For the most part, no, you do not need to have good credit to take over an existing, inherited mortgage. Guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) advises lenders to allow successors “to be added as an obligor or substituted for the current obligor on an existing mortgage.” In other words, the mortgage company should add whoever has inherited the home to the mortgage under existing terms, without doing a full loan application and verifying their income, credit history, and so on. Your credit would only come into play if you choose to refinance or take out a loan against the home’s equity.