30-yr fixed6.75%+0.0315-yr fixed6.05%+0.00FHA 30-yr6.55%+0.08VA 30-yr6.38%+0.08Jumbo 30-yr6.82%+0.11Updated September 1, 2026
lowest.mortgageCompare today's mortgage ratesYour rate

Your situation

Going through a divorce

Most divorces involve a house and a mortgage. The two big questions are who keeps the home and how the other person gets their equity out and their name off the loan.

Run the divorce buyout numbers

Who this is for

  • A spouse who wants to keep the home and needs to buy out the other
  • A spouse who is leaving and needs to be released from the mortgage
  • Couples deciding whether selling is simpler

How it works, step by step

  1. Being removed from the deed does not remove you from the mortgage. Only a refinance or a formal assumption does that.
  2. A buyout refinance is treated as rate-and-term (not cash-out) by Fannie Mae when the divorce decree requires it, which means better pricing.
  3. Court-ordered support can count as qualifying income once it has been received for a set period and will continue for three years.
  4. Get the mortgage plan into the settlement agreement with a deadline, not just a promise.

Pros

  • Buyout refinance can price as rate-and-term
  • Support payments can count as income
  • Clear rules exist for every step

Cons

  • One income often cannot qualify for a loan two incomes carried
  • Refinancing away from an old low rate is expensive
  • Timelines in decrees are often unrealistic