Qualifying for a mortgage is not child's play

Let’s say you want to buy a house this year and you receive money from your ex.  You wonder if the Child Support or Alimony can be used as income when qualifying for a mortgage.

The short, and general answer, is that in order for child support or alimony to count as income and help you qualify for a mortgage, that income has to have been coming in for at least three (!) years. 

This is true if it is an FHA or a conventional loan.  Like I said though, while it’s a generally true statement, your lender may qualify alimony some other way.

thanks to Steve Wagner of the Arlington Bank for the tip.