Asset Depletion Mortgages In New Hampshire — The Quick Read: Asset depletion turns your liquid savings — checking, brokerage, and retirement accounts — into a monthly income figure a lender can qualify you against, instead of pay stubs or traditional personal-income documentation. Not every asset counts. Real estate equity, cryptocurrency, unvested stock, and most business or trust funds are typically excluded, while retirement accounts usually count at a reduced value depending on your age. The math runs through a divisor — commonly a set number of months — that turns your asset pool into an usable income line.
Key Takeaways
- Asset depletion converts verified liquid assets into an imputed monthly income figure for mortgage qualification.
- Real estate equity, cryptocurrency, gifts, business funds, and most trust assets generally don’t count.
- Retirement accounts commonly count at 70%, or 80% once you cross age 59½ — a haircut tied to early-withdrawal penalty exposure.
- The divisor — the number of months your asset pool gets divided by — is the single biggest variable across programs, and it swings the qualifying income figure dramatically.
- Asset depletion is not the loan you use to buy or refinance a rental property itself — that’s a different qualification path built around the property’s own rent.
Who Actually Uses This Program
Asset depletion solves one specific problem: a borrower with real wealth but thin taxable income. Think of a retiree living off a brokerage account, a founder who just sold a company, or an investor whose net worth sits in liquid securities rather than a paycheck.
For these borrowers, a standard mortgage application is a bad fit. Traditional personal-income documentation understate what they can actually afford. Asset depletion sidesteps that by looking at the balance sheet instead of the pay stub.
It’s worth saying plainly: this program is generally used to qualify for a personal residence or second home, not to finance a rental property purchase. If your goal is buying or refinancing investment real estate, there’s usually a more direct route. That’s a loan that qualifies primarily on the property’s own rental income covering the payment — subject to lender guidelines. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through how that qualification path works end to end.
How Underwriting Actually Builds the Number
Step 1: Inventory the assets. Underwriting starts with verified account statements — checking, savings, brokerage, retirement — and confirms who owns the funds and whether they’re actually liquid.
Step 2: Apply the haircuts. Retirement accounts get discounted based on the borrower’s age, because pulling money out early carries a real cost. The IRS treats withdrawals taken before age 59½ as early distributions, and a withdrawal taken before that age triggers an additional 10% tax on top of ordinary income tax, unless an exception applies, according to the IRS Retirement Plans FAQs on IRA Distributions. That penalty exposure is exactly why younger borrowers see a smaller share of their retirement balance counted than older borrowers holding the identical account size.
Step 3: Subtract earmarked funds. Anything already committed to the down payment, closing costs, or required post-closing reserves comes off the top first. The same dollar can’t be counted twice — once as a reserve, once as income.
Step 4: Divide by the program’s divisor. This is where programs diverge the most, and it’s the number that decides whether the file actually qualifies. Through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, the asset allowance path divides eligible liquid assets by 36 months when combined with other income and a debt-to-income ratio at or below 60%, by 60 months when combined with other income above that DTI threshold, or by 84 months when it’s the only qualifying income source or the loan amount runs above $3,500,000. A shorter divisor produces a bigger monthly income figure; a longer one produces a smaller, more conservative figure. Market surveys of the broader non-QM space report divisors ranging as low as 36 months and as high as 120 months, depending on the lender and program — the spread across the industry is genuinely wide.
Step 5: Run it through the rest of the file. The imputed income figure isn’t a stand-alone approval. It still has to clear the same credit, reserve, and debt-to-income review as any other file. Through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, that generally means a 660 credit floor on the standard non-QM path (700 above the super-jumbo threshold), debt-to-income up to 50%, and reserves that step up with loan size — typically 3 months on smaller loans, 6 months into the high six figures, and 9 months above that.
There’s also an assets-only variation, used less often, where debt-to-income doesn’t apply at all. Instead, the borrower needs liquid U.S. assets equal to the full loan amount, plus closing costs, plus 60 months of any documented net loss on other residential property they own. It’s a higher bar, but it removes income ratios from the conversation entirely.
Which Assets Actually Count
Not every dollar on a balance sheet is created equal in an underwriter’s eyes. The test underwriting applies is simple: does the borrower have present, unrestricted, individual access to this money right now?
| Asset Type | Typical Treatment |
|---|---|
| Checking / savings | Counts toward the depletion pool after documented liquidity |
| Brokerage / non-retirement securities | Counts, subject to ownership and liquidity verification |
| Retirement accounts (under 59½) | Counts at roughly 70% of value |
| Retirement accounts (59½ and older) | Counts at roughly 80% of value |
| Real estate equity | Does not count |
| Cryptocurrency | Does not count for income; may work for reserves/closing under separate rules |
| Business-owned funds | Generally does not count |
| Gifted funds | Generally does not count |
| Trust assets (revocable living trust) | Can count with documentation |
| Trust assets (other trust types) | Generally does not count |
| Unvested or restricted stock | Generally does not count |
Through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, the asset allowance path applies to primary residences and second homes only, at up to 80% loan-to-value — it’s not used to qualify a straight rental purchase.
Where the General Rule Breaks: The Edge Cases
Real estate equity is the most common source of confusion. An investor sitting on substantial equity across a rental portfolio often assumes that wealth should count toward a depletion calculation. It doesn’t. Equity is illiquid — it can’t be deployed monthly the way a brokerage account can. The right tool for unlocking that value is a cash-out refinance on the property itself, not an asset depletion loan on a different property.
Cryptocurrency is broadly excluded from the income side of the ledger. It may occasionally support a down payment, closing costs, or reserves under separate rules, but it doesn’t get folded into the depletion divisor.
Unvested and restricted stock generally doesn’t qualify, because the borrower doesn’t have unrestricted access to sell it. This shows up constantly with startup and tech-sector borrowers holding paper wealth that no exchange has priced yet. Once shares actually vest and become liquid, they move into the eligible category and can flow through the same divisor math as any other brokerage holding.
Business funds, gift funds, and most trust structures get excluded or restricted, because the underwriting question is always the same: does this borrower personally, individually, and immediately control this money? Funds sitting in a business entity or an irrevocable trust where the borrower isn’t the direct beneficiary typically fail that test.
The retirement age line at 59½ creates a real difference in usable balance. Two borrowers holding identical retirement account values can end up with meaningfully different qualifying income, purely based on which side of that birthday they’re on.
For contrast, it helps to know how agency-style asset depletion works. This is the version used on owner-occupied conforming loans, and it draws from a narrower list than the non-QM version described above. Fannie Mae’s employment-related assets method pulls only from sources like 401(k)s, IRAs, Keogh accounts, severance, and qualifying lump-sum retirement distributions. It also requires the lender to document that the income will continue for at least three years from the note date, per Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide. This method specifically excludes items non-QM programs will often accept — stock options, non-vested restricted stock, lawsuit proceeds, lottery winnings, real estate sale proceeds, inheritance, and divorce proceeds. That’s a much tighter list than the one non-QM lenders typically work from.
A Note on New Hampshire
Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending arranges bank-statement and asset depletion loans for owner-occupied and second-home purchases. This platform currently operates in 16 states, and New Hampshire is not one of them. The mechanics described here apply wherever this program type is offered. If you’re shopping this product in New Hampshire, confirm licensed availability with any lender before assuming you qualify. This footprint is separate from Lendmire’s business-purpose DSCR investor lending. That program arranges rental-property financing across a much wider 40-market footprint, including Washington, D.C.
Asset Depletion vs. the Rental-Property Path
If the property being financed is a rental, not a residence, there’s usually a more direct path. It’s a loan that qualifies off the property’s own income rather than the borrower’s personal balance sheet. That’s what a DSCR loan is at its core: the lender checks whether market rent covers the monthly obligation. It doesn’t pull traditional personal-income documentation or asset statements from the borrower at all. It’s a fundamentally different qualification question — property cash flow, not personal wealth.
Say an investor’s real net worth sits in illiquid rental equity rather than a brokerage account. That investor will typically find the property-income path more directly usable for the rental itself. Asset depletion stays reserved for the personal-residence or second-home decision that runs alongside the investment portfolio — not for the rental purchase itself.
Here’s the regulatory backdrop in short. Non-QM loans fall outside Qualified Mortgage status. Because of this, the federal Ability-to-Repay standard doesn’t set one specific formula for calculating income. Instead, it requires a reasonable, good-faith determination of repayment ability, according to the CFPB’s ATR/QM Compliance Guide. That gap is exactly why divisors and eligible-asset lists vary so widely from one lender to the next.
DSCR loans sit in a related but distinct category: they’re business-purpose loans for non-owner-occupied property, reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage because the qualifying question is rent, not personal income or assets at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to spend down my accounts to use asset depletion?
No. The calculation is a paper exercise run against verified account balances — nobody requires you to actually liquidate anything. Your accounts stay exactly where they are; the lender simply uses the balances to build a monthly income figure for underwriting.
Does my net worth automatically qualify me?
No. Total net worth isn’t the input — only specific, liquid, individually accessible assets count, and real estate equity is excluded from the calculation entirely. A borrower with substantial equity but limited liquid savings may qualify for far less income than their overall balance sheet would suggest.
Can I combine asset depletion with other income?
Generally, yes — many files layer asset-based income alongside wages, self-employment income, Social Security, or pension income. The specific combination and how it’s weighed depends on the borrower profile, the lender, and the program guidelines in place at the time of the file.
Does my retirement account count at full value?
Usually not at full value. Through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, retirement accounts commonly count around 70% of value, rising to roughly 80% once the borrower is 59½ or older — a haircut tied directly to early-withdrawal penalty exposure.
Is asset depletion the right tool for buying a rental property?
Not usually. It’s built primarily for owner-occupied and second-home qualification. For a rental purchase or refinance, a loan that is reviewed on the property’s own rent — DSCR vs. asset depletion lays out the distinction — is typically the more direct path.
If you’re weighing whether asset depletion, a bank-statement program, or a rental-income-based loan fits your situation, Lendmire can help you compare options based on your asset mix, credit profile, and goals for the property.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan programs page.
Self-employed borrowers can compare both super jumbo programs on Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page.
About Lendmire
A non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire arranges DSCR financing for real estate investors in 40 markets — 39 states plus Washington, D.C. Because deals are underwritten primarily on property cash flow rather than personal income documentation, the structure suits self-employed buyers and entity-owned portfolios. Lendmire places loans through wholesale investor lenders; it is not a direct lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. IRS — Retirement Plans FAQs on IRA Distributions
2. Fannie Mae Selling Guide — B3-3.1-01 General Income Information
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
- North Carolina Real Estate Broker · License# 343312 · Verify on NCREC
- North Carolina Insurance Producer · License# 19053198 · Property, Casualty, Life, Health · Verify on NAIC SBS
- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
