As Duane Buziak explains, getting a home loan for divorced individuals comes down to documenting what your divorce decree says about debt, support, and the old house, then hunting for the loan that fits your new single-income picture. By the end of this guide you’ll have a clear path from paperwork to pre-approval. Before you start, gather your divorce decree, recent pay stubs, two years of tax returns and W-2s, and your last two months of bank statements.
Step 1: Read Your Divorce Decree Like an Underwriter
Get out a highlighter and mark three things: who keeps the home, who is assigned which debts, and every payment that moves between you and your ex. That last group includes alimony, child support, and any property-settlement installments. Underwriters build your file around these lines, so you should know them cold.
Know which document you’re holding. The divorce decree is the court’s final, signed order, and it is what lenders usually want, with the court stamp or a certified copy. A separation agreement is a contract between you and your spouse that may be folded into the decree but isn’t the same thing. A quitclaim deed transfers your ownership interest in the property to your ex (or the reverse). It changes the title, not the mortgage. A draft or unsigned agreement rarely satisfies a lender, so if yours isn’t finalized, ask your attorney for the filed version.
Then look at how the decree treats each obligation:
- Is the payment to or from you, for how much, and for how long?
- Does support end at a specific date, a child’s age, or a remarriage?
- Are there property-settlement payments you owe that will show up as monthly debt?
- Does the decree order a sale, a buyout, or a refinance by a deadline?
The mistake Duane Buziak sees most often is assuming that a debt vanishes because the decree assigned it to your ex. It doesn’t. The judge’s order binds the two of you, but the creditor never agreed to it. If your name is on the account, the lender pulling your credit sees that balance and payment until the account is paid off, refinanced into your ex’s name alone, or formally released. If your ex is late, that late payment lands on your report. Mark every shared debt in the decree now, because Step 2 is where you deal with them.
Step 2: Pull Your Credit and Separate Joint Accounts
Start at AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally authorized source for free reports from the three bureaus. Go through each report line by line and list every joint credit card, auto loan, personal loan, and the old mortgage. Compare that list to the decree from Step 1. Anything joint that the decree assigned to your ex is a loose end you need to close.
Then take control of what you can:
- Ask card issuers to close joint accounts, or convert them to individual accounts, once balances are settled. If your ex won’t cooperate, at least freeze the account so nothing new is charged.
- Remove your ex as an authorized user on your cards, and remove yourself from theirs.
- Move utilities, insurance, streaming, phone, and other recurring bills into your own name and onto your own bank account.
- Open a checking account in your name alone if you haven’t, and route your paycheck there. Lenders like a clean, traceable paper trail.
- Set calendar reminders for any payment that remains joint until it’s resolved.
Scores often take a hit during a split, from missed payments, higher utilization on one card, or a closed account that shortened your history. Duane Buziak offers free no-touch credit checks so you can see where you stand without a hard inquiry, which matters when you’re already rebuilding. A smart first move is to know your score before you ever talk rates.
Minimum scores vary by program and by each lender’s own overlays, which are extra rules layered on top of the program’s baseline. As of 2026, conventional loans have commonly required around 620, FHA allows lower scores with a bigger down payment at the lowest tiers, and VA sets no minimum itself but lenders usually do. Verify current numbers with your loan officer before you assume you’re in or out. If a score needs work, a few months of clean payments and lower card balances can change the picture more than you’d expect.
Step 3: Calculate Your Solo Income and DTI
Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is your total monthly debt payments, including the new housing payment, divided by your gross monthly income. The CFPB’s plain-language explanation is a good primer. Limits depend on the program and the underwriting method. As of 2026, Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide has allowed up to 36% for manually underwritten loans (up to 45% with compensating factors) and up to 50% for loans run through its automated system. Ask your lender which applies to you, because these figures get updated.
Divorce adds two wrinkles, since support can be income you receive or a debt you pay.
Support you receive
Alimony or child support can count as qualifying income, but it isn’t automatic. It generally must be documented by the decree or a court order, and the lender needs to see that it is likely to continue, often for at least three years after closing. Expect to show a track record of receipt as well. The number of months required differs by program (conventional, FHA, and VA each have their own wording), so confirm the exact period with your lender. Support that ends in a year or two may not count at all.
Support you pay
Child support you owe is counted in your monthly debts. Alimony you owe is either counted as a debt or subtracted from income, depending on the guidelines. Either way, it raises your DTI.
A quick walk-through: add your minimum card payments, car loan, student loans, support you pay, and the projected housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any mortgage insurance). Divide by gross monthly income before taxes.
Tip: paying off a small installment loan can move DTI more than you’d expect. Clearing a $350 monthly car payment on an $8,500 income drops DTI by about four percentage points. Ask your lender which debts are worth paying down before you lock a rate.
Step 4: Decide What Happens to the Marital Home
A divorce decree does not remove anyone from a mortgage. Only a payoff, a refinance, or a release approved by the lender does that. If your ex keeps the house but stays on the note, your name is still on the debt, and it counts against your DTI on any new loan. So you have three real paths:
- Refinance to remove your ex. Whoever keeps the home takes a new loan in their name alone, paying off the old mortgage.
- Sell and split the proceeds. This is the cleanest break, and it frees both of you to qualify separately.
- Keep both names on the note with a written plan. Sometimes this is temporary, for a child’s school year, for example. It leaves you exposed to your ex’s payment habits and it will show up in your DTI, so put the plan and deadline in writing.
If you’re keeping the home, you’ll likely do a buyout refinance: a new loan large enough to pay off the existing mortgage and pay your ex their share of the equity. The math is simple. Take the appraised value, subtract the current mortgage balance to get equity, multiply by your ex’s share under the decree, and add that amount to the payoff. The result is your new loan amount. Divide it by the appraised value to get the loan-to-value ratio (LTV).
LTV limits matter here. As of 2026, a conventional cash-out refinance is capped at a maximum of 90% LTV, and a VA cash-out refinance can go up to 100% LTV for eligible veterans. Whether a buyout is treated as cash-out depends on the program and the lender’s reading of your decree, so ask before you budget. Step 7 works through a full buyout with numbers.
If the honest answer is that you can’t carry the house on one income, selling is not a failure. It’s often the move that gets you a better loan on a home that fits.
Step 5: Match Yourself to the Right Loan Program
Four options cover most post-divorce situations: conventional, FHA, VA, and first-time homebuyer programs. Duane Buziak is licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, DC, NC, SC, and MD, and the programs below are what he works with in those states.
The “first-time buyer” label may apply to you even if you once owned a home. Under HUD’s definition, a first-time buyer is generally someone with no ownership interest in a principal residence in the past three years. HUD’s definition also covers a single parent who owned only with a former spouse while married, and a displaced homemaker who owned only with a spouse. Divorce alone doesn’t confer the status, so verify the current wording with your lender or HUD before counting on it.
| Program | Typical minimum down payment (as of 2026) | Credit flexibility | Mortgage insurance | Best-fit situation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | As low as 3% on some programs, 5% or more is common | Typically wants mid-600s or higher for the strongest pricing | Private mortgage insurance under 20% down, removable later | Steady solo income, solid credit, some savings from the settlement |
| FHA | 3.5% with qualifying credit | More flexible; lower scores may need a larger down payment | Upfront and annual premiums, often for the loan’s life at low down payments | Credit that took a hit, smaller down payment |
| VA | 0% for eligible borrowers with full entitlement | VA sets no minimum; lender overlays apply | No monthly mortgage insurance; a VA funding fee applies unless exempt | Veterans, service members, and eligible surviving spouses |
| First-time homebuyer programs | Varies by program; often paired with conventional or FHA | Follows the underlying loan | Follows the underlying loan | Those who meet HUD’s definition, including some displaced homemakers and single parents |
Confirm details on HUD.gov, VA.gov, and Fannie Mae, since they change. Loan limits change too. The FHFA publishes the annual conforming limit, and the 2026 baseline is $832,750 for one-unit properties, with higher limits in some counties.
For veterans, your lender can pull your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) electronically with your SSN and date of birth. If you used VA entitlement on the marital home, you may still have second-tier (bonus) entitlement. The mechanics: take the county loan limit, multiply by 25% for the maximum guarantee, subtract the entitlement already used, and multiply what remains by four to get your zero-down purchase limit. Whether a surviving spouse or a retained entitlement situation applies to you is a question to confirm with the lender.
Step 6: Get a Soft-Pull Pre-Approval and Hunt Rates
Duane Buziak Teaches a four-part approach he calls Watch, Search, Compare, Move. It’s the working version of the site’s hook: We Don’t Just Look. We Hunt. and Watch. Compare. Save.
- Watch rates for a week or two so you know what normal looks like.
- Search by requesting a Loan Estimate from several sources.
- Compare them on the same day, with the same loan amount, credit score, loan type, and lock period.
- Move when one clearly fits, and lock.
The Loan Estimate is a standardized three-page form lenders must give you within three business days of an application. The CFPB’s Owning a Home tools walk through it. Compare four things: the interest rate, the APR (which folds in fees and shows the fuller cost), lender credits, and points. A lower rate that comes with points isn’t cheaper if you’ll move or refinance in three years.
Shopping won’t wreck your score. Scoring models generally treat multiple mortgage inquiries in a short window as one, and the CFPB encourages comparison shopping. The exact window depends on the scoring model (commonly 14 to 45 days), so keep your requests tight and confirm with each lender.
Rocket, Lower, and Movement are fair points of comparison. Lower earns credit for its digital application and pricing transparency. Lower’s wholesale subsidiary, PowerTPO, is Lower LLC’s own arm, and Duane Buziak accesses it directly, with the same underwriters and no retail markup. That is a difference in how you get to the pricing, not a claim of a better rate. Rates depend on your file and the day you lock, so let the Loan Estimates decide.
From each source, ask for a written pre-approval letter based on your solo income, with support documented as your decree allows. Ask what conditions are attached, because a letter that counts income your file can’t prove isn’t worth much.
Step 7: Work Through a Real Example and Close Cleanly
The numbers below are illustrative only, not a real client result and not a rate quote. Suppose a single borrower in Georgia keeps the marital home in a divorce. The decree gives the ex a 50% share of the equity.
- Appraised value: $400,000. Current mortgage balance: $240,000.
- Equity: $160,000. Ex-spouse’s 50% share: $80,000.
- New loan amount: $240,000 + $80,000 = $320,000.
- LTV: $320,000 ÷ $400,000 = 80%, under the 90% conventional cash-out cap.
- Assumed rate: 6.25%, 30-year fixed. Principal and interest: about $1,970.
- Taxes ($3,600 a year) and insurance ($1,800 a year): $300 and $150 a month. Total housing payment: about $2,420. No mortgage insurance at 80% LTV.
Now DTI. Gross income is $8,500 a month. Debts are child support paid ($600), a car loan ($350), and card minimums ($75), totaling $1,025. Add the $2,420 housing payment for $3,445, and $3,445 ÷ $8,500 gives a DTI of about 40.5%. If the borrower pays off the car loan first, monthly debts fall to $3,095 and DTI drops to about 36.4%. That’s Duane Buziak’s framework in practice: work out the DTI first, then decide which debts to clear.
Closing costs can be handled through no-out-of-pocket closing options, where lender credits offset costs, but the tradeoff is usually a slightly higher rate. Compare both versions on the Loan Estimate before you choose.
Until closing:
- Keep copies of the decree and proof of every support payment made or received.
- Don’t take on new debt, and don’t open or close accounts.
- Be ready to explain any large deposit, such as a settlement payment, with paperwork.
- Answer lender requests the same day. Delays cost rate locks.
Check Your Decree Today, Then Call Duane Buziak
The one thing to do today is open your decree and your credit reports side by side, and match every joint account to who is responsible for it. Everything else in this guide builds on that list.
Then call Duane Buziak at Mortgage Rate Hawk by Duane Buziak at 804-212-8663 for a same-day callback and a free no-touch credit check. Your dream home is waiting, and the mortgage process doesn’t have to hold you back. Get your free rate comparison and personalized loan match today, with same-day expert guidance to help you find the right path forward, whether you’re a first-time buyer or ready to refinance.
