Each lender has a different criteria for this, and different lenders may take different proportions of the maintenance into account, including child benefits or tax credits.
Will my maintenance income be taken into account?
Every lender differs on this, so it is important to consider your application before submitting it to a lender. Some lenders will take into account child maintenance income, but there may be caveats such as the maintenance being paid by a court order, through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) or has at least five years left on the agreement.
What if I am in an informal agreement for payments?
If you are a married couple currently divorcing, the chances are you’ve included child maintenance payments in a court order that deals with everything else in the divorce. However, if you’re unmarried and are using an informal agreement with your ex-partner to arrange the maintenance payments, you may have to use the CMS in order to fulfil the requirements of some lenders in order to obtain a mortgage.
How is it assessed?
Some lenders look at maintenance income as an addition to your own income when assessing your affordability for a mortgage. However, this depends on the number of children the maintenance is being paid for and the age of the children. Some lenders also cap the amount of benefit they are willing to consider, something to keep in mind if you get paid maintenance for a few children.
Other benefits can also be assessed.
Bear in mind that you will have to meet a long list of criteria set by the lender when applying for a mortgage, so even though they may accept maintenance income, you could still face issues relating to your credit score or other factors.
For advice on getting a maintenance income mortgage, contact The Mortgage Hut team, we will be able to help you with the next steps.
0300 303 2640