Current asset-based guidelines, updated from one source.
One guideline source feeds every number here, and the page updates when the source does. The four cards carry the headline figures; the tables underneath show how each account type is credited on the asset qualifier path, how each is haircut on the asset depletion path, and what leverage each path and occupancy allows. The wholesale lender is not named.
Up to $4,000,000 on assets alone; $3,500,000 when assets become income
Up to $4,000,000 on assets alone, and up to $3,500,000 when assets are read as income: the two paths carry different ceilings because they prove ability to repay in different ways. A loan officer confirms which path the file fits before the amount is settled.
The asset qualifier path’s published floor; the depletion path follows the suite’s score and amount matrix
The published floor is 600 for the asset qualifier path. The asset depletion path prices by score tier inside the documentation suite’s matrix, and the leverage available at a given score falls as the loan grows. Either way the score is one input among several, settled in underwriting.
That ceiling on a purchase and 75% on a refinance when assets cover the loan; 60% on a depletion cash-out
The leverage ceilings are 80% for a purchase and 75% for a refinance on the asset qualifier path, and 80% for a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% for a cash-out on the asset depletion path, both on a principal residence or second home. The leverage table shows the investment-property row.
Credited under 59½, and at 59½ or older, when assets cover the loan; 70% at any age when assets become income
90% under the age line, 100% at or past it: that is how a retirement balance is credited when the assets must cover the loan. When the assets are instead converted into income, the same balance counts at 70% whatever the owner’s age. The difference can decide which path fits.
| 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.
The program’s distinguishing rule is how much of an account it counts, and that it will count retirement money on the path that documents no income at all. For an Elkhart household living on a portfolio, the practical questions are which path fits, how each account type is credited, and how long the money needs to have been in place. The four cards answer them in order.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program, or the statewide guide at Asset-Based Mortgage in Indiana; for the age rule on retirement withdrawals, see the IRS.
Two paths, one program
The asset qualifier path and the asset depletion path share a premise and differ in arithmetic. Both qualify an Elkhart buyer on eligible accounts rather than earnings. The first requires the usable assets to equal or exceed the entire loan and documents no employment or income; the second does not require the assets to cover the loan: it converts them into a monthly income and runs that income through the debt-to-income test with the new payment included.
The asset qualifier path
The credited total must reach the loan amount, and the loan must sit inside the path’s leverage: a share of the price on a purchase, a lower share of the value on a refinance. Reserves are not required at or below the refinance leverage. The usual way an Elkhart file that falls short is repaired is a larger down payment, which lowers the loan to what the assets cover.
The asset depletion path
Occupancy widens on this path: principal residences and second homes at the published purchase and rate-and-term leverage, investment property at a lower ceiling, and cash-out refinances at their own ceiling on every occupancy. Cash-out proceeds never count as assets. An Elkhart buyer financing a rental on assets is on this path, and a first-time investor needs a stronger score than an owner-occupant.
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. An Elkhart buyer planning a purchase after a liquidity event plans the seasoning first.
Two paths, one set of inputs. The calculator shows the largest loan the assets would cover on the asset qualifier path inside the leverage ceiling, and the monthly income the same accounts would produce on the asset depletion path, so an Elkhart buyer can see which path the balance sheet favors before a loan officer confirms it.
Elkhart’s market in figures — and how asset-based lending fits.
The local median home value is the floor of the conversation for a buyer who qualifies on assets, not the ceiling: the program’s loan amounts run well past it. The Census figures below give Elkhart’s population, typical home value, and ownership, the ground an asset-based file sits above.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. 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 Elkhart neighborhoods, distinct asset files.
Where an Elkhart buyer is looking shapes the file as much as the balance sheet does. The cards below walk through the city’s submarkets and the asset-based questions each raises: the price the assets must cover, the occupancy the path allows, and the valuation the appraiser faces.
Close-in architect-designed homes
Value drives the leverage on a one-of-a-kind Elkhart home; the accounts drive the rest. A loan officer runs the file at the contract price and at a lower appraised value so the buyer knows the margin on both before the offer. A margin above the loan is the usual protection. On a home in Elkhart 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.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Small multi-unit buildings in Elkhart attract the asset-rich buyer who wants rental income beside the portfolio. Financed as an investment, the file is a depletion file: haircut assets divided into income, the investment leverage row, and a stronger score for a first-time investor. The median owner-occupied home value in Elkhart runs near $139,500 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer luxury infill and new construction
A newer Elkhart home at the top of the market rarely draws condition notes; the question is whether the balance sheet covers a loan that size or converts into an income that carries it. The loan officer reads the statements against the program ceiling before the contract. Roughly 11,466 Elkhart households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 53% of all households, the pool an asset-based purchase joins.
Estate properties
At the top of the Elkhart market the question is rarely whether the household can afford the home; it is how the lender documents that it can. The asset qualifier path answers with statements; the depletion path answers with a derived income; a loan officer shows both before the offer. Median household income in Elkhart sits near $51,028 on the latest Census estimate.
High-rise and luxury condominiums
An Elkhart condominium bought on assets is an asset-based file with the building added. Established projects usually pass review; the account rules are the same as for a house, and the asset qualifier path keeps income out of the file when the usable total covers the loan. Two months of statements season the proceeds. Elkhart is home to about 54K people and sits within the Elkhart-Goshen, IN area.
Second homes and pied-à-terre purchases
Second homes are the program’s natural fit in Elkhart: a portfolio, a residence elsewhere, and a city unit bought on the balances. The occupancy is confirmed with the borrower’s intent and the property’s use, and the second-home row of the leverage table applies. About 47% of Elkhart’s households rent — roughly 10,086 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Whichever Elkhart neighborhood the home sits in, the asset-based questions are the same: which accounts count, at what share, whether the total covers the loan, and if not, what income the depletion path produces. The cards are context; the snapshot is the rule.
Four ways Elkhart buyers put their assets to work.
The uses below are the ones Elkhart loan officers see most: the retiree buying on a portfolio, the seller of a business buying before the next venture, the household keeping the investments invested, the second home bought on assets. Each is a different file on the same two paths.
Turn a portfolio into qualifying income
An Elkhart buyer whose assets are substantial but short of the loan uses the asset depletion path: the eligible accounts are haircut by type, added up, and divided by the divisor into a monthly income that carries the new payment through the debt-to-income test. The minimum-assets rule applies when that income stands alone, and is waived when it supplements documented earnings.
Buy after a liquidity event, before the next venture
A liquidity event produces exactly the balance sheet the program is built for: assets well above the loan and earnings that have paused. An Elkhart buyer in that position covers the loan on the asset qualifier path with no income in the file, or, if the proceeds are smaller, converts them into income on the depletion path with the seasoning excused.
Keep the investments invested
An Elkhart household that could pay cash often prefers not to: selling the portfolio interrupts its income and empties accounts that took decades to build, and the sale itself has consequences a tax adviser, not a lender, should weigh. The asset-based mortgage lets the assets qualify the loan while staying where they are. The accounts are documented, not drawn down, and neither path requires the balances to be moved.
Buy a home on assets alone, with no income in the file
When the balance sheet covers the loan, an Elkhart household keeps the income question out of the file entirely. The lender credits the accounts, confirms the total against the loan, checks the leverage for a purchase, and reads the credit report; reserves are not required at or below the refinance leverage, and the path reaches well into the jumbo range.
Measure an Elkhart loan against the assets before requesting a review.
This is an asset coverage estimate, not an approval: it credits each account type the way the program does, switches the retirement credit at the age line, measures the total against the loan, applies the depletion haircuts and the divisor, and estimates the payment at the Freddie Mac benchmark. An Elkhart loan officer runs the lender’s own version before anything is written.
Elkhart asset coverage estimate
Illustrative Elkhart figures, all editable: the price, the loan, three account buckets, the age switch for the retirement credit, the benchmark, taxes, insurance, and other monthly debts for the ratio.
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 $500,000 price above the Elkhart 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 Indiana (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.
Three routes to the same closing table, compared on what each one counts: the balance sheet in full, the balance sheet as income, or the deposit history of a business owner. An Elkhart loan officer prices the route the file supports best, and the comparison below explains how the choice is made.
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.
Haircut assets divided by the divisor into a monthly income, then the debt-to-income test with the new payment. Principal residences, second homes, and investment property; purchase, rate-and-term, and cash-out at published ceilings; a minimum-assets rule when the income stands alone; longer seasoning.
A different question entirely: not what the household owns but what the business brings in. The bank statement loan suits the Elkhart owner with strong deposits and modest savings, where the asset-based paths suit the household with strong savings and modest deposits. 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 an Elkhart 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 an Elkhart scenario review.
Because the assets are the whole case on the asset qualifier path and most of it on the depletion path, the lender reads them carefully. An Elkhart buyer who assembles complete statements, with the transfers and the deposits explained, is far less likely to meet the questions that stall a file.
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.
Here are five details, chosen for the Elkhart file, that most often reshape an asset-based loan. The first two apply to nearly every file; the rest depend on the accounts, the occupancy, and the purpose.
Use these checks to keep the Elkhart file clean and fundable.
Three things to settle before an Elkhart review: which side of the age line the owner of each retirement account stands on, whether every account has seasoned for the path, and whether the usable total reaches the loan or the file belongs on the depletion path instead.
- Confirm the age rule: each retirement account is credited by its owner’s age on the asset qualifier path.
- Count the months: the depletion path wants a statement at least four months old plus a current one.
- Read the credit report: the asset qualifier path publishes a credit floor; the depletion path reads a matrix.
Retirement accounts and the age line
The age line is applied per owner and per account. An Elkhart couple where one spouse is past 59½ and the other is not sees each account credited by its own owner’s age, and the sum is what counts against the loan. The accounts stay where they are; the age rule governs the credit, not the custody. The birthday is checked against the date of the application.
Seasoning by path
The lender wants to see that the money has been the borrower’s for a while and is not a loan dressed as an asset. Recent transfers are traced to the account they came from; recent deposits are documented with their source. An Elkhart file with a clean trail seasons without friction; one with unexplained deposits waits.
Credit and housing history
Score and credit history decide whether a path is open, and the assets decide what is behind it. For an Elkhart buyer, that order matters: the credit question is answered before the statements are counted, and a weak score is not repaired by a strong portfolio. The report is pulled once and read against the path chosen.
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 an Elkhart 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
Standalone or supplemented is a choice the loan officer makes with the borrower. Standalone depletion income needs the minimum pool; supplemented income needs documented earnings and a combined ratio within forty-five percent. An Elkhart file is run both ways when the earnings exist, and the version with the better ratio is the one placed.
From an Elkhart asset review to keys in hand.
The process is short on paperwork about income and long on paperwork about accounts. An Elkhart buyer who understands that order, statements first, then contract, then underwriting, then closing, arrives at each step prepared.
Asset review
The first conversation settles the shape of an Elkhart file: which path the balances support, what leverage the purpose allows, how long the accounts have seasoned, and whether the usable total clears the loan with a margin. The review names the path, and the loan officer writes the outcome down before any offer is drafted.
Contract and appraisal
The contract sets the price the loan is measured against; the appraisal confirms the value supports it. On an Elkhart 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
Underwriting on an asset-based file is about the accounts: every page of every statement, every large deposit explained, every retirement owner’s age confirmed, the seasoning counted. On the depletion path the ratio is calculated with the new payment; on the asset qualifier path the total is confirmed against the loan.
Closing
The final figures arrive in the closing disclosure, the funds to close are wired from a documented account, and the Elkhart home records in the buyer’s name. Nothing about the portfolio changes unless the buyer chose to draw the down payment from it.
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 Elkhart statements, and written terms for the one that fits.
Both paths, one set of statements
An Elkhart file is never assumed onto a path. The balances are read both ways, and when the depletion income would supplement documented earnings that version is run as well. The recommendation is the version with the cleanest file and the leverage that fits the purpose. The loan officer shows the arithmetic, not just the answer.
The account rules explained before the offer
Which accounts count, how retirement money is credited by age, how long each account must season, what a large deposit needs behind it: an Elkhart buyer hears these before the contract is signed, not after the underwriter asks. The margin above the threshold is shown, so the down payment and the closing costs can be planned around it.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender, and the lender behind these pages is never named. The program parameters shown are wholesale guidelines, subject to change and to full underwriting; the Elkhart loan officer’s written terms are what the buyer relies on.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Elkhart asset-based mortgage FAQs
The questions Elkhart 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?
It is a mortgage where the statements, not the pay stubs, make the case. Two paths run under the program: cover the loan outright with usable assets and document no income, or deplete the assets into a qualifying income and run the usual ratio test. An Elkhart buyer is written on whichever path the balances support.
How does the asset qualifier path work?
It is the simplest file in the program, and the one that asks the assets to cover the whole loan. For an Elkhart retiree with a portfolio equal to the loan, the file is the statements, the credit report, and the appraisal; the age rule on retirement accounts is the detail most often checked.
How does the asset depletion path work?
The depletion path can carry a loan the balances would not cover outright, but it brings the ratio back. When the asset income stands alone, a minimum pool of qualified assets applies; when it supplements documented earnings, the minimum is waived and the combined ratio may run to forty-five percent. An Elkhart loan officer runs both versions where earnings exist.
How are 401(k) and IRA balances counted, and why does 59½ matter?
Retirement money counts on both paths, and it counts most generously on the asset qualifier path for an owner past the age line. For an Elkhart file built mostly on retirement balances, the owner’s birthday can decide whether the assets cover the loan, and a loan officer checks the date first.
What credit score does an asset-based mortgage need?
The asset qualifier path publishes a credit floor, shown in the snapshot above. The asset depletion path reads the score against the documentation suite’s matrix, where the floor rises with the leverage and the loan amount. On the depletion path the housing history is reviewed as well, and a prior housing event waits out the program’s seasoning; the qualifier path publishes the floor alone.
Are reserves required?
Reserves are not required on the asset qualifier path at the published refinance leverage, and the depletion path does not list reserve months. What the lender does read is the usable total after the funds to close are paid, so an Elkhart file keeps a margin above the threshold.
Which accounts count, and which do not?
Brokerage accounts, savings and checking, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and retirement accounts count on both paths. Custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow balances, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, unvested restricted stock, and funds held at non-regulated companies do not. Real-estate equity and private stock count on the depletion path only.
How much can I borrow against the price or the value?
Leverage and the asset threshold work together on the asset qualifier path: lowering the loan with a larger down payment lowers the usable total needed to cover it. The calculator shows the largest loan the assets would cover inside the ceiling for the purpose chosen.
Can I take cash out?
Cash-out is a depletion-path feature with a published ceiling; on the asset qualifier path it is at the lender’s discretion. For an Elkhart file the loan officer confirms which path the refinance sits on and what leverage the purpose allows before the new loan is sized.
How large can the loan be?
On the asset qualifier path the loan is bounded twice: by the program ceiling and by the usable assets, whichever is lower. On the depletion path it is bounded by the ceiling and by the ratio the derived income supports. The calculator on this page shows both bounds on an Elkhart balance sheet.
Buy on assets in Elkhart on the path that fits.
When you are ready, an Elkhart review sizes the loan, settles the path and the leverage, and produces written terms. Nothing on this page commits anyone to lend.
This guide covers Elkhart — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Asset-Based Mortgage in Indiana, part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program.
Nearby markets in Indiana: Mishawaka · Goshen · South Bend · La Porte · Michigan City · Fort Wayne · Gary · Hammond
Related programs: Bank Statement Loans · Jumbo Loans · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans