One Income, and a Closing Cost That Scales With the Loan
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Everything else here is about rules. This is the arithmetic they produce, and Georgia adds one cost that gets bigger as the buyout does.
★★ The structural problem
The house was bought on two incomes. The buyout is underwritten on one, and the new loan is often larger than the old one because it must retire the existing mortgage and fund the payment to the other spouse.
★★★ And the Georgia cost that scales the wrong way
The intangible recording tax is 0.30% of the face amount of the note. Not of the equity, not of the house, of the loan.
★★★ Which means the bigger the buyout, the bigger this cost, in direct proportion. It is one of the few closing items that grows with the payment you are making to your former spouse. ★★ Put it in the budget while the buyout figure is still being negotiated, not after. The rate, cap and exemptions question.
★★ What is working in your favour
- ★★ The loan limit is not in play. All 159 counties at $832,750; the dearest Georgia metro is $402,000. A Georgia buyout is an agency loan. Why
- ★★ Limited cash-out treatment, if the twelve-month and written-agreement conditions are met. The conditions
- ★★ No on-title waiting period if you were legally awarded the home.
- ★★★ A surviving county base-year freeze, if your county has one and it survives the transfer. That lowers the escrowed tax and therefore the payment, which is often decisive on a one-income file. Ask before the transfer
★★ What is working against you
- ★★★ Support that ends too soon. Selling Guide B3-3.4-02 requires it to be documented to continue at least three years from the application date, and directs lenders to check limits such as the children's ages or the duration of alimony.
- ★★★ A lump-sum equalisation payment is not income. If you are the spouse receiving the buyout and buying next, plan on it as assets.
- ★★ The 0.30% note tax, above.
- ★★ An uncertain division figure, because Georgia's code states no formula and the number may come from a verdict. Why
- ★★ A softening Atlanta appraisal, if that is your market. The figures
★★★ The order we would do this in
- ★★★ Ask your county tax commissioner about the base-year freeze: before the transfer. It is free to ask and it can change the payment permanently.
- ★★ Pull the deed and the current tax bill. The deed gives the twelve-month date; the bill gives the real escrow.
- ★★★ Find the end date of any support order before pricing anything on it.
- ★★★ Run the one-income numbers before the division figure is fixed. A figure that cannot be financed is not an agreement; it is a second negotiation, and in Georgia it may be a second trial.
- ★★ Budget the 0.30% on the note.
★★ When it does not work, we will say so
Sometimes a one-income buyout of a two-income house does not qualify at any price on any product. We will say so plainly and early, because discovering it after a decree is built around it is far worse.
★ Our lane
We are a lender, not a law firm. No attorney referrals, no position on what should be agreed, no advice on a jury demand, no tax advice. Agency requirements read 2026-10-10 and subject to change and lender overlays. No rates or payment figures anywhere on this site.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
Can I qualify for the house on one income after a Georgia divorce?
It depends on the payment against your income, and the new loan is often larger than the old one. In Georgia two extra factors matter: whether a county base-year valuation freeze survives the transfer, which lowers the escrowed tax, and the intangible recording tax at 0.30 percent of the note, which is a closing cost that grows with the size of the buyout.Does a lump-sum divorce payment count as income in Georgia?
No. Fannie Mae B3-3.4-02 states that lump sum equalization payments are not considered a steady source of income. The money can help as assets toward a next purchase but does not support the income side of a debt-to-income calculation.What should I do first when planning a Georgia buyout?
Ask your county tax commissioner whether a base-year valuation freeze applies and whether it survives a transfer between spouses, before the transfer happens. It is free to ask, and on an appreciated home the answer affects the escrowed property tax, the monthly payment and therefore what one income can carry.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about mortgage financing during and after a divorce. Not a loan commitment, and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a lender; it is not a law firm, does not represent any party to a divorce, does not make attorney referrals, takes no position on how property should be divided, and gives no advice on whether to demand a jury trial. Georgia property division is governed by the Official Code of Georgia Annotated and by case law and is applied by the superior courts; the intangible recording tax and the real estate transfer tax are administered by the Georgia Department of Revenue and collected by the clerk of the superior court, and homestead exemptions are administered by county tax officials. Agency requirements described here are Fannie Mae Selling Guide provisions current as of the date shown and are subject to change and to lender overlays. Housing market figures describe the twelve months to August 2026 and are not a forecast. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.