Separation changes your income, your debts and where you live, all at once.
Often, if your income alone supports the loan. Keeping the house usually means refinancing it into your name and paying out your former partner under the settlement; buying again means a new application on one income.
Lenders want the financial agreement or court orders, and some count child support and family tax benefits.
Part of the complex lending guide.
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What moves the number
Choose any that apply. Each shows roughly how much it changes the figure, the way a lender’s assessment would.
is an indicative borrowing figure at today’s typical rates. Lenders typically count around 80% of rental income, which is why an investment purchase can lift your number, your real figure comes from a proper assessment.
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Charles and the team recently assisted us with a refinance of our investment property. Recommend Charles and the team to all
Had a great experience with Charles at Links Property Finance. He made the whole home loan process straightforward and easy to understand, kept me updated throughout and was always quick to answer any questions.
I have had a number of dealings with Charles from Links Property Finance. He is very knowledgeable, thorough, and detailed with his advice. Importantly, he is very approachable and easy to deal with. His advice has been beneficial to myself and my acquaintances. I highly recommend him.
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker.
Salary, obviously. Beyond it, policies differ in ways that matter: many lenders will count child support as income where it's formalised through a registered agreement and demonstrably being received; some count family tax benefits, depending on your children's ages.
On the other side of the ledger, child support you pay is treated as a commitment. These policy differences between lenders are frequently the difference between an approval and a decline on the same numbers, which is precisely the situation a broker across 70+ lenders exists for.
The uncomfortable one, said early: while both names remain on the mortgage, both of you are each fully liable for the whole repayment, regardless of who moved out and regardless of what you've informally agreed. Missed payments mark both credit files.
Getting the lending resolved isn't paperwork tidiness; it's what actually separates your financial lives.
If the home is being sold or your share released, you're buying next on one income with your share of the equity as the deposit.
Run borrowing power on your solo numbers before you look at listings, the figure resets expectations early, which is kinder than a lender doing it later.
Depending on your history, some first-home-buyer supports may even be available again; eligibility after previous ownership is narrow and specific, so we check it rather than assume either way.
Lending and law run in parallel, and the sequence matters: lenders generally want the property settlement formalised, or clearly documented, before approving a buyout refinance, because until then, what you're buying isn't defined. But the numbers should run first.
A thirty-minute assessment of what you can actually carry, taken into mediation, prevents agreeing to a buyout that no lender will fund. We work alongside family lawyers regularly and fit the finance to the process, not the other way around.
Generally no. A name comes off the loan only when the lender agrees the remaining borrower can service it alone, which is assessed like a new application.
Sometimes the existing lender will vary the loan; often a refinance to a new lender produces both the approval and a better rate. Either way, it's an assessment, not an administrative change.
Generally no: transfers between separating partners under court orders or a binding financial agreement are exempt from transfer duty in NSW. The exemption has conditions and informal transfers may not qualify, so your solicitor or conveyancer confirms it for your documents before anything is lodged.
With many lenders, yes, typically where it's formalised (registered with Services Australia or under court orders), evidenced as actually received, and often with regard to how long it will continue given your children's ages.
Policies differ meaningfully between lenders, so the choice of lender can matter as much as the amount.
Protect the credit files first: the lender doesn't recognise halves, so any shortfall marks both of you.
Contact the lender early, hardship arrangements exist for exactly this, and loop in your lawyer, because the missed contributions belong in the property settlement. Then move the refinance conversation forward; the situation rarely improves by waiting.
Sometimes, but it is harder: lenders want to know what you will own and owe after the split, so an unresolved settlement clouds the assessment.
Where the agreement is documented and your deposit isn't dependent on the outcome, some lenders will proceed. More often, the practical answer is to finalise first and buy cleanly second; we'll tell you which camp your situation falls into.
Thirty minutes with Charles: what one income can carry, what the buyout actually requires, and the lender whose policy fits your new circumstances, before anything is signed.
Prefer a callback?Charles calls back within one business day. No documents needed yet.
General information only, not credit, legal or financial advice. Property settlements and duty exemptions are legal matters, engage a family lawyer and conveyancer for your circumstances. All lending is subject to individual assessment and lender approval.
