Current asset-based guidelines, updated from one source.
The block below is the asset-based program reduced to the figures that decide a file, read from Lendmire’s single guideline source and refreshed on this page when the wholesale sheets change: the loan ceiling on each path, the credit floor, the leverage by purpose and occupancy, and the share of each account type that counts. Everything else on the page is explanation.
Up to $4,000,000 on assets alone; $3,500,000 when assets become income
Loan size follows the path. Covering the loan outright with usable assets reaches $4,000,000; spreading a pool of assets into a monthly income reaches $3,500,000 and starts at $125,000. The amount on either path is a program parameter, subject to the lender’s guidelines at lock.
The asset qualifier path’s published floor; the depletion path follows the suite’s score and amount matrix
The asset qualifier path publishes a 600 decision-score floor. The asset depletion path follows the score and loan-amount matrix of the documentation suite it belongs to, where the floor rises with the leverage and the amount. The score is read from the credit report at application; it is never promised here.
That ceiling on a purchase and 75% on a refinance when assets cover the loan; 60% on a depletion cash-out
Leverage tops out at 80% on a purchase whichever path carries the file. The paths part on the refinance: 75% when the assets cover the loan, and on the depletion side 80% for a rate-and-term and 60% for a cash-out. Investment property, available on the depletion path only, is capped lower.
Credited under 59½, and at 59½ or older, when assets cover the loan; 70% at any age when assets become income
Retirement accounts are the figure that moves most with the borrower. On the asset qualifier path a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% of its balance while the owner is under 59½ and at 100% from 59½ on. On the asset depletion path retirement balances count at 70% of the balance at any age.
| Account type | Credit toward the loan |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts (stocks, bonds, funds) | 100% of the balance |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% of the balance |
| Money market accounts | 100% of the balance |
| Savings and checking | 100% of the balance |
| Retirement accounts (401(k), IRA) — owner under 59½ | 90% of the balance |
| Retirement accounts (401(k), IRA) — owner 59½ or older | 100% of the balance |
| Account type | Share counted |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% of the balance |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% of the balance |
| Securities (stocks, bonds, funds) | 80% of the balance |
| Private stock | 75% of the balance |
| Retirement accounts (any age) | 70% of the balance |
| Real-estate equity | 60% of the balance |
| Path and occupancy | Purchase | Rate-and-term | Cash-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier — primary residence or second home | 80% | 75% | set by the lender |
| Asset depletion — primary residence | 80% | 80% | 60% |
| Asset depletion — second home | 80% | 80% | 60% |
| Asset depletion — investment property | 65% | 65% | 60% |
Two paths behind these pages: on the asset qualifier path the usable assets must equal or exceed the whole loan and no employment or income is documented; on the asset depletion path the usable assets are divided across the published number of months (the table above) into a qualifying income that carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test. Reserves are not required on the qualifier path at or below the refinance leverage; the depletion path asks for statements at least one hundred twenty days old plus a current one. Minimum assets on the depletion path: the lesser of one million dollars or one and a quarter times the loan, never below a quarter million liquid when assets are the only income. Lendmire is a broker, not the lender, and the lender is not named.
Current asset-based snapshot · updated October 21, 2026 · a Lendmire loan officer confirms the path, the asset credit, and the leverage for the file before an offer.
Not a commitment to lend, not an offer of credit, not a quote. The figures shown are current wholesale program parameters that change without notice and apply only after full underwriting of the borrower and the property; the lender is never named on this page and no rate, fee, or payment is quoted. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender, licensed to broker consumer mortgages in sixteen states. NMLS #2371349.
What an asset-based mortgage is — and how the two paths qualify a file.
An asset-based mortgage is a consumer mortgage qualified on what a household owns rather than what it earns. The program behind these pages offers two ways to prove ability to repay from assets, and the choice between them is the first decision in a Highland file: cover the loan outright, or convert the assets into income. The cards below walk through the paths, the account rules, and the seasoning.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program, or the statewide guide at Asset-Based Mortgage in California; for the age rule on retirement withdrawals, see the IRS.
Two paths, one program
Think of the two paths as two thresholds. On the asset qualifier path the threshold is the loan amount itself: the credited balances must reach it. On the asset depletion path the threshold is a ratio: the credited balances, divided into monthly income, must carry the housing payment and the other debts. A Highland file with a large balance sheet usually clears the first; a file with a moderate one is often written on the second.
The asset qualifier path
On the asset qualifier path the lender adds up the eligible accounts, credits each at its share, and compares the total with the loan. Brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and savings count in full; a 401(k) or IRA counts at a reduced share while the owner is under 59½ and in full from 59½ on. Accounts combine across types, so a Highland buyer with a mixed balance sheet is read on the sum.
The asset depletion path
On this path the eligible balances are reduced by account type, the total is spread over the divisor, and the monthly figure is read as income against the housing payment and other debts. Seasoning is longer here than on the asset qualifier path: statements at least four months old at application plus a current one, unless the money came from the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement. A Highland loan officer sorts the eligible accounts from the ineligible ones at the start.
Seasoning, statements, and what counts
Seasoning means how long the money has been where the statements say it is. On the asset qualifier path, two months of statements for each qualifying account is the rule. On the asset depletion path the lender wants statements at least four months old plus the most recent one, with the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement excused from the wait. A Highland buyer planning a purchase after a liquidity event plans the seasoning first.
Every input below is yours: the Highland price, the loan, the balances by account type, the owner’s age against the age line, the benchmark, and the carrying costs. The calculator credits the accounts the way the asset qualifier path does, converts them the way the asset depletion path does, and shows the loan against each, with a thirty-year payment at the benchmark for context.
Highland’s market in figures — and how asset-based lending fits.
An asset-based mortgage is written against the top of a local market, and these are Highland’s numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau: the population, the median home value, the share of households that own, and the owner households the program is sized against. Program figures live in the snapshot above; the figures here describe the market, not the file.
Market context only. These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. A typical value sets the scale of the loan, the ownership share says how many households are likely to be buyers rather than renters, and the owner count says how wide the comparable pool is when the appraisal is written.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Highland neighborhoods, distinct asset files.
No single asset-based file describes Highland. The cards below differ in housing stock, price, occupancy, and the kind of borrower who buys there, and each describes how the program reads a file in that part of the market. The rules do not change with the street; the file does.
Rural acreage and farmettes
A farmette near Highland bought on assets is read in two halves: the accounts, which follow the program’s rules, and the property, which follows the lender’s. Agricultural zoning or use can take a property out of the program regardless of the balance sheet. About 36% of Highland’s households rent — roughly 5,845 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Historic and estate homes
A grand older home in Highland is an appraisal question first. The asset rules do not change: the usable total is read, the path is chosen, and the loan the leverage allows follows the value the appraiser supports. A margin above the loan protects the path choice. The median owner-occupied home value in Highland runs near $485,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer executive subdivisions
Highland’s newer executive subdivisions appraise cleanly and produce the program’s simplest files: a retiree or a seller of a business, a loan inside the purchase leverage, and usable assets that cover it. The only questions are the account rules. On a home in Highland priced at or above the median, the asset qualifier path finances up to 80% of the price on a purchase — the balance of the price is the down payment, and the usable assets must cover the loan itself.
Second homes in the area
Highland’s second homes are bought on assets by households with a residence elsewhere and a portfolio. The asset qualifier path covers the loan when the balances allow; the depletion path converts them when they do not. Roughly 10,420 Highland households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 64% of all households, the pool an asset-based purchase joins.
Lakefront and view properties
A Highland waterfront home bought on assets is a second-home or principal-residence file like any other on the account side. The appraisal and the insurance are the property’s questions; the loan officer orders both early so the leverage and the payment are known before the file is placed. Median household income in Highland sits near $77,120 on the latest Census estimate.
The retiree buying on a portfolio
In a smaller market like Highland the balance sheet often covers the loan outright. When it does not, a supplemented depletion file with the pension and the derived income together is the common answer, with the minimum-assets rule waived. A loan officer runs both versions on the same statements. Highland is home to about 57K people.
Submarkets change the appraisal and the price. They do not change the credit percentages, the haircuts, the divisor, the leverage ceilings, or the seasoning. A Highland file is qualified on those rules wherever the home is.
Four ways Highland buyers put their assets to work.
What a Highland buyer does with an asset-based mortgage depends on the balance sheet and the occupancy. The four uses below cover the typical purchases and refinances, with the path, the leverage, and the account rules that apply to each.
Buy after a liquidity event, before the next venture
The seller of a Highland business, the founder after an exit, the household after an inheritance: the money is new, large, and often unaccompanied by income. The asset qualifier path reads it once the two months of statements exist; the depletion path excuses the usual seasoning for sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds.
Keep the investments invested
For a Highland buyer weighing a cash purchase against a mortgage, the asset-based program offers the mortgage without the income file. The assets are counted on paper, the home is financed, and the portfolio stays invested. A loan officer shows the two paths on the actual balances before the offer is written.
Finance a second home or a rental on assets
For a rental, the asset depletion path is the only path open, at the investment-property leverage, with cash-out at the depletion path’s cash-out ceiling. For a second home, both paths are open. A Highland loan officer sorts the occupancy first, because it decides the path before the balances are even read.
Buy a home on assets alone, with no income in the file
The defining use of the program is the purchase qualified on the balances: brokerage, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and retirement accounts credited by the owner’s age, adding up to the loan. For a Highland retiree the file is the statements and the credit report, and the home can be the principal residence or a second one.
Measure a Highland loan against the assets before requesting a review.
Use the calculator to see which path a Highland balance sheet favors. If the usable assets cover the loan, the asset qualifier path is open and no income enters the file; if they fall short, the depletion reading beside it shows the monthly income the assets would produce and the payment that income would need to carry.
Highland asset coverage estimate
A worked Highland example to start from: price, loan, cash, brokerage, and retirement balances with the owner under the age line. The results show the asset qualifier verdict first and the depletion reading beneath it.
Editable benchmark: 7.40% as of October 15, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an asset-based mortgage quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $675,000 price above the Highland median, a loan at seventy percent of the price, a balance sheet split among cash, brokerage, and retirement accounts with the owner under 59½, a thirty-year payment at the current Freddie Mac conforming benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for California (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The credit percentages, the haircuts, and the divisor are wholesale program parameters hydrated from Lendmire’s guideline endpoint; the lender’s own calculation governs, and which accounts count, how they season, and what the age rule allows are settled in underwriting. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conforming benchmark, a market reference and not an asset-based mortgage quote; the terms on an asset-based mortgage are set by the lender at lock. Taxes and insurance are estimates. Nothing here is tax or investment advice.
Same buyer, three ways to document the file.
For a Highland buyer with assets and an unconventional income picture, the comparison is between covering the loan, depleting the assets, and documenting deposits. The rows set out the strengths of each, and the last row says where each one fits.
Assets that cover the loan, assets as income, or deposits as income.
Usable assets equal to the whole loan, no employment or income documented, principal residences and second homes, purchase and refinance at the path’s leverage, two months of statements, reserves not required at or below the refinance leverage. The path with the fewest questions, and the one that asks the assets to cover the whole loan.
The path for the household whose savings are real but smaller than the loan. It can carry a loan the balances would not cover outright, widens the occupancies to include rentals, and adds a cash-out ceiling; in exchange it brings the ratio back and counts retirement money at a flat haircut.
The deposit route reads the statements for inflows rather than balances. For a business owner whose accounts turn over, it can produce a larger qualifying income than depleting the balance would; for a retiree with no deposits, it produces nothing. See Lendmire’s bank statement loan program.
Assets that cover the loan, assets that become income, deposits that become income: three answers to one question, and the right one for a Highland household is read off its statements. The comparison on this page is run for real on every file before the lender’s terms are put in writing. Loans above the conforming limit on documented income: Lendmire’s jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a Highland scenario review.
Preparation for a Highland asset-based review is mostly gathering: the statements for each account, the age of the owner of each retirement account, the credit report, and, on the depletion path, any income the asset income will supplement. The items below are the ones a loan officer asks for first.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the path, the accounts, and the credit picture. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
The figures in the snapshot are the program’s; the details below are where a Highland file moves. Which side of the age line the owner stands on, how long the money has been in place, which accounts the lender will count, and which path the occupancy allows are settled before the terms are written.
Use these checks to keep the Highland file clean and fundable.
The checklist for a Highland asset-based file starts with the accounts: the age of each retirement owner, the months of statements, the eligibility of each account type. The path and the leverage follow from the answers.
- Confirm the age rule: the depletion path haircuts retirement balances at a flat share regardless of age.
- Count the months: a sale of a business, an inheritance, or a settlement is excused from the depletion wait.
- Name the occupancy: investment property opens the depletion path only, at its own ceiling.
Retirement accounts and the age line
The owner’s age decides how much of a 401(k) or IRA counts on the asset qualifier path: a reduced share under 59½ and the full balance from 59½ on. For a Highland file built mostly on retirement money, a birthday can be the difference between covering the loan and falling short, and a loan officer checks the date against the age line before the path is chosen.
Seasoning by path
Seasoning is the detail that most often sets the calendar for a Highland asset-based purchase. The asset qualifier path is the shorter wait; the depletion path is longer except where the funds came from the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement. A loan officer reads the statements against the path’s clock before the contract is signed.
Occupancy decides the path
A principal residence or a second home can be written on either path. An investment property can be written on the asset depletion path only, at a lower leverage ceiling, and a first-time investor needs a stronger score. For a Highland buyer, naming the occupancy honestly is the first step, because it settles which path is open before the balances are read.
Supplementing income with asset income
Supplementing changes the arithmetic without changing the accounts: the same haircut total, the same divisor, the same monthly figure, added to a documented income instead of standing alone. A Highland retiree with Social Security and a portfolio is the typical supplemented file, and the combined ratio is read within forty-five percent.
Which accounts count
Most of the eligible list is shared by both paths, with real-estate equity and private stock counting on the depletion path only; the share counted is what differs. A Highland household whose wealth sits in a private company, in options, or in an account held abroad may find the usable total smaller than the net worth suggests, and the sorting is done before the path is chosen so the result is not a surprise.
From a Highland asset review to keys in hand.
The process is short on paperwork about income and long on paperwork about accounts. A Highland buyer who understands that order, statements first, then contract, then underwriting, then closing, arrives at each step prepared.
Asset review
Start with the statements, the credit score, the occupancy, and the purpose. A Lendmire loan officer sorts the eligible accounts, applies the credit shares and the haircuts, reads the usable total against the loan on the asset qualifier path and into income on the depletion path, confirms the age rule for each retirement account, and puts the result in writing.
Contract and appraisal
The contract sets the price the loan is measured against; the appraisal confirms the value supports it. On a Highland file where the assets just cover the loan, an appraisal that lands under the price is answered with a larger down payment, which lowers the loan the assets must cover.
Underwriting
Conditions, when they come, are usually documentary: a missing statement page, a deposit without its source, an account that needs its holdings shown. A Highland buyer who gathered the list on this page meets most of them before they are asked. The underwriter’s questions are the loan officer’s questions asked a second time, on the same statements.
Closing
At closing the down payment and the closing costs are paid, the loan funds, and the accounts that qualified the file stay where they were. The lender reads the balances as they stand after the funds to close are drawn, which is why a Highland file keeps a margin above the threshold.
A brokerage that reads both paths.
The program behind these pages is placed with select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, and Lendmire is never the lender. What the brokerage adds is the comparison: the asset qualifier path against the depletion path against a bank statement loan on the same Highland statements, and written terms for the one that fits.
Both paths, one set of statements
The comparison printed on this page is run for real on every Highland file: assets that cover the loan beside assets that become income beside deposits read as income, and the written terms follow from it. The buyer sees the usable total on each path, the margin above the loan, and the derived income beside the payment before anything is signed.
The account rules explained before the offer
Reading the statements early is the whole method. A Highland loan officer sorts the accounts, confirms the owners’ ages against the age line, counts the months, and names the usable total on each path, in writing, before an offer is drafted. The aim is a file with as little as possible left to be discovered in underwriting.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Every figure on this page is a program parameter drawn from one guideline source. The written terms for a Highland file come from a licensed loan officer after the review, the credit report, and the appraisal; the page is where the method is explained, not where the loan is made.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Highland asset-based mortgage FAQs
The questions Highland buyers bring to an asset-based mortgage, answered in order: the two paths, the age rule, the seasoning, the eligible accounts, the leverage, the occupancies, and the comparison with a bank statement loan.
What is an asset-based mortgage?
A mortgage qualified on assets instead of income, in two forms: the asset qualifier path, where the usable assets equal or exceed the loan, and the asset depletion path, where the assets are divided into a monthly income. A Highland loan officer reads the statements against both before recommending one.
How does the asset qualifier path work?
The lender adds up the eligible accounts, credits each at its share, and compares the total with the loan. If the total equals or exceeds the loan, the Highland file is read on assets alone: no employment verification, no tax returns, no income calculation. The leverage is a share of the price on a purchase and a lower share of the value on a refinance.
How does the asset depletion path work?
The assets are haircut by type and divided by the divisor into a monthly income that runs through the ratio test. Seasoning is longer on this path: statements at least four months old plus a current one, with sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds excused. Cash-out refinances have their own ceiling, cash-out proceeds never count as assets, and a first-time investor needs a stronger score than an owner-occupant.
How are 401(k) and IRA balances counted, and why does 59½ matter?
The age line is applied per owner and per account. A Highland couple with accounts on both sides of 59½ sees each credited by its own owner’s age, and the sum counts against the loan. The accounts are not drawn on; the rule governs the credit, not the custody.
What credit score does an asset-based mortgage need?
A clean recent housing record and a score at or above the floor are the expectation. A Highland buyer with a strong portfolio and a weak score is not repaired by the portfolio; the credit question is answered first, and the asset question second.
Are reserves required?
Not on the asset qualifier path at or below the refinance leverage; above it the lender sets the requirement. The depletion path lists no reserve months of its own, though the assets producing the income are by nature in reserve. A Highland loan officer confirms what, if anything, must be held after closing.
Can I take cash out?
A Highland owner refinancing on assets plans a cash-out against the depletion path’s cash-out ceiling, which sits below the rate-and-term ceiling on every occupancy. The usable total is read before the proceeds, never after, because cash-out proceeds are excluded from the assets by rule.
How large can the loan be?
Up to the snapshot’s figure on assets alone, and up to the depletion path’s figure when assets are read as income, with a published minimum on the depletion side. A Highland file near either ceiling is read closely for how much the usable assets exceed the amount the path requires.
How is this different from a bank statement loan?
A bank statement loan reads the deposits flowing into a self-employed owner’s accounts as income; an asset-based mortgage reads the balances sitting in the accounts. The first suits the Highland business owner with strong cash flow and modest savings; the second suits the household with strong savings and little or no income. Lendmire places both.
How long do the assets need to be in the accounts?
On the asset qualifier path, two months of statements for each qualifying account. On the asset depletion path, a statement at least four months old at application plus the most recent one, with funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement excused from the wait. The money must be traceable as the borrower’s.
Qualify on what you own in Highland, with both paths read.
Share the balance sheet once; the review covers the asset qualifier path, the asset depletion path, and the alternatives on the same statements. The terms come in writing from a licensed loan officer.
This guide covers Highland — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Asset-Based Mortgage in California, part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program.
Nearby markets in California: Redlands · San Bernardino · Yucaipa · Colton · Rialto · Moreno Valley · Fontana · Riverside
Related programs: Bank Statement Loans · Jumbo Loans · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans