Divorce rewrites the income, debts, and ownership that a mortgage file rests on. For Henrico homeowners from Short Pump to Tuckahoe, that usually means refinancing to buy out a spouse or qualifying alone for a new home. These options were chosen on how well they handle alimony and child support income, equity buyouts, and credit disruption, with a local-versus-national view for Glen Allen-area buyers.
Duane Buziak is a mortgage broker in Glen Allen serving Henrico County, helping families find their homes since 2014. The first entry below is his own practice, and it is described with its limits as well as its strengths.
Written by Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647 | Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC NMLS #376205
Quick Comparison of Mortgage Options for Divorced Applicants
- Duane Buziak at Henrico Mortgage: divorcing Henrico homeowners who need a spouse buyout or a complex income file structured; quote-based, no fee for pre-qualification; shops multiple wholesale shelves with a soft-pull start.
- Rocket: applicants with simple, well-documented income who want self-serve; rates quote-based, see its website; fully digital process from application to documents.
- Movement: applicants who want an in-person loan officer inside a large national brand; rates quote-based, see its website; a Richmond-area loan officer backed by the company’s own underwriting.
- The Cowart Team: divorced veterans and military-connected borrowers; rates quote-based, see its website; a long record of VA loan work in Virginia.
- Sparrow Home Loans: buyers purchasing new construction or using Virginia Housing programs; rates quote-based, see its website; builder and agent partnerships plus VHDA familiarity.
1. Duane Buziak at Henrico Mortgage
Duane Buziak at Henrico Mortgage is a Glen Allen brokerage serving Henrico County, built for the divorcing homeowner who has to restructure a file rather than just submit one. Because Duane works as a broker, he can take a file with alimony income, a recent separation, or a buyout and compare it across multiple wholesale shelves instead of fitting it to one company’s guidelines.
The soft-pull start matters in this situation. Many people mid-divorce are protective of their credit, and the NoTouch Credit Pull pre-qualification shows what you can borrow without a hard inquiry. Duane also offers a Dare to Compare pricing challenge, where you bring another written quote and he works to match or beat it.
What a buyout looks like in numbers
An equity buyout means one spouse pays the other for their share of the home, usually funded by a cash-out refinance in the keeping spouse’s name alone. Suppose, as an illustration and not a quote, a Short Pump home is worth $500,000 with a $250,000 mortgage. Equity is $250,000, so a 50/50 split means $125,000 goes to the departing spouse. A new $375,000 loan (75% of value) pays off the old $250,000 balance and funds the $125,000. At an assumed 6.5% on a 30-year fixed, principal and interest comes to about $2,370 per month, before taxes, insurance, and closing costs. That payment must be carried on one income, which is where alimony and child support documentation comes in.
- Multiple wholesale shelves let a broker match a file with support income or a buyout to the program that treats it most favorably.
- Cash-out refinance structuring pays the spouse’s equity share at closing.
- Soft-pull pre-qualification shows your borrowing range with no credit impact.
- Veterans can ask about VA cash-out refinancing, which allows up to 100% loan-to-value.
- No-out-of-pocket closing options can be explored where the program allows.
Limits to know
This is a local one-office practice licensed in Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, and DC. If you want a purely app-based process with no conversations, it is not the right fit. There is no listed integration stack because the service is personal: Duane runs your file himself. Rates are quote-based and depend on credit, loan-to-value, and program, and there is no fee for pre-qualification.
Best for: Divorcing Henrico homeowners who need a spouse buyout or a complex income file structured.
2. Rocket
Rocket is a national online mortgage provider whose strength is a digital process from start to finish. You apply online, upload documents, and track progress through an account portal. For someone coordinating a sale or buyout with a spouse who has already moved out of state, not needing to meet anyone in person is a real convenience.
Its product range covers conventional, FHA, VA, and jumbo scenarios, for both purchase and refinance, so a buyout refinance or a solo purchase are both within scope. Digital income and document verification can speed up files where the paperwork is clean, though you should confirm which verification options are currently offered.
- Online application and document upload let you work on your own schedule, including nights during a stressful stretch.
- Conventional, FHA, VA, and jumbo programs cover most buyout and repurchase situations.
- Purchase and refinance products let you keep the home or buy again with one provider.
- Digital approval documentation keeps your paperwork in one place.
The trade-off is structure. Rocket is a single national shelf with no Henrico presence, so you get one set of guidelines and one rate sheet. A file with newly started alimony, a divorce decree still being finalized, or overtime and bonus income may need more hands-on structuring than a self-serve process is designed to give. There is no local contact who knows how a Lakeside or Wyndham appraisal tends to land. As of October 2026, rates are quote-based and published on its website; the price you see depends on credit, down payment or equity, and program.
Best for: Divorced applicants with simple, well-documented income who want a self-serve experience.
3. Movement
The limitation comes first with Movement: it is one company, with one set of guidelines and one rate sheet, and a hard credit pull is typically expected at application (verify current practice with the loan officer). If your credit is already stressed by divorce-related debt, that matters, and you should ask when the pull happens before committing.
What it offers in return is a named person nearby. Movement is a national direct mortgage company with loan officers in the Richmond area, so you can sit down with someone, not only click through a portal. Processing and underwriting happen in-house, which can make communication between the loan officer and the underwriter more direct than at a company that hands files to outside shops.
- Richmond-area loan officers give you face-to-face guidance on a buyout or repurchase.
- Conventional, FHA, and VA programs cover most first-time-again and veteran scenarios.
- Purchase and refinance options mean one company can handle either path.
- In-house processing and underwriting keep your file under one roof.
Setup is an online application portal, with features worth confirming at the time you apply. Your loan officer is your day-to-day contact, and you handle document uploads. It does not suit applicants who want to compare multiple wholesale pricing sources or who need a soft-pull start. As of October 2026, rates are quote-based; see its website for details. Price moves with credit score, loan-to-value, occupancy, and loan type.
Best for: Applicants who want an in-person loan officer within a large national brand.
4. The Cowart Team
The Cowart Team is a Virginia mortgage team that originates through NFM Lending and is best known for VA loan work. That focus is its clearest advantage on this list. A divorced veteran may be deciding whether to use remaining entitlement on a new purchase, or whether to refinance the existing home in their name alone, and VA-experienced staff can walk through both.
The team’s own site describes more than 20 years in business and more than 5,000 Virginia families served; these are self-reported figures, so check them on its website. Its programs include VA, FHA, and conventional loans for purchase and refinance.
Why VA experience matters after divorce
Divorce raises VA-specific questions. If a veteran keeps the home, entitlement and the existing loan terms affect the next move. If the veteran is buying again, a prior loan may tie up some entitlement until it is paid off or the property is dealt with. A team that handles these files regularly has likely seen the patterns, and if you qualify, VA cash-out refinancing can be used to buy out a former spouse’s share.
- VA-focused origination helps with entitlement questions unique to veterans.
- FHA and conventional options cover applicants who are not military-connected.
- Purchase and refinance products serve both keep-the-house and start-over paths.
- An online application link lets you begin remotely (confirm on its site).
The limitation is structural. Origination runs through a single lender, so there is no multi-shelf price comparison, and a hard credit pull is generally expected (verify with the team). If you are a non-veteran with an unusual income file, you lose the main reason to choose it. As of October 2026, rates are quote-based, with details on its website. Pricing moves with credit, loan-to-value, and program.
Best for: Divorced veterans and military-connected borrowers wanting a VA-focused team.
5. Sparrow Home Loans
Sparrow Home Loans is a Virginia loan originator working through Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group. It has built its business around builder and real-estate agent partnerships and is familiar with Virginia Housing (VHDA) programs. That makes it a different kind of option from the others here: it is most useful when the next step is a purchase, not a buyout.
For someone restarting after divorce, new construction can be appealing. A newer home may mean fewer repair surprises on a single income, and builder relationships can help with timelines and incentives. Down-payment assistance through Virginia Housing programs can also matter when your share of the sale proceeds is smaller than you hoped. Eligibility rules, income limits, and purchase price limits apply, so confirm current terms before planning around them.
- Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group origination provides the loan products behind the guidance.
- Builder and agent partnerships help coordinate new-construction purchases and closing timelines.
- VHDA familiarity helps you check whether down-payment help applies to your situation.
- Purchase-focused guidance suits buyers starting fresh rather than restructuring an existing loan.
The limits are clear. Sparrow has a smaller footprint and a single lender shelf, which leaves less room to restructure a complicated file, such as one with a pending decree, support income that is newly started, or a cash-out refinance to pay a spouse. Day-to-day, you work with the originator, and referrals from builders or agents are the typical entry point. If your goal is to keep your current Glen Allen or Innsbrook home, it is probably not the right starting place. As of October 2026, rates are quote-based; see its website. Price depends on credit, down payment, and program.
Best for: Divorced buyers purchasing new construction or using Virginia Housing programs.
What Every Divorced Applicant Needs to Document and Understand
Whichever route you take, a few ideas decide whether the file closes.
Alimony and child support do not count automatically. Under the Fannie Mae Selling Guide on other sources of income, support income generally needs to be documented by the divorce decree or separation agreement, show a history of receipt, and be expected to continue for a minimum period (typically three years). Confirm the current requirements, since guidelines change. Support you pay out counts as a monthly obligation against you.
A quitclaim deed changes title, not the loan. Signing a quitclaim deed removes a name from the property record but leaves that person on the mortgage note. Until the loan is refinanced or paid off, both of you remain responsible for the payment, and it shows on both credit files. This is why a refinance, not a deed change, is usually the real exit.
Timing affects credit. Missed payments during a separation can do more damage than the divorce itself. If a joint account is falling behind, address it before you apply.
Matching the Option to Your Situation
Duane Buziak is the stronger fit if you are keeping a home in Short Pump, Tuckahoe, or Glen Allen and need a cash-out refinance to pay out a spouse, or if your income includes support, bonuses, or self-employment that needs careful structuring. Rocket suits a clean, documented file and a preference for doing everything online. Movement suits those who want a Richmond-area loan officer inside a national company. The Cowart Team makes sense for veterans, and Sparrow for new construction or Virginia Housing programs.
If you are unsure which category you fall into, start with a soft pull so you can see your options without a credit inquiry. Duane’s office is at 4860 Cox Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23060, and you can reach him at 804-212-8663 or duane@coast2coastml.com. Your dream home in Henrico County is closer than you think: discover exactly what you can afford with our credit-safe pre-qualification process that protects your score while unlocking your options. Get pre-qualified today and take the first step toward homeownership with a local mortgage expert who understands your community.