Can I buy a house if I'm recently married?

Joint vs solo application — the tradeoff

You don't have to include your spouse on the mortgage. Sometimes leaving them off is smarter.

Apply jointly when: Both incomes are needed to qualify, both credit scores are strong (680+), and both have low DTI.

Apply solo when: One spouse has significantly higher credit (rates use the lower middle score), one spouse has heavy debt that would sink DTI, or one spouse has a bankruptcy/foreclosure in the last 4 years.

A solo application uses only the applicant's income and credit — but both spouses can be on the title.

The 'lower middle score' rule

When two people apply together, lenders pull 3 credit reports each (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) — 6 scores total. They take the middle score for each borrower, then use the lower of those two middle scores for pricing.

Example: - Spouse A: 720/705/695 → middle 705 - Spouse B: 640/625/610 → middle 625 - Rate uses 625

If spouse B's 625 pushes the rate 0.75% higher, applying solo with A's 705 might save 5-figures over the loan life — even though it lowers qualifying income.

Community property states

In 9 community property states (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI), lenders must count your spouse's debts in your DTI even if you apply solo — for FHA and VA loans. Conventional loans don't require this.

So in a community property state, solo-applying with a debt-heavy spouse only helps on conventional loans, not FHA/VA.