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Can You Get Approved for a Mortgage with Child Support in Arrears
Can a homebuyer qualify and get approved for a mortgage loan with court-ordered child support in arrears? And if NOT, what can the borrower do to be eligible and get approved for a mortgage loan?
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Can One Still Purchase a House If They Pay Past-Due Child Support?
Yes, a person may still buy a house if they owe child support. Past-due child support is not a total disqualifier.
It depends on how the arrears are reported and how the support was enforced.
The Lender Has to See if the Person Has:
- Only past-due child support
- Garnished wages
- A repayment agreement
- A judgment or lien
- Delinquency reported to the Treasury Offset Program.
- Arrears and support payments, in addition to a proposed mortgage payment
- The person’s child support payment, as ordered by the court, has to be included as a debt.
- Any separate payment toward the arrears can also be counted.
Child Support Arrears and Approval.
If the support enforcement agency has established a written repayment agreement and the person is making payments under that agreement, the person may still have an opportunity to be approved for the mortgage.e.
Let’s Say the Person Has to Pay:
- $600 per month for current child support
- $200 per month for the arrears of $12,000
The lender may have to consider the support and repayment relationship as a monthly payment of $800. The person has to qualify for the mortgage with this payment owing.
Fannie Mae recognizes child support as a paid debt for child support orders with a remaining term of ten months or longer. The lender must obtain the court order or equivalent documentation showing the required payment.
FHA recognizes child support payments as a recurring liability. The lender must review the court order, pay stubs, and documents showing the garnishment. FHA will use the greater of the payment under the current order or the garnishment amount.
VA requires that the veteran’s child support obligation be verified and considers it when determining eligibility. Documentation may include the divorce decree, separation agreement, the state payroll offset, the Leave and Earnings Statement, or pay-stub garnishment.
When Child Support Arrears Stop the Mortgage
An open child support order that has been converted to a court judgment or recorded lien is subject to more restrictive loan program rules.
For a Fannie Mae loan, open judgments and outstanding liens discovered through public records must typically be settled by the borrower at or before loan closing. The lender will need to document the lien release and ensure that the borrower has the funds to satisfy it.
HUD will consider the judgment to be satisfied if the borrower has done each of the following:
- Entered into a legally enforceable repayment agreement.
- Made at least three (3) scheduled monthly payments that were not made in advance of the due date to create the required three (3) month payment history.
- Determined that the repayment agreement will not be senior to the FHA mortgage.
- Fully qualified with the repayment agreement amount included in the debt-to-income ratio.
Similar to the FHA, the USDA requires that a non-federal judgment be fully satisfied or a repayment agreement be in place after the borrower has made three (3) scheduled monthly payments. In this case, the payment under the repayment agreement must be included in the debt ratio.
In the case of a VA loan, the judgment must be satisfied in full, or a repayment agreement that satisfies the judgment must be in place and fully documented, with an established history of timely payments.
The Borrower Is Subject to Federal Administrative Offset.
This is the most significant concern for a government-backed mortgage when delinquent child support is subject to federal administrative offset.
- Payments of delinquent child support are collected through the Treasury Offset Program by withholding certain federal payments, including tax refunds.
- Because child support payments are subject to administrative offset, federal assistance may be denied.
- USDA regulations specifically include administrative offset of child support payments as a basis for ineligibility.
- An applicant remains ineligible until the child support payments are made current, the full amount is paid, or the obligation is satisfied.
- In May 2026, the FHA is expected to introduce an automated solution to determine whether an applicant is subject to federal administrative offsets for delinquent child support.
- Under the proposal, if the child support obligation is no longer subject to an offset, the applicant will be eligible for assistance.
- According to HUD, the change is still in the proposal stage as of July 20, 2026, and is not a part of the 2026 Mortgagee Letter.
Steps to Follow to Achieve Eligibility
Acquire a Verified Child Support Account Statement
The borrower must provide a statement from the Child Support Enforcement agency that includes:
- the amount of the monthly obligation
- the amount of the arrears
- the amount of the arrears that are to be made
- the full payment history
- the amount of the garnishment
- the status of any judgments
- The Treasury Offset Program status. Absent other information, a credit report is expected to contain information sufficient for underwriting.
2. Formalize a Repayment Plan
- Simply stating that payments will begin is inadequate.
- The borrower must formalize a plan that is approved by the child support enforcement agency or the court.
- The agreement should include the remaining balance, the monthly payment amount, the date of acceptance, and the status of enforcement actions and liens.
3. Make the Required Payments on Time
The borrower must submit all current support payments and payments toward arrears by their respective due dates. Payments should come from a verified bank account or as withheld payroll, so the lender can confirm the source.
For programs that require proof of a three-payment history, the borrower cannot prepay three payments in one month and claim that as proof of a three-month history.
4. Remove the Treasury Offset Restriction
The borrower must engage with the state child support enforcement agency to resolve their status with the Treasury Offset Program.
Treasury will not engage directly with the borrower on the child support claim. The child support agency must send notice to the Treasury after the child support debt is paid or is no longer eligible for offset.
The borrower must also obtain a letter from the child support agency to confirm that offset is no longer applicable.
5. Resolve or Subordinate Any Judgment or Lien
Based on the loan program, the borrower may need to:
- Pay the judgment in full.
- Create a permitted repayment plan.
- Complete the required payment history.
- Obtain satisfaction or release.
- Obtain confirmation that the lien will not take priority over the new mortgage.
The title company must also verify that the new mortgage will have the required lien position.
6. Re-calculate the Debt-to-Income Ratio
After resolving the delinquency, the borrower must qualify with all required payments.
Let’s say the borrower’s gross monthly income is $6,000, and the borrower:
- Pays $600 a month in child support
- Pays $200 a month to support arrears
- Pays $500 a month for an auto loan and credit card debt
- Pays $2,100 per month for the proposed housing payment
The lender may assess $3,400 as the borrower’s total monthly commitments. This results in a debt-to-income ratio of nearly 56.7%, which may be considered too high by the lender and/or the loan program.
The borrower will either have to reduce other monthly debt, choose a less expensive home, increase qualifying income, or postpone the purchase until the financial conditions improve.
Borrowers with child support arrears should not believe homeownership is out of reach. Most borrowers qualify after they enter a formal repayment plan and after they make documented repayment plan payments.
The borrower may think homeownership is out of reach if child support arrears have caused an unresolved judgment, a recorded lien, an active garnishment, a debt-to-income ratio that’s too high, or a federal administrative offset. The appropriate answer will depend on the exact legal status of the child support debt and the mortgage program.
As you review the listed resources, consider the information presented in the screenshot and think critically about the types of debt you believe would be considered reportable or non-reportable. Think about reportable debts that are not usually considered part of the calculation of the debt-to-income ratio (DTI), and the impact of reportable debts on a borrower’s ability to qualify for a loan.
If you think about debts that fall into the category of reportable debts, what are some loans or financing options that you believe would be impacted?
7. Complete the Final Step
Consider the resources provided. Based on the screenshot, what duties or roles do you believe a borrower would engage in when fulfilling a financial obligation? Complete the final step by identifying the borrower’s role in meeting that obligation.
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This reply was modified 6 hours, 33 minutes ago by
Sapna Sharma.
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