"The Mortgage Questions People Searched in October 2026, Answered"

In four weeks, Bing showed solverya.com for the same question worded at least eight different ways: does a spouse who is not on the loan have to sign the mortgage. One named Delaware, one named Iowa, two named Kentucky and one named South Carolina. One asked about the Closing Disclosure, one asked about a spouse who is not on the deed, and one asked whether a spouse can be required to sign without owing a dime of the debt.

These are the mortgage questions asked in the searches in which solverya.com appeared on Google and Bing between September 30 and October 27, 2026, with a short answer to each one and a link to the full article.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, licensed in fifteen states, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation.

Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools show me only the words that were typed and nothing about the person who typed them. I cleaned up the spelling and grouped the questions by topic. Not every search ended in a visit, and the counts are small, so please read this as a look at what searchers are asking and not as a ranking. A new issue comes out each month.

Income that counts toward a mortgage

Does foster care income count for a mortgage, and does it have to be averaged over two years?

Often, yes. Fannie Mae expects a two-year history of foster care payments, and it will accept twelve months when the payments are no more than thirty percent of the total gross income used to qualify. On a stable or increasing trend, the lender averages the most recent twelve or twenty-four months, whichever matches the history the file relies on. A twelve-month history is averaged over twelve months. A declining trend is averaged over the most recent twelve months only. Freddie Mac uses a twenty-four month average. Foster care payments as mortgage income compares all four loan programs.

Does a housing allowance, car allowance or parsonage income count?

Yes. A fixed housing, parsonage or automobile allowance can be used as qualifying income on a conventional loan, and the car or housing payment it helps with stays in your debt ratio at its full amount. Fannie Mae asks for at least twelve months of receipt on both kinds. Freddie Mac asks for twelve months on a housing or parsonage allowance and two consecutive years on a car allowance. On a housing or parsonage allowance, Freddie Mac wants the amount and the terms it is paid under in writing, and a letter from your employer is one of the documents it accepts for that. Housing, parsonage and car allowances as mortgage income lists the documents.

Does income from a note someone pays me count?

Yes. Payments you receive on a note from a property you sold and financed can count as qualifying income once you have twelve months of full, on-time payments and the note has at least three years left to run. The lender reads a copy of the note and twelve months of deposits. Under Fannie Mae, a note signed within the past twelve months has to wait, and a balloon due inside three years keeps the income off the file. Notes receivable as mortgage income walks through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA.

Does K-1 income count when I own less than 25% of the business?

Yes. Under the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, a partner, shareholder or LLC member who owns less than 25% is read as an income earner and not as a self-employed client. The documents are two years of your signed personal income tax returns with the K-1s, and the lender is not required to analyze whether the firm is viable. The K-1 income counts when it was distributed to you or the business has the cash to support it, and guaranteed payments with a two-year history can be added. K-1 income under 25 percent ownership covers the newly admitted partner exception.

Can VA disability income be grossed up?

Yes. VA disability compensation is tax-free, and once the lender has verified that, the guides let the lender adjust it upward to put it on equal footing with a paycheck. Fannie Mae requires no minimum history for it, and your VA award letter or benefit statement is the document that proves it. The adjustment only works on income verified as nontaxable. VA disability, pension and survivor benefits as mortgage income shows how each program handles it.

Can the lender use the higher recent average for overtime that keeps going up?

Usually not. Overtime is averaged across its documented history, so a rising trend lifts the average without letting the lender use your latest and highest figure. The history is generally around two years, shown by W-2s and paystubs with year-to-date figures, and the exact look-back varies by program. A declining trend can lower the figure or set the income aside. How overtime and bonus income gets averaged explains the three steps.

Spouses and signatures on a mortgage

Does a spouse who is not on the loan have to sign the mortgage?

In some states, yes. A spouse who is not on the loan, and who may not be on the deed, still has to sign the mortgage, because the requirement comes from state law and not from the lender. Some states protect the family home, so the spouse signs to consent to it being used as collateral. Some treat property bought during the marriage as shared, and some keep old marital interests called dower and curtesy, which the spouse signs to release. Other states have no marital rule at all. Either way, signing the mortgage is not signing the note, so that spouse is only consenting to the home being used as collateral, is not underwritten, and has no income or credit counted. South Carolina abolished dower and curtesy in 1985, so the question there turns on who owns an interest in the home.

I'm not licensed in Delaware, Iowa or Kentucky and have not researched their rules, so a title company or attorney there is the right source. The Closing Disclosure is a different document from the mortgage, and the article does not cover it, so please ask me directly. Whether a spouse has to sign the mortgage explains the four kinds of rule, and the state-by-state comparison of spouse signatures shows the states I have researched.

VA loan questions

Can I get a VA funding fee refund?

Yes, when the effective date of your VA disability compensation reaches back to before your closing date. VA refunds a funding fee that an exempt veteran paid, and the request goes through your VA Regional Loan Center, because it does not start on its own. A rating that takes effect after closing leaves the fee where it is, since you were not exempt on closing day. The VA funding fee refund after a disability rating has the documents to have in front of you.

Can an unmarried couple get a VA loan together?

Yes. VA calls a loan to a veteran and someone who is not their spouse a joint loan, and three things work differently. The file goes to VA for prior approval, VA guarantees only the veteran's share of the loan, and the funding fee is figured on that share. Because the guarantee is smaller, VA leaves it to the lender to make sure its investor will accept the loan, so whether one is offered, and on what terms, depends on the lender. A VA loan with someone who is not your spouse covers all three.

Closing day and the paperwork

Can I use a power of attorney at a real estate closing?

Yes. Someone you trust can sign your closing documents through a power of attorney, once your lender has accepted it in advance, and the title company will want to review it too. Fannie Mae's version has to name the home you are buying and be notarized before it is used. The loan is still yours, and the cleanest timing is to sign it once you are under contract and the address and the loan are settled, and the title company will often want the original in its hands before closing. Closing with a power of attorney explains specific and general powers.

What is an eCRV in Minnesota?

An eCRV is the electronic Certificate of Real Estate Value, the state record of a sale that Minnesota requires for every home sold for more than $3,000 before the county will record the deed. On most financed purchases the title company files it, and it asks for the legal name and Social Security number of everyone on the deed. Your homestead classification cannot start until it is on file. This one form showed up in Google searches worded at least ten different ways, among them "ecrv," "mn ecrv," "ecrv mn" and "mnecrv." Minnesota's Certificate of Real Estate Value covers who files it and what it asks.

How many days before closing should I wire money?

There is no deadline that applies everywhere, so you'll want to go by the funding deadline that the office handling your closing gives you. In my South Carolina closings I like the money to reach the attorney's office a few days before the signing appointment, and that is my practice and not a statewide rule. You'll want to check the wiring instructions by calling a phone number you already trust rather than replying to the email, since the email itself is what you are verifying. You'll also want to confirm directly that the money arrived. When to wire closing funds safely lists the checks.

Does the property tax proration count toward the seller credit limit?

No. A legitimate prorated property tax credit, in places where taxes are billed in arrears, does not count against the seller concession limit. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both leave it off the list of contributions, meaning money the seller or another party to the sale puts toward your costs. Fannie Mae's word for it is "legitimate," so the proration has to be a real one, figured from the seller's actual months of ownership. The prorated tax credit and the seller concession limit shows where the line falls.

Payments, debts and the approval itself

Are HOA or POA dues paid through the mortgage?

You'll want to confirm with the association and your lender whether the dues are paid through your mortgage payment, and the lender counts the dues in your monthly housing expense when you qualify. Fannie Mae includes owners' association dues and special assessments in that expense, which does not tell you where to send the payment. POA means property owners association, and an annual bill still needs a place in your monthly budget. HOA and POA dues when buying a home lists what to ask for.

Does a timeshare count as a mortgage?

No. On a conventional loan the lender counts a timeshare as an installment debt, like a car loan, even when your credit report lists it as a mortgage. The monthly payment goes into your debt-to-income ratio when more than ten payments remain, and the timeshare is not built into your file as another property with taxes, insurance and dues. How a timeshare counts on a home loan covers Freddie Mac, FHA and VA too.

Can I use credit card points for a down payment?

Yes, at Fannie Mae, once the points are converted to cash before the loan closes. The card itself can never pay the down payment, though a short list of early fees may be charged to it. Which documents you need depends on where the cash goes. Cash deposited into your bank account is read like any other deposit and needs nothing extra unless it is a large deposit, and then the card company's redemption confirmation shows where it came from. Credit card reward points toward a down payment lists the documents for each case.

What does AUS mean in a mortgage?

AUS stands for Automated Underwriting System, the software that evaluates your loan information and returns a recommendation along with the documents the lender will need. Fannie Mae's engine is Desktop Underwriter and Freddie Mac's is Loan Product Advisor. A result is not final approval, because final approval follows verification of the facts and the conditions being met. This was the most-searched question on Bing, worded at least twenty-two different ways. What an AUS is, in plain English explains the result words.

Why is my rate higher than the advertised rate?

The advertised rate is priced for one near-perfect scenario, and your rate is that same daily pricing adjusted for your own file. The adjustments come from your credit score, your down payment, whether you will live in the home, the type of property and what the loan is for. I leave out what each is worth, because the grids get revised. Why your rate differs from the advertised rate walks through each adjustment.

Bring me your own question

If your question is not here, calls are welcome. You can call me at (843) 765-0000 just to talk mortgages, with no application and nothing to prepare, or write to jeff@solverya.com. The tools on the home page are the other door. Each month's issue is built from that month's searches, and the questions that keep coming back become the next issue.

Common questions

Where do these questions come from?

They come from the searches in which solverya.com appeared on Google and Bing between September 30 and October 27, 2026, as reported by Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. I cleaned up the spelling and grouped the questions by topic, and those tools show only the words typed, never who typed them. Not every search led to a visit, and the counts are small.

How often is this published?

Monthly. A new issue comes out each month, built from the previous month's searches in the same way, with each question answered briefly and linked to the full article. This first issue covers October 2026.

Does a spouse who is not on the loan have to sign the mortgage?

In some states, yes, even when that spouse is not on the deed, because state law and not the lender creates the requirement. Some states protect the family home, some treat property bought during the marriage as shared, and some keep old marital interests called dower and curtesy, and each of those can require the signature. Some states have no marital rule at all. The spouse signs the mortgage, which consents to the home being collateral, and does not sign the note, so their income and credit are not counted.

What is an eCRV in Minnesota?

It is the electronic Certificate of Real Estate Value, a state record of the sale that Minnesota requires on nearly every home sale. The county cannot record the deed until it is filed, and on most financed purchases the title company files it. It asks for the legal name and Social Security number of every buyer and seller, and the home cannot be classified as a homestead until it is on file.