The mortgage market is about to get a seismic shake-up, and title professionals need to pay attention. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is rolling out major updates to credit scoring models for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—and the ripple effects will hit your closing tables sooner than you think.

Let’s unpack what’s changing, what’s delayed, and where the real business opportunities lie.

In 2022, FHFA approved both VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T as acceptable models for loans delivered to the GSEs. Back then, FHFA said implementation would take “years.”

Fast forward to July 8, 2025: FHFA officially announced that VantageScore 4.0 is now permitted for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This isn’t a theoretical change anymore—it’s here.

If your eyes glaze over when someone mentions credit models, here’s the short version:

FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 look beyond the old-school version of creditworthiness.

These new systems:

This shift means more potential buyers—especially renters, young adults, and credit rebuilders—will finally have a score high enough to qualify for a mortgage.

And no, before anyone panics, this is not a “social credit score.”

This isn’t about tracking personal behavior—it’s about expanding access through verifiable financial data.

Here’s the part shaking lenders (and underwriters) awake:

Effective November 16, 2025, Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide will remove minimum credit score requirements altogether.

That means:

Instead, underwriting decisions will rely more heavily on overall risk factors, including income stability, loan-to-value ratio, and payment history patterns.

Fannie’s goal: broaden access to homeownership while maintaining safety through more holistic risk assessment.

But many in the industry are asking: How do we maintain transparency and consistency in underwriting without a floor?

Further Reading:

Even though FHFA approved new models, adoption is not instant.

The rollout is technically complex and operationally messy. Mortgage systems, pricing algorithms (LLPAs), and investor pipelines are all built around the old models.

FHFA Director Bill Pulte said it best: adoption is “a complex, technical, and arcane process” that could stretch well into 2026.

So yes—this will be a transition period full of confusion, mismatched investor requirements, and inconsistent adoption timelines across lenders.

For title professionals, that means a temporary uptick in delays, corrections, and closing-day surprises as lenders adjust their underwriting systems.

While lenders and investors wrestle with integration, title companies have a unique window of opportunity to build relationships and capture new business.