The Quick Read: Usually. Cash, certificates of deposit, money market and savings accounts count at full value on both asset-based paths, brokerage and retirement accounts count at a reduced or path-specific share, and business funds, crypto, borrowed money and unvested stock do not count until they are converted into seasoned cash in a regulated account.
- Cash-type accounts (savings, money market, CDs) count at 100% on both paths, subject to underwriting.
- Brokerage accounts count at 100% on the asset qualifier path and 80% (as securities) on the asset depletion path.
- Retirement accounts count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% after on the qualifier path, and at 70% at any age on the depletion path.
- Custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options and unvested restricted stock units are not eligible on the depletion path.
- Every account is documented with statements. “No income documentation” never means “no documentation.”
If you are in New Mexico and your balances are large but your paycheck is small, this is the page to read slowly. The program figures below do not change by state. They are ceilings and floors, not offers, and every file is underwritten individually through select programs in Lendmire’s lender network.
Two Paths, Two Answers
The answer to “which accounts count” depends on the path, because the two asset-based paths use different tables. On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets must cover the whole loan, and no income is documented. On the asset depletion path, eligible assets become monthly income, which then runs through the debt-to-income test.
A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. You never blend the two tables. That one rule explains most of the confusion you see when two lists of “eligible assets” disagree. They are usually describing different paths.
Here is the side-by-side, as these programs typically work across the wholesale network Lendmire places files with. All figures are subject to underwriting and lender guidelines.
| Account type | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Savings, money market, cash | 100% | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | 80% (securities) |
| 401(k) and IRA | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Private stock | Not published | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
Two more differences matter. The qualifier path is a refinance-or-purchase path on principal residences and second homes. The depletion path also reaches investment property, at lower leverage.
Accounts That Count
Cash-type accounts are the strongest on both paths. Savings, money market and CDs carry 100% of their balance. A statement showing the money, held in your name, is about as clean as a file gets.
Brokerage accounts split by path. On the qualifier path, brokerage balances count at 100%. On the depletion path, securities count at 80%, because lenders discount anything that can move with the market. If you hold both stocks and cash, the depletion path rewards the cash.
Retirement accounts count, but at a haircut. A haircut is the percentage the lender trims off a balance before counting it. More on this below.
Private stock and real-estate equity count only on the depletion path. Private stock counts at 75%. Real-estate equity counts at 60%, the lowest share on the table. Equity is the least liquid thing most households own, and the haircut reflects that.
Accounts combine. On the qualifier path, you add up every eligible balance after its percentage and compare the total to the loan. You do not need one account big enough to carry the deal alone.
Accounts That Don’t Count
Anything the lender cannot treat as your own, accessible, regulated money stays out. The reasons are practical. A lender wants funds that exist, belong to you and can be reached without a penalty or a third party’s permission.
On the depletion path, these are not eligible:
- Custodial accounts (the money belongs to a minor, not to you).
- Deferred compensation (you cannot reach it on demand).
- Escrow accounts (the funds are already spoken for).
- Foreign funds.
- Cash on hand (there is no statement trail).
- Stock options and non-vested restricted stock units (you do not own them yet).
- Funds from non-regulated financial companies.
Beyond that list, these asset classes are not published as eligible on either path: cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, business accounts beyond your ownership share, and pledged or borrowed funds. No percentage is attached to them, so do not plan around one.
The documented route is simple. Convert the asset to cash, deposit it in a regulated account in your name, and let the lender review the source. Plan for the paper trail before you list the house, sell the coins or move the business money.
Retirement Accounts, Explained Plainly
Retirement money counts less than cash because it is harder to reach without cost. The two paths handle it differently, which surprises people.
On the qualifier path, a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% if you are under 59½ and at 100% once you are 59½ or older. The age step-up is the program’s way of recognizing that access gets easier at that age. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age, with no step-up.
So the better path for your retirement balance depends on your age and your goal. A 62-year-old with a large IRA and a loan she can cover with assets alone may find the qualifier path far more generous. A 50-year-old who wants a lower payment-to-income test may be on the depletion path regardless, and the 70% applies.
Tax treatment varies by account and by how you use the funds; consult a qualified professional before moving or selling anything. Lendmire also covers how these balances are treated when a lender sets reserves in its piece How to Count Retirement Accounts as Reserves on an Asset Depletion Mortgage.
Whose Name Is on the Account?
The account should be in your name, fully yours and reachable. Lenders want to see the borrower on the statement. That is the baseline across the network.
The harder cases are joint accounts with someone who is not on the loan, trust-titled accounts, entity-held accounts and a spouse’s separate accounts. Each is a lender-by-lender call. The programs do not publish a universal rule, and Lendmire will not invent one.
For a New Mexico borrower, the practical step is to raise titling early. If your money sits in a revocable trust or in an account shared with a family member, put the statements in front of a broker before you pick a path. Moving funds into your own name is often easy. Doing it late can run into seasoning requirements.
Business money deserves its own warning. Funds in a company account count only to the extent of your ownership share, and even then they sit in the “not published” class. If most of your wealth lives inside a business, expect to move it to a personal regulated account first.
From Balances to Usable Assets: Two Worked Examples
The usable pool is smaller than your gross balances, and the lender’s own calculation always governs. These examples are illustrative, using the program percentages and the 60-month divisor. They are not offers.
Asset qualifier path. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% = $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90% = $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100% = $200,000). That counts $800,000 of usable assets, equal to the loan. You qualify on assets alone, subject to credit, property review and underwriting.
Notice what the percentages did. The 401(k) shrank by $30,000 because you are under 59½. At 59½, it would count at full value.
Asset depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities (80% = $1,200,000) and $300,000 in cash (100% = $300,000). That is $1,500,000 usable. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Do not count the same dollars twice. Money you plan to spend on a down payment or closing costs is not also sitting in the pool. Run your own numbers with that in mind, and expect the underwriter to do the same.
The depletion path has minimums on top of the math. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They must never fall below $250,000 liquid when asset depletion is your only income source. If you also have documented income, asset-derived income can supplement it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Leverage, Loan Size and Credit
Each path sets its own leverage, and the investment-property option exists only on the depletion path. LTV, or loan-to-value, is the loan amount as a percentage of the property’s value.
- Qualifier path: up to 80% LTV on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loans reach up to $4,000,000. Whether cash-out is allowed is set by the lender, so ask before you assume.
- Depletion path, principal residence or second home: up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- Depletion path, investment property: up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. You cannot refinance and then count the cash you pulled.
On credit, the qualifier path has a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700. The housing history standard is 0x30x12, though one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. A housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path.
Reserves are lighter than most borrowers expect. The qualifier path requires none at or below 75% LTV, and above that the lender sets them. The depletion path has no published reserve months. All of it remains subject to underwriting.
Seasoning, Statements and Documents
Seasoning is the waiting period your money must sit in an account before it counts. The two paths measure it differently.
- 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.
Provide every page of every statement. Gaps invite questions.
- Statements for each account, every page, in your name.
- Proof of ownership where titling is not obvious.
- A written source for any large recent deposit.
- Sale or settlement paperwork when you are using the seasoning exception.
- Your credit report and housing history.
Money moved between your own accounts last month is a conversation to have before you apply, not after. The qualifier path’s 60-day clock is the reason.
Why Assets Are a Legitimate Basis
Federal ability-to-repay rules allow a lender to rely on income or assets. The CFPB’s ability-to-repay compliance guide requires a good-faith determination that you can repay, and it names bank and investment account statements as acceptable verification records. The Federal Register’s final rule on seasoned qualified mortgages also treats income or assets, other than the dwelling itself, as fundamental to that determination.
Asset-based loans sit in the non-QM world, meaning mortgages outside the standard qualified-mortgage box. Scotsman Guide lists asset-rich households among the main non-QM borrower groups. That fits who this program serves: retirees, business sellers, inheritance recipients and portfolio households with big balances and thin documented income.
What If Your Assets Don’t Count?
You have options, and the right one depends on where the wealth sits.
If your money is in crypto, a business account or borrowed funds, the documented fix is conversion to seasoned cash in a regulated account. That takes planning, not luck.
If you earn real income but document it through deposits, a bank statement program may fit better. It is built for borrowers who show income through account deposits. That is a different test from either asset path.
If you are buying a rental to hold rather than to live in, 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. They qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines, so your personal account balances matter mostly for closing funds. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through that path.
One more point that lenders see constantly. Account mix is a lever. A borrower with the same net worth can land in very different places depending on how much sits in cash, securities and retirement.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: the route where eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan and no income is documented.
Asset depletion path: the route where eligible assets, divided by 60 months, become monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: the share of an account’s balance a lender subtracts before counting it.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in an account before they count.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared with your monthly income.
Non-QM: a mortgage that falls outside the standard qualified-mortgage category and is underwritten to its own program guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sell my stocks or drain my IRA to qualify?
No. The lender counts a percentage of the balance as usable assets, and the money stays where it is. Selling or withdrawing is your choice, and it can carry costs. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before relying on any deduction or sale.
Does crypto count?
Not directly. Cryptocurrency is not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting it to cash, depositing it in a regulated account in your name, and letting the lender review the source of the funds.
Can I use my business account?
Only to the extent of your ownership share, and business accounts are not published as eligible. Most borrowers move the funds into a personal regulated account and keep the statement trail. The lender decides how the funds are treated, subject to underwriting.
Can I use an asset-based mortgage on a rental property?
Yes, on the depletion path only. Investment property is allowed at up to 65% LTV on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out, subject to underwriting. A pure rental purchase often fits a DSCR loan better, since it qualifies primarily on the property’s rent.
Can I combine asset income with my paycheck?
On the depletion path, yes. Asset-derived income may supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and when it does, the minimum-assets rule is waived. The qualifier path documents no income at all.
Your 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. Reach the team at 828-256-2183, or request a quote. Lendmire is a broker that arranges financing through select lenders; programs change, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs page.
Lendmire’s page on asset-based mortgages in New Mexico presents the program for New Mexico borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending partners for borrowers whose tax returns understate their income, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
Get Started
Ready to find the right loan for you?
In about 30 seconds you can review financing options available for your home or investment property. No commitment required.
Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. CFPB Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Compliance Guide
2. Federal Register: Qualified Mortgage Definition, Seasoned QM Loan
3. Scotsman Guide: Which groups are driving non-QM lending?
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Joint vs Individual Accounts on an Asset Depletion Mortgage · How Long Should Money Sit in an Account Before an Asset-Based Mortgage Application? · Does a Securities-Backed Line of Credit Hurt Your Asset-Based Mortgage Application?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in New Mexico
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
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.