No, your spouse doesn't have to be on the mortgage. In Florida, a married buyer can apply alone on FHA, Conventional, VA and USDA loans, and the lender qualifies the loan on that buyer's income, debts and credit. Leaving a spouse off can raise your price or open a better program, and sometimes adding them is what gets you approved. Which way wins comes down to both of your incomes, debts and scores.
Why Florida matters for FHA
Nine states use community property rules, where debts taken on during a marriage belong to both spouses: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. HUD's FHA handbook requires the lender to pull a credit report on a non-borrowing spouse and count that spouse's debts in your ratios when you live in one of those states or the home is in one.
Florida isn't a community property state. When a Florida resident buys a Florida home with FHA and leaves a spouse off the loan, the spouse's car payment, credit cards and collections stay off the application. VA follows the same line: under VA's underwriting rule, a spouse who won't be on the loan is only considered in community property states.
The homestead signature
Florida's constitution protects a married couple's homestead, so a mortgage on a married person's home generally needs the spouse to join in it. At closing, a spouse who isn't on the loan usually signs the mortgage (the document that pledges the house as security) but not the promissory note (the promise to repay). Signing the mortgage doesn't make your spouse liable for the payments or put the loan on their credit report.
A worked example
Dana earns $5,200 a month, has a 680 credit score and $300 a month in debts. Here are two versions of her husband Chris. All three columns use FHA at a 5.75% rate, with property tax of 0.95% a year and homeowners insurance of $283 a month.
| Dana alone | With Chris: $2,400 income, $1,150 debts | With Chris: $1,000 income, $1,100 debts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying income | $5,200.00 | $7,600.00 | $6,200.00 |
| Monthly debts | $300.00 | $1,450.00 | $1,400.00 |
| Highest FHA price | $309,000 | $372,000 | $264,000 |
| House payment | $2,434.87 | $2,873.60 | $2,121.49 |
| Total debt ratio | 52.6% | 56.9% | 56.8% |
When Chris earns $2,400, adding him raises Dana's price by $63,000. When he earns $1,000 and carries $1,100 in payments, adding him cuts her price by $45,000, and she does better alone. Because Florida isn't a community property state, Dana's FHA lender doesn't count Chris's debts when he's off the loan.
Credit scores matter too. On FHA, the score that sets the terms is the lowest middle score among the borrowers, so adding Chris with a 590 would make 590 the loan's score. Applying alone, Dana's 680 is the score that counts, and it also clears Conventional's 620 minimum.
Program by program
- FHA: You can apply alone. In Florida, a non-borrowing spouse's debts and credit stay out of the approval.
- Conventional: Only the borrowers' income, debts and credit are used.
- VA: A veteran can apply alone, or with a spouse as co-borrower even when the spouse isn't a veteran. VA's residual income test counts everyone in the household for family size, so a spouse off the loan still counts as a household member.
- USDA: Only people on the loan count for repayment, but every adult in the household counts toward USDA's income limit, including a spouse who isn't on the loan.
If you need your spouse's income but not their debts
- Pay down the spouse's debts first. Clearing a $400 car payment before applying lets their income count with less drag.
- Use a co-signer instead. A parent on an FHA or Conventional loan adds income without your spouse's debts.
- Keep your spouse off and use FHA 100% financing. The down payment assistance second covers the 3.5% down, so one income can carry the purchase with $0 down.
Run both versions in the debt-to-income calculator: once with your numbers alone and once with your spouse's added. Then call AAA Capital Funding at 888-601-8344 and we'll run it both ways and set up the application on whichever one approves the higher price.