If you’ve spent any time incarcerated, you’ve likely had bills that have fallen behind, and your credit has been impacted,” said Davenport. You may also not have a credit history if you didn’t build one before incarceration. Whichever scenario matches your circumstances, you’ll need to get your credit in ship-shape before applying for a mortgage.

Davenport suggests looking for organizations that offer credit-builder loans and report your payments to the major credit bureaus. While interest rates can be high, these loans help you secure credit and establish a responsible payment history, which can boost your credit score.

Letson has seen clients have success rebuilding credit with secured credit cards. Some don’t require credit checks and simply base your credit line on the card’s security deposit. Just make sure the card reports to the credit bureaus.

You can also build your credit using non-traditional expenses through a free service like Experian Boost. With Boost, your rent, utility, cell phone, and streaming service bills count toward your positive payment history.

Boost isn’t the only credit-building tech on the block, however. Credit Builder from Credit Karma can help formerly incarcerated persons build solid savings habits and build their credit. With this service, you automatically save a bit from each paycheck into a locked savings account. Credit Karma reports each of those auto-save amounts to the credit bureaus, helping build a positive payment history. Once your balance reaches $500, Credit Karma releases the cash back to your bank account, no strings attached.

Other credit-builder services exist out there with monthly fees, which can take a bite out of your savings. Our tip is to try the free services first and see how much they can raise your score and emergency savings before shelling out for a paid service.

If you have a criminal record, it may help to work with a mortgage professional who has experience working with people just like you. Reed stated that he assumed the answer was no until a client asked whether a felon could get a mortgage. Research proved him wrong. That’s why you want a mortgage pro who’s knowledgeable and eager to help you navigate your mortgage options.

He advised working with a mortgage broker who has access to several lenders. A broker will know each lender’s guidelines and help you find the best possible products and rates.

If you’re looking for programs that help former felons buy a home, start nationally, then go local. Nationally, you’ll find many government-backed mortgage programs friendly to those with rebuilding their credit history. Locally, you could find re-entry programs with housing counselors and lender connections that make your journey toward homeownership smoother.

Government-backed home loans can make homeownership more attainable for former felons by allowing lower credit scores, smaller down payments, or both.

FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and are often a go-to for first-time buyers or anyone rebuilding credit. They allow down payments as low as 3.5% and have more flexible underwriting than many conventional loans.
HomeReady and Home Possible loans are low-down-payment programs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both allow down payments as low as 3%, consider alternative credit data in some cases, and are designed to help moderate-income buyers get into a home sooner.
VA loans, backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, are available to eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and some surviving spouses. These loans don’t require a down payment or mortgage insurance, which can significantly lower upfront and monthly costs.
USDA loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are designed for eligible buyers in rural and some suburban areas. They offer zero-down financing and competitive interest rates for qualifying households.

MORE: See our top picks for VA loan lenders.

Grants and down payment assistance programs

While there aren’t federal grants specifically for former felons buying homes, there are community and local homeownership grants and down payment assistance programs that could help ease your path to homeownership.

These grants often come from city, county, or state housing agencies. Examples include local down payment assistance programs, such as down payment and closing cost help in Florida’s Orange County and Virginia’s HOMEownership down payment assistance program, which provides thousands toward purchase costs.

Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Tennessee are just a few of the additional states out there that offer down payment assistance programs — all of which could provide thousands toward your closing costs.

If you’re formerly incarcerated, you could benefit from a lender that offers special grants and down payment assistance for its customers. Programs include, but aren’t limited to, those below.

Ameris Bank. Offers two down payment assistance programs and a signature Ameris Dream mortgage with a $500 minimum down payment requirement.
Bank of America. Provides multiple grants (which do not have to be repaid) for home buyers who get their mortgage through Bank of America. You can visit the bank’s Down Payment Center to explore the options.
CrossCountry Mortgage. Offers four different down payment assistance programs, some as grants and others as repayable assistance.
Wells Fargo. Has down payment grants and closing cost credit programs for buyers who meet location and eligibility requirements. See if you qualify using its eligibility lookup tool.

While these lender programs aren’t exclusively for the formerly incarcerated, they’re another tool to keep in your pocket. Having information like this can help you and a mortgage broker find the best lender for your situation and even focus on lenders that offer in-house loans, grants, and down payment assistance programs.

No, a felony charge can’t stop you from buying a house. However, state laws and specific restrictions, such as those related to the sex offender registry, may make homeownership more difficult for individuals with certain felony classifications.

Yes, felons can get a mortgage loan through the most popular federal loan programs, such as FHA, VA, and USDA. Conventional mortgages may be more challenging to qualify for due to individual lender restrictions, but not impossible. Working with a mortgage broker familiar with the re-entry challenges felons face can help you find the ideal home loan program for your circumstances.

A felon would need a minimum credit score of 580 with a 3.5% down payment or 500 with a 10% down payment to buy a house using an FHA mortgage — widely recognized as the most lenient with employment and credit. Building credit through secured cards and other tools can help you meet these requirements.

Laura Grace Tarpley edited this article.