There was no public announcement, but Inman News is reporting that two of the largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved lenders have loosened their “overlay” requirements credit scores and down payments (lender overlays are lending qualification requirements that are more strict than FHA’s requirements).

Wells Fargo and Quicken Loans have confirmed that they will now lend to applicants with 580 credit scores and 3.5 percent down payments. This is a significant adjustment, and the new requirements offer opportunities for buyers who may have been left out of the market up to this point.

Although, the newly revised policy also sets strict underwriting hoops and snares to weed out unqualified applicants.