Not necessarily, but it will certainly help. It is possible to get
a conventional mortgage with a FICO credit score as
low as 620, and you can obtain a higher-cost FHA mortgage with a score in the
500s. However, be aware that the lower
your score, the higher your interest rate will be. You can find a current list
of mortgage rates broken down by credit
score here. On a $250,000 mortgage, the difference between a 620 credit score
and an "excellent" 760 adds up to more
than $86,000 in interest savings over the life of a 30-year loan.