CostYou're separating, and you want to keep the family home — which means buying out your former spouse's share of the equity and taking over the mortgage in your name alone.
Home worth $800,000, $350,000 remaining mortgage
| Total equity | $450,000 |
| Each spouse's share (illustrative 50/50) | $225,000 |
| Amount owed to buy out the other spouse | $225,000 |
| New mortgage needed (payout + existing balance) | Requalify for up to $575,000 |
What usually happens
Buying out a former spouse's share of the home requires a current appraisal to establish the home's actual value, a determination (often via a separation agreement) of each party's equity share, and then requalifying for a mortgage covering both the existing balance and the buyout amount — entirely on your own income and credit if you're taking the home solely. This is a real, full mortgage application, subject to the current stress test, not an administrative formality.
What the process actually involves
- A current appraisal — needed to establish fair market value as the starting point for the equity split.
- A separation agreement — ideally formalizing the equity split and buyout terms before the mortgage refinancing proceeds, since lenders typically want this documented.
- Full requalification — the remaining spouse needs to qualify for the new mortgage amount on their own, under current rules, including the stress test.
- Removing the departing spouse from title and the mortgage — both need to happen formally; simply agreeing verbally doesn't release either party's legal obligations.
Who to ask
A family lawyer should handle the separation agreement and equity division terms, while a mortgage broker handles whether and how you can actually qualify for the buyout mortgage on your own. These are two different professionals for two different parts of the process, and starting the mortgage conversation early — before the separation agreement is finalized — helps avoid discovering a qualification problem late in the process. Check your own qualifying picture on the affordability calculator.