The Quick Read: Let the stock sell-down calendar choose the loan structure, not the other way around: pick the interest-only window that outlasts your last planned sale by a safe margin, and make sure assets you have already diversified cover the higher payment when the window ends. Interest-only means the payment covers interest and no principal for a set number of years. That gives a founder or executive with a big single-stock position breathing room, but only if the sell-down is dated and the exit does not depend on the stock.
- The window should be sized backward from your sell-down schedule, not forward from the lowest early payment.
- Through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, interest-only is a ten-year feature on one program and a five- or seven-year feature on the other.
- Unvested stock never counts toward qualifying assets, and pledged shares draw extra scrutiny.
- A refinance at the end of the window is a new underwriting event, not an extension.
- If you have no dated plan to sell, interest-only is usually the wrong tool.
Key Terms Defined
Interest-only (IO) window: the early years of a loan when your payment covers interest only and the balance stays flat.
Recast: the point where the payment resets to repay the balance over the remaining term, so it steps up.
Vest: the date equity pay, such as restricted stock units, becomes yours and shows up as shares you can hold or sell.
Lockup: a period after a public offering, or a company blackout, when you cannot sell shares.
Sale plan under a pre-arranged schedule (a 10b5-1 plan): a written plan that sets future share sales in advance, so insiders can sell through blackout windows.
Gain budget: the amount of sale gain you decide to realize in a given year, set with your tax professional.
Concentration: a single stock making up a dangerously large share of your net worth.
Securities-based line of credit (SBLOC): a credit line secured by a brokerage portfolio, which lets you borrow without selling.
Why Three Clocks Have to Agree
Three schedules run at once on this kind of file, and the loan is only one of them.
The loan clock is the IO window and the recast date. The stock clock holds your vests, lockups and the sale dates in your plan. The calendar clock is the tax year, because each sale adds to that year’s realized gains.
Most misalignment comes from setting the loan clock first. A borrower picks the longest window on offer, then discovers the stock plan runs longer than the window or the vest dates keep moving. Reverse the order. Draw the stock timeline, then find the structure that fits over it.
Lido Advisors notes that new equity grants keep rebuilding a concentrated position unless shares are sold. It also describes spreading sales across two to four calendar years as a common approach. Those two facts together mean your sell-down may never be a single finish line. It may be a running schedule that continues for as long as you are employed.
How a Super Jumbo IO Window Actually Works
Super jumbo has no single definition. Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, the label covers loans from $300,000 up to $30,000,000, split between two programs.
The two programs are a portfolio non-QM bank-statement program, which carries files to $6,000,000, and a bank program. The bank program’s ladder begins above $4,000,000, overlaps the portfolio program to $6,000,000 and stands alone above that. From here on, the first is the portfolio program and the second is the bank program.
| Factor | Portfolio program | Bank program |
|---|---|---|
| Size range | $300,000 to $6,000,000 | Ladder starts above $4M; alone above $6M |
| IO structure | 40-year term, 10-year IO | 5- and 7-year fixed-period adjustables |
| IO leverage ceiling | Up to 85% LTV, 700 credit floor | 60% LTV or the band ceiling, if lower |
| Documentation | 12 or 24 months of statements | 12 months of statements |
LTV, or loan-to-value, is the loan divided by the property’s value. These are ceilings through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting. The 85% figure applies on a primary-residence purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and never above the ladder for your occupancy type. Cash-out never takes the interest-only ceiling. It follows the cash-out column of the ladder instead.
On the portfolio program, a 40-year term with a ten-year IO period leaves thirty years of amortization after the recast. The payment steps up because the whole balance now repays over a shorter remaining term.
The bank program works differently. Its IO structures are five- and seven-year fixed-period adjustables, and a ten-year fixed-period adjustable on that program is fully amortizing, so it offers no IO window at all. An adjustable can also reprice when its fixed period ends. Check whether the IO end and any adjustment land together, because that stacks two changes on one date.
Above $4,000,000, every figure here is reviewed case by case before submission. Treat any leverage number at that size as a starting point for review, not a promise.
How Underwriting Treats a Concentrated Stock Borrower
Underwriting looks at where qualifying income and reserves come from, and a stock-heavy borrower usually fits one of three paths.
Bank statements. Founders and self-employed borrowers often qualify on 12 or 24 months of deposits after an expense ratio. Transfers from your own business into a personal account count in full. Your stock does not need to produce income on this path, but your reserves still matter. Reserves run 3 months to $500,000, 6 months to $1,500,000 and 9 months above, with more for additional financed properties.
Asset allowance. Liquid assets are divided by 36, 60 or 84 months and added to income. It applies to primary and second homes, up to 80% LTV. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Assets only. This path needs no debt-to-income test. U.S. liquid assets must equal the loan plus closing costs plus sixty months of any net loss on other residential property.
Three rules matter most for stock-comp borrowers.
- Unvested stock never counts. Vested shares in a brokerage account are assets, but lenders review how liquid and concentrated they are.
- Retirement accounts count at 70% of their value, or 80% once you reach 59.5.
- Pledged or borrowed-against shares are reviewed and may be excluded or reduced. Ask the program directly before you rely on them.
Here is the central alignment risk. Underwriters verify assets at application. If your plan sells the stock down during the IO window, the asset base that qualified the loan shrinks. Nobody re-checks it mid-loan, but a refinance later will see the lower balance.
The Six-Step Alignment Method
1. Inventory the position. List every holding: vested shares, unvested grants, shares in retirement plans and any pledged shares. Mark which are settled and which depend on a future event.
2. Set a gain budget. Decide how much gain you will realize each year and how many years the sell-down will run. Selling has tax consequences, so set the budget with a tax professional. A budget written down before the loan closes keeps you from waiting for a better price while the IO runway burns. Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; borrowers should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
3. Map vests and lockups. Put every vest date, blackout window and lockup on one calendar. Insiders, such as officers, directors and 10% owners, usually sell through a pre-arranged plan. Chesapeake Financial Planning notes that a cooling-off period delays the first sale under such a plan. Budget roughly three to four months for that delay, and confirm the exact rule text with your counsel.
4. Back-solve the IO length. Find the date your last planned sale finishes. Add a cushion of a year or more as a rule of thumb. Then compare that date with the structures available. You rarely dial the length freely. You choose between a ten-year window on the portfolio program and a five- or seven-year window on the bank program.
5. Size the post-recast payment and its source. Decide where the higher payment comes from before you sign. The best sources are a diversified portfolio built from earlier sales, a cash reserve, or income that does not depend on the stock. Do not count a vest, bonus or liquidity event that is not yet certain.
6. Set a fallback with triggers. Write down what you will do if the stock drops, a vest slips or a sale cap is missed. A trigger might be a price level, a missed milestone or a date. The fallback might be accelerating sales, adding a cash reserve or making a principal paydown.
| Item | Year 0 | Years 1-3 | Years 4-7 | End of IO window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loan | IO starts | Interest only | Interest only | Payment steps up |
| Stock | Inventory done | Staged sales | Buffer period | Fully diversified |
| Calendar | Gain budget set | Annual gains | Reserve builds | Reset funded |
Worked Example: Base Case and Falling-Stock Case
Picture a founder with vested company shares, qualifying on business bank statements. She buys a $2,800,000 primary residence on the portfolio program at 80% LTV, which sits in the $2.5 million to $3 million band. That leverage typically needs 720 or higher credit, through select wholesale programs, subject to underwriting.
Her plan sells the position over three years, after a lockup clears. The ten-year IO window leaves seven spare years past the last sale. That is more runway than she needs. The cost is no principal paydown during those years, so equity grows only from appreciation and any extra payments she chooses to make.
Now raise the price. A $4,500,000 primary-residence purchase falls in the bank program’s band. Leverage tops out at 65%, but IO on that program is limited to 60% LTV, or the band ceiling if lower, so an interest-only loan here is sized at 60%, with a five- or seven-year window. A three-year sell-down still fits inside a five-year window, but the cushion is thinner. Any slip in the plan eats a larger share of the runway. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Then run the falling-stock case. In year one, her stock drops sharply and she misses her first sale target. Her pre-set trigger moves the next two vests into immediate sales. Those proceeds go into a diversified reserve earmarked for the recast, not back into the company stock. When the window ends, the payment is funded from that reserve. The loan does not depend on the remaining shares recovering.
| Plan type | IO window fit | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Staged sales over several years | Strong, if window outlasts them | Missing annual targets |
| Steady vesting, ongoing grants | Fair, since concentration rebuilds | Runway ends before sales do |
| One expected liquidity event | Weak unless the date is firm | Event slips past the reset |
| Hold and hedge | Poor, no dated exit | Recast arrives with no plan |
Where the Rule Breaks
Insiders and lockups. The sale calendar can start months later than you expect. A post-IPO lockup can delay liquidity even longer. Build the loan clock around the realistic first-sale date, not the vest date.
Two positions in one household. Spouses can stagger plans or run them in parallel. Coordinate gains across both, because a schedule that ignores taxes can solve concentration and create a new problem. Concurrent Financial Planning describes staggering a couple’s plans by several months to fit separate blackout calendars.
Cash-out files. Cash-out never takes the IO ceiling. On the portfolio program, cash-out above 60% LTV caps at $1,500,000 in hand, and cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves on files above the super-jumbo line. Those overlays begin above $3,500,000 on a primary residence and $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property. Each figure is subject to lender guidelines and a complete review of property type, leverage, and credit.
Larger loans. Above those lines, a 700 credit floor, a 0x30x24 housing history and 48-month seasoning on any credit event apply on top of the ordinary ladder. Above $4,000,000 the whole file is reviewed before submission.
Investment property. Business-purpose loans take their own leverage ladder, and the purchase ceiling runs lower than the primary-residence figure in most bands. Read each figure from the occupancy’s own ladder.
Bridge, Don’t Pledge
An SBLOC looks like an easy way to raise cash without selling. Schwab notes it cannot be used to buy securities. That is the key difference from margin lending.
The risk is collateral monitoring. Schwab explains that a drop in portfolio value can cut the line or trigger a margin call, and concentrated portfolios may face lower lending capacity. A single stock is exactly the collateral most exposed to that.
Stack that on a super jumbo IO loan and the exposure doubles. A falling stock hurts your net worth and your credit line at once. Use a line like this only with a written plan to repay it from sale proceeds.
When IO Is the Wrong Tool
Skip interest-only if any of these are true:
- You have no dated sell-down plan.
- The only exit is hoping the stock keeps rising.
- The post-recast payment depends on shares you have not sold.
- Your plan relies on pledged shares as the main backstop.
- You have not stress-tested a sharp fall in the stock.
In those cases, a fully amortizing structure forces the discipline the plan lacks. It also avoids payment shock. The payment is higher on day one, but it never steps up.
Why Interest-Only Loans Sit Outside the Standard Mortgage Box
Super jumbo IO loans are non-QM, meaning they do not meet the standard qualified-mortgage definition. The CFPB’s compliance guide for ability-to-repay and qualified-mortgage rules says qualified mortgages generally cannot include interest-only payments. A lender can still make the loan, but it must reasonably determine you can repay, including after the window ends. That is why the post-recast payment gets underwritten and why your reset-day plan matters.
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. DSCR means debt service coverage ratio, the property’s rent divided by its monthly debt obligation. Such a loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. An IO payment lowers the debt-service side, so the ratio rises on the same rent. The recast brings the ratio back down, so test the post-reset number first. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide explains how that ratio is built.
If you plan a refinance as your exit, treat it as a new application. For the reset itself, see Lendmire’s piece How to Plan for IO Reset on a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I extend the IO period if my stock plan runs long?
Not as a right. A refinance can create a new IO window, but it replaces the note and requires fresh underwriting. If your income or assets have changed, or your stock has fallen, the terms may change too. Plan the original window to outlast the sell-down with room to spare.
What if the stock falls before the reset?
Your payment stays the same during the IO window, but your assets fall. That matters if you need to refinance, because a new review sees the lower balance. Pre-set sale triggers, a funded reserve and a plan that does not rely on the remaining shares protect you in this case.
Can I count unvested shares to qualify?
No. Unvested stock never counts toward qualifying assets on these programs. Vested shares in your own name can count as liquid assets, subject to program rules. Pledged or borrowed-against shares are reviewed and may be excluded or reduced.
What happens at the end of the IO window?
The payment recalculates to repay the same balance over the remaining term, so it steps up. On the portfolio program, a 40-year term with a ten-year window leaves thirty years of amortization. Your reserve, diversified portfolio or income should already cover that higher payment before the date arrives.
Is interest-only the same on both programs?
No. The portfolio program offers a ten-year window within a 40-year term at up to 85% LTV on purchase and rate-and-term files, with a 700 credit floor. The bank program uses five- and seven-year fixed-period adjustables at 60% LTV or the band’s ceiling, whichever is lower. Programs change and every file is underwritten individually. Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
Next Step
If you are financing a high-balance property on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA and WA. Nothing here is a commitment to lend, and the sale calendar you build deserves as much scrutiny as the loan itself.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states qualify on bank statements, a profit-and-loss statement, 1099s or liquid assets instead of tax returns, through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; program terms are set by the lender and its guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Lido Advisors, Managing Concentrated Stock Positions
2. Chesapeake Financial Planning, Concentrated Stock Positions
3. Concurrent Financial Planning, Company Stock Guide
4. Schwab, What Is a Securities-Based Line of Credit
5. Schwab, 3 Ways to Borrow Against Your Assets
6. CFPB, Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Small Entity Compliance Guide
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Maxed-Out Jumbo vs Super Jumbo Loan for a High-Earning W-2 Buyer · Can You Get a Super Jumbo Mortgage on a Rural Estate? · How to Meet Super Jumbo Takeout Requirements for a Retiree After an SBLOC
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.