Skip to main content
NMLS 2412313
CALL SHAHRAM
Income

Does child support or alimony count for conventional?

Short answer

Support you receive may count if you choose to use it and meet the program rules. Support you must pay is reviewed separately as an obligation.

Plain-English explanation

What this actually means.

Fannie Mae generally requires documented payment terms, six months of full and timely receipts, and expected continuation for at least three years from application. Payments you owe follow debt rules. Certain alimony obligations may reduce qualifying income instead of being added to monthly debts; that option is not a blanket rule for child support, and the two calculations do not produce the same debt ratio.

Practical example

A simple example

A buyer receives $600 a month under a documented support agreement, with six months of regular receipts and more than three years remaining. The lender can evaluate that income if the buyer wants to use it. An agreement ending in one year would need a different answer.

Illustration only. This is not an approval or a loan offer.

What can change the answer?

Where this can move.

Whether you choose to use received support, legal payment terms, receipt history, remaining duration, obligations you pay and loan program.

Check the sources

Sources checked . Program guidance and lender requirements can change.

04 / Let's talk

Ask the question. Get the straight answer.

Send the scenario and I'll tell you what I'm seeing. No application fee. No long form just to get a basic answer.

Text your scenario: (407) 906-6414
NO APPLICATION · NO CREDIT PULL · NO PRESSURE
Direct line
(407) 906-6414
Office
Orlando, FL · serves all of Florida
Licensing
NMLS 186790 · Company NMLS 2412313 · Florida MBR5733
Equal Housing Opportunity

Educational only. Conventional loan guidelines, lender overlays, rates, fees, PMI, LLPAs, and underwriting requirements can change. Final eligibility depends on full underwriting review. Mortgage Expert, Inc. is not affiliated with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHFA, or any government agency.

Mortgage question or quick quote?

Text Shahram

No application needed to start.