Age isn't a qualifying factor. A 62-year-old renter buying a first home and a 74-year-old moving closer to the grandchildren apply under the same rules as a 35-year-old: income, debts, credit and cash to close. Florida buyers over 60 close on 30-year mortgages all the time.
What federal law says about age
The CFPB's guidance on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act is plain on the main points:
- A lender generally can't deny your application or charge you higher rates or fees because of your age.
- A credit scoring system may use age, but it can't count against applicants 62 or older.
- A lender can't refuse to consider or discount income from part-time work, pensions, annuities, retirement benefits or public assistance such as Social Security, SSI and SSDI.
- A lender may look at your job and time to retirement to judge whether your income, including retirement income, will hold up over the loan.
None of the four main loan programs sets a maximum age or makes an older borrower take a shorter term.
Still working, retired, or some of each
If you're still working, your wages count under the same rules as anyone's, using pay stubs, W-2s and a verification of employment.
If you're retired, Social Security on your own record is treated as continuing, a lifetime pension meets the three-year continuance test, and IRA or 401(k) withdrawals count when the balance covers at least three years of them. The retirement income page covers each one, including how an untouched IRA can count.
With some of each, the lender adds the sources together. Many Florida buyers in their 60s have a paycheck and a Social Security check at the same time.
A worked example
Gloria is 67 and has rented in Florida for years. She still works full time as a bookkeeper for $3,500 a month, and since she's past full retirement age, her Social Security retirement benefit of $1,450 a month on her own work record isn't reduced by her paycheck. Her car payment is $300. Here's FHA on a 30-year fixed at a 5.75% rate, with property tax at 0.95% of the price a year (the high end of the 0.74% to 0.95% range QualRate uses for Florida) and insurance of $283 a month:
| Wages only | Wages plus Social Security | |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying income | $3,500.00 | $4,950.00 |
| Highest FHA price | $195,000 | $292,000 |
| House payment | $1,640.99 | $2,316.49 |
At $292,000, the payment is $1,673.17 in principal and interest on a $286,711.15 loan (including the 1.75% upfront mortgage insurance premium), $231.17 in property tax, $283.00 in insurance and $129.15 in monthly mortgage insurance. That's 46.8% of her income for housing and 52.9% with the car payment.
Social Security is counted at face value here, and the untaxed part can be grossed up 15% on FHA, which only raises her price. With FHA 100% financing, a down payment assistance second covers the 3.5% down, $10,220 on a $292,000 home, from a 580 score. Once the loan closes, the terms are set for 30 years, whether she keeps working or retires.
Florida tax breaks after 65
Florida's regular homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of a primary residence once you file for it. At 65, the Florida Department of Revenue describes another layer: counties and cities can adopt an additional homestead exemption for owners 65 and older whose household income is under a limit that's adjusted every year. Your county property appraiser can tell you whether your county and city offer it and what it's worth there.
USDA has its own help for older buyers. When a borrower is 62 or older, it subtracts $400 from household income for its eligibility limit, plus medical expenses above 3% of annual income.
If the numbers come up short
- Add an adult child as co-signer. Their income joins yours on FHA and Conventional, and they don't move in.
- Use equity from a home you're selling. Putting 20% down on a Conventional loan removes mortgage insurance and lowers the payment.
- Count savings you haven't touched. On a Conventional loan, Fannie Mae can turn a 401(k) or IRA into monthly income, and owners 62 and older can borrow up to 80% of the value under that method.
- Pay off a car. When the total ratio is what limits you, clearing a $300 payment adds about $43,000 to an FHA price.
Put your paycheck, your benefits and your debts into the QualRate calculator to see your price on every program. Then call AAA Capital Funding at 888-601-8344, and we'll count every source of income the rules allow, from paychecks to pensions.