The Quick Read: It depends on the path. On the asset qualifier path there is no separate dollar floor, because your usable assets must cover the entire loan. On the asset depletion path there is one: the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance, and never below $250,000 liquid when assets are your only income, subject to underwriting.
- The two paths are different tests. A borrower is qualified on one path at a time.
- The floor is measured on usable assets, meaning what counts after haircuts and after money committed to the deal comes out.
- When asset income only supplements documented income, the depletion path waives the minimum-assets rule, but debt-to-income is capped at 45%.
- Cryptocurrency, precious metals and business accounts are not published as eligible. They generally have to become seasoned cash first.
- Rental properties usually fit a different loan, covered below.
Everything here reflects what Lendmire sees placing files through a wholesale network of select lenders. Programs change, and every file is underwritten individually. Lendmire arranges consumer asset-based mortgages in the 16 states where it is licensed for consumer lending.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: the route where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan. No employment or income is documented.
Asset depletion path: the route where usable assets are divided by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income. That income carries the housing payment and other debts.
Usable assets: the share of each balance a lender counts after haircuts and after funds committed to the deal are removed.
Haircut: the discount a lender applies to an account because its value can swing or it is harder to reach.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, divided by your monthly qualifying income.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in your account, shown on statements, before a lender counts them.
Three Kinds of Minimum
Most people asking this question are mixing up three different numbers. Separating them clears up most of the confusion.
| Kind of minimum | What sets it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Program floor | Written guideline | Lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25x the loan |
| Math floor | Divisor and income need | Usable assets / 60 months |
| Practical cushion | Your own comfort | Balance left after closing |
The program floor is a rule. On the depletion path it applies when asset income is your only income. The math floor is arithmetic. If the income the loan needs cannot be produced from your usable assets, nothing else matters. The practical cushion is judgment, and it is the one most borrowers skip.
On the qualifier path the program floor and the math floor collapse into one. Your usable assets must equal or exceed the entire loan amount.
What Counts: From Statement Balance to Usable Balance
A headline balance is rarely the number a lender uses. Each account type gets a percentage, and the two paths use different tables. Never mix them.
| Asset type | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | Cash accounts 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Brokerage accounts / securities | 100% | 80% |
| 401(k) / IRA | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Private stock | Not listed | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 60% |
The qualifier path’s money market and savings count at 100% as well. Accounts combine. These are ceilings from select programs, subject to underwriting.
Some holdings do not count on the depletion path at all: custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, non-vested restricted stock units and funds from non-regulated financial companies. Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles and pledged or borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
Tax treatment of retirement withdrawals varies; consult a qualified professional.
After the percentages, subtract what the deal itself consumes. Down payment and closing costs come out of the pool. Assets used to build qualifying income generally cannot also fund the down payment. Plan on your balance after closing, not your statement total.
Lendmire’s piece Does a Margin Balance Reduce the Assets That Count in Asset Depletion? shows another way a large brokerage account can shrink on paper.
How the 60-Month Math Sets the Real Floor
The depletion path divides usable assets by 60 months. So usable assets must equal 60 times the monthly income your loan needs. That back-solve tells you more than any published floor.
Take a worked case. Say you hold $1,500,000 in total assets, made up of $1,200,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. The securities are counted at 80% while the cash counts at 100%. That is $960,000 plus $300,000, or $1,260,000 of usable assets after haircuts. Divided by 60 months, that is $21,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts through the DTI test.
Now flip it. If you needed $1,500,000 of usable assets and held only securities, you would need about $1,875,000 in the account. Held only in a retirement account at 70%, you would need roughly $2,140,000. The same income need demands a bigger balance when the assets are discounted more.
Compare the qualifier path, where no income is derived. An $800,000 loan with $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100%), $300,000 in a 401(k) under 59½ (90%, or $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100%) counts $800,000 of usable assets. That is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting. Notice the tradeoff: the qualifier path can use a smaller balance but must cover the whole loan, while the depletion path can carry a loan that is large relative to assets only if the income test works.
Agency-style versions of this concept divide over far longer periods than non-QM programs. The same balance produces much less qualifying income under them, which is why those routes demand bigger portfolios.
When Assets Are the Only Income, and When They Aren’t
This is where the floor changes most. On the depletion path, when asset income is your only income, the qualified-assets minimum applies. That means the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance, and never below $250,000 liquid.
Two quick pictures. On a $600,000 loan, 1.25 times is $750,000, which is lower than $1,000,000, so $750,000 is the figure. On a $1,200,000 loan, 1.25 times is $1,500,000, so the $1,000,000 cap applies.
When asset-derived income only supplements documented income, the minimum-assets rule is waived. The tradeoff is a tighter DTI ceiling of 45%. A borrower with a pension, Social Security or part-time consulting income plus a sizable portfolio often lands here.
Credit works differently by path. The qualifier path has a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix, and a first-time investor on that path needs 700. Housing history is 0x30x12, with one 30-day late in the past twelve months considered case by case. These are program ceilings and floors, never offers.
On leverage, the qualifier path goes up to 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance for a principal residence or second home. For an investment property on the depletion path, the limits are 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
Buying a Rental? Check Whether This Is the Right Loan
If the property is a pure rental, the asset-based loan is often not the most efficient structure. Asset depletion tests the person, while a DSCR loan tests the house. Qualification on a DSCR loan runs primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your portfolio then shows up as reserves instead of income. For a deeper walk through, see the complete DSCR loans guide.
A few details separate the two for an investor:
- Asset depletion carries a DTI test and generally personal vesting. DSCR files can usually close in an LLC, subject to program terms.
- If rent falls short of the full payment, DSCR can still be an option. Select lenders in the network offer programs below 1.00 coverage, with leverage and terms adjusted.
- If your income is thin, your portfolio is large and the rent does not cover the payment, asset depletion may be the cleaner fit. It allows investment property at the lower leverage limits above.
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. Under the federal rule on business-purpose credit, credit to buy or maintain a non-owner-occupied rental is generally treated as business purpose, but that treatment fades if you expect to occupy the property more than 14 days in the coming year. Compliance Alliance adds that the word investment alone does not decide it. Loan purpose, occupancy and unit count do.
Where does the dollar floor itself come from, then? Not from regulation. The federal General QM final rule removed the old 43% DTI cap and tells lenders to consider DTI or residual income. It sets no asset minimum. The floors you meet in practice are lender and program guidelines.
Seasoning, Statements and Documents
The assets are documented on both paths. Income documentation drops away on the qualifier path, but documentation does not.
- Qualifier path: 60 days of seasoning, with two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Depletion path: statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
Expect the lender to ask about large or recent deposits. Moving money between your own accounts is easy to explain when the paper trail is clean. A gift or an unexplained transfer is not.
Timing matters because markets move. Securities are valued at the statement date the lender uses. A drop between application and closing can shrink your usable balance and push you under a floor. Leave a margin.
If You’re Short of the Floor
Falling just under is common and often fixable, subject to lender guidelines and credit approval. Practical moves include:
1. Lower the loan amount or raise the down payment, so the floor and the income need both shrink.
2. Blend in documented income, so asset income supplements instead of standing alone.
3. Consolidate accounts held by borrowers on the file. All account holders generally must be borrowers.
4. Convert ineligible holdings to seasoned cash in a regulated account.
5. Wait for statement seasoning to mature.
6. Look at a different program type, such as bank statement qualification if you document income with deposits, or DSCR for a rental.
Quick Self-Check
- Have you decided which path fits: assets cover the loan outright, or assets become income?
- Have you applied the percentages to each account, not just added balances?
- Have you subtracted the down payment and closing costs?
- Is the balance left, divided by 60, enough income for the housing payment and your debts?
- If assets are your only income, are your qualified assets at or above the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan, and at least $250,000 liquid?
- Do your statements meet the seasoning window?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a single national minimum for an asset depletion loan?
No. Floors come from program guidelines, not federal regulation. On the depletion path the floor is the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance when assets are your only income, never below $250,000 liquid. On the qualifier path your usable assets must cover the whole loan.
Do I have to sell my investments?
No. The account stays intact. The lender counts a share of the balance as qualifying income or as coverage for the loan, and nothing is sold or withdrawn. The balance still has to remain available and documented.
Does my IRA count at full value?
Not on the depletion path, where retirement accounts count at 70% at any age. On the qualifier path, 401(k) and IRA balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Which path you use changes the answer.
Can I use real-estate equity or a business I own?
Equity in real estate counts at 60% on the depletion path only. Business accounts beyond your ownership share are not published as eligible, and unsold business stakes generally do not count. Sale-of-business proceeds in a regulated account can count once documented.
Can I use asset income alongside a pension or Social Security?
Yes, on the depletion path. When asset income supplements documented income, the minimum-assets rule is waived, and DTI is capped at 45%. The lender reviews the full file, subject to underwriting.
Next Step
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Figures here are illustrative, the lender’s own calculation governs. This is not a commitment to lend.
About Lendmire
Lendmire — NMLS# 2371349 — is a mortgage broker that arranges bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based home financing in 16 states through wholesale lenders, on primary residences, second homes and investment properties. Every option is subject to the lender’s guidelines and full underwriting. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
2. Compliance Alliance, Regulation Z and Investment Properties
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Does an Asset Depletion Loan Require Any Income? · Can You Do a Cash-Out Refinance on an Asset Depletion Loan? · Retirement Account Withdrawals vs Asset Depletion for a Jumbo Loan
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.