Hi, I'm Rebecca Richardson, a senior mortgage consultant, with Wyndham capital here in Charlotte. I wanted to just share a couple of details of how going through a separation or divorce can impact either buying or refinancing a home.
I've been a lender for over 17 years, and I've worked with hundreds of buyers that have gone through a similar situation. There are three main categories that can be affected. One is how income gets calculated. If you're going to be receiving child support and alimony, there are standard guidelines requiring how long you have to receive it. Typically, it's about six months, in order for that income to be able to be calculated as qualifying income. Another thing to keep in mind are debts if you own a property, say a car or home with your ex, and you're both on that loan, what happens if the other person has agreed to pay for it, if it's listed in your agreement, then in most cases, we are able to exclude that debt. it doesn't affect your mortgage. But it's very important to work with qualified parties, qualified professionals to make sure that your agreement is written in the right way. That doesn't follow you from qualifying, even though you're still technically on it. It can affect your credit. It keeps it out of the mortgage qualification.
The other thing that happens with the family home is that it does need to be refinanced. Because you've agreed to take responsibility for the payments, you're going to have ownership of it. Or maybe even you need to take some of that equity out to essentially kind of buy out your ex. In order to do that, there are some unique options that we have that will help you make sure that you get a great low rate, as well as tap into as much equity as possible to help satisfy that requirement without having to dip into other assets.
Once again, my name is Rebecca. I'm with Windham capital. I would love to be a resource for you as you navigate this path and answer any questions that you have.