The Quick Read: Liquid accounts in your own name count most, meaning savings, money market, certificates of deposit and brokerage balances, while retirement accounts count at a discount and business funds, crypto, unvested stock and gifts generally do not count unless you first convert them into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The exact share of each balance depends on which of two paths you use. Everything below is subject to underwriting and runs through select programs.
- On the asset qualifier path, savings, money market, CDs and brokerage accounts count at 100%. Retirement accounts count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older.
- On the asset depletion path, cash and CDs count at 100%, securities at 80%, private stock at 75%, retirement accounts at 70% at any age, and real-estate equity at 60%.
- Business accounts beyond your ownership share, crypto, precious metals, collectibles and borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path.
- You are qualified on one path at a time, and the figures never blend.
Virginia is the label on this page, not a different rulebook. The program figures are the same in every state where the brokerage places these loans, and Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, Virginia among them.
Which Path Fits You?
Pick the path first, because it decides how every account is counted. The asset qualifier path covers the entire loan with eligible assets and documents no employment or income. The asset depletion path turns your usable assets into monthly income, which then runs through a debt-to-income test.
Across the wholesale network, the two paths suit different readers. The qualifier path suits someone whose balances clearly exceed the loan, such as a retiree or a recent seller of a business. The depletion path suits someone with a large portfolio who wants to spread the balance across 60 months as income, or who wants to add that income on top of a paycheck or pension.
| Feature | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| How assets are used | Must cover the whole loan | Usable assets divided by 60 months |
| Income documented | None | Derived income, run through DTI |
| Purchase leverage, primary or second home | Up to 80% | Up to 80% |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term, 60% cash-out |
| Investment property | Not offered | Up to 65% purchase, 60% cash-out |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
Those figures are ceilings and floors, never offers. Subject to underwriting, the lender’s own calculation governs. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. Whether cash-out is allowed on the qualifier path at all is the lender’s call, so do not plan around it.
The Account-by-Account Answer
Here is how each account type counts on each path, through select programs and subject to underwriting. Read across a row, not down a column, because the same account can count differently depending on the path.
| Account type | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Savings and money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Brokerage and securities | 100% | 80% |
| Retirement, under 59½ | 90% | 70% |
| Retirement, 59½ or older | 100% | 70% |
| Private stock | Not published | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
| Crypto, metals, collectibles | Not published | Not published |
On the qualifier path, accounts combine. Brokerage, savings, CDs and retirement balances can all stack toward the loan amount.
Counting is not the same as spending. You keep ownership of the accounts, and nobody asks you to liquidate them or pledge them as collateral. They are evidence of capacity, not a deposit you hand over.
How Retirement Accounts Really Count
Retirement balances are the account type that changes most between paths. On the qualifier path, a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% if you are under 59½ and at 100% once you reach 59½. On the depletion path, it counts at 70% at any age.
So a 58-year-old and a 60-year-old can have identical balances and different results on the qualifier path. The age line exists because early withdrawals cost more. Tax treatment varies, since the IRS generally treats IRA withdrawals before age 59½ as early distributions, so consult a qualified tax professional before relying on any assumption about withdrawals.
Two practical points come up on nearly every file with a retirement account. First, the balance that counts is the vested balance, so an outstanding loan against a plan or any unvested employer match does not help you. Second, you are not pledging the account, only documenting it. For the reserves side of the story, Lendmire’s piece How to Count Retirement Accounts as Reserves on an Asset Depletion Mortgage covers the different job those balances do on rental loans.
Worked Examples
These two shapes show the arithmetic. They are illustrations, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
Qualifier path. Say you want an $800,000 loan on a primary residence. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100% for $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) and you are under 59½, so it counts at 90% for $270,000. You also hold $200,000 in savings at 100% for $200,000. Your usable assets total $800,000, which matches the loan amount, so you qualify on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which count at 80% for $1,200,000. You also hold $300,000 in cash at 100%. Your usable assets are $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that produces $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.
Notice what the second example does not do. It does not skip the debt test. Assets become income, and income still has to cover the obligations.
What Does Not Count, and the Workaround
Plenty of valuable things sit outside the eligible list. On the depletion path, the following are not eligible:
- custodial accounts
- deferred compensation
- escrow accounts
- foreign funds
- cash on hand
- stock options
- non-vested restricted stock units
- funds from non-regulated financial companies
Crypto, precious metals, collectibles, business accounts beyond your ownership share, and pledged or borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path. Say that plainly to yourself before you plan around them. They do not count at some reduced percentage. They simply do not count as they sit.
The documented route is to convert them into cash and let that cash season in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source of the funds. A balance that was crypto last month can become a cash balance, but only after it has sat long enough to meet the seasoning rules below.
Seasoning, Statements and Documents
The assets are documented on both paths. No income documentation never means no documentation.
- Qualifier path. You need 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Depletion path. Statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus one recent statement dated within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
Lenders must be able to verify what they rely on with reliable third-party records. The federal ability-to-repay rule text on eCFR lists that verification duty for consumer mortgages. In practice, that means statements straight from the financial institution, not screenshots or summaries.
Big deposits are where files stall. A large transfer from an account the lender cannot see needs a paper trail. Moving money between your own accounts is fine, but it should be traceable. Shuffle funds around before applying and you may reset the seasoning clock for no benefit.
Never count the same dollar twice. Funds you need for the down payment and closing costs come out of the pool before the lender counts what is left.
The Credit and Minimum-Asset Side
Assets do not erase the credit review. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix, and a first-time investor on that path needs a 700.
Housing history of 0x30x12 is the baseline, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible, and a housing event needs four years of seasoning on the depletion path.
The depletion path also has asset minimums. You need qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset income is your only income, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid assets. If you add asset-derived income on top of documented income, it can supplement up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and in that case the minimum-assets rule is waived.
On the qualifier path, no reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. A purchase at 80% therefore carries a lender-set reserve requirement, so ask early. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
What About Investment Property?
The qualifier path covers principal residences and second homes. Investment property appears only on the depletion path, at up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out.
If your goal is a pure rental purchase, ask whether a different loan fits better. 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, and still review your liquidity. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through that route.
What Changes for a Virginia Borrower?
Nothing in the program figures changes by state. The percentages, seasoning and leverage above hold for a Virginia purchase or refinance just as they would elsewhere, subject to underwriting. Local prices, taxes and insurance shape your budget, not the program parameters.
What does change is the typical profile. Virginia has a lot of households whose wealth sits in places a lender treats very differently.
- Federal contractors and retirees. A large IRA or 401(k) with modest documented income is the classic fit. Check your age against the 59½ line on the qualifier path.
- Northern Virginia equity compensation. Vested shares in a brokerage account can count. Stock options and non-vested restricted stock units do not count on the depletion path.
- Military retirees and relocating retirees. Pension income can sit alongside asset-derived income on the depletion path, up to the 45% debt-to-income limit.
- Recent business sellers. Sale proceeds are excused from the 120-day statement-age rule on the depletion path, but the funds still need a documented source.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path. A way to qualify where eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must cover the entire loan amount.
Asset depletion path. A way to qualify where usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income.
Haircut. The share of a balance the lender does not count, which is why a retirement account may count at 70% instead of 100%.
Seasoning. The time funds must sit in an account, with statements to prove it, before they count.
Vested. The part of an employer plan or stock grant that you own outright and can access.
Debt-to-income (DTI). Your monthly debts divided by your monthly income, which the depletion path applies to the income built from your assets.
Mistakes to Avoid Before You Apply
- Moving money right before applying. Large transfers from unseen accounts create a documentation chase and may reset seasoning.
- Assuming a business account counts because you own it. Only your ownership share can count, and even then not as a published eligible class.
- Counting the down payment twice. Funds for the purchase leave the pool first.
- Blending the two paths. A qualifier-path percentage on a depletion-path file is the fastest way to build a plan that does not work.
- Counting unvested equity or options. Non-vested restricted stock units and stock options do not count on the depletion path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sell or pledge my accounts to use them?
No. You keep the accounts and they stay in your name. The lender reviews statements to confirm the balances exist and are seasoned, which is a documentation step, not a transfer.
Does crypto count?
Not as crypto. Crypto is not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is to convert it to cash, let it season in a regulated account, and have the lender review the source of the funds, subject to underwriting.
Can I use a business bank account?
Usually not beyond your ownership share, and business accounts are not published as eligible on either path. Moving funds into your personal account is possible, but the source will be reviewed and seasoning rules still apply.
What changes at age 59½?
On the qualifier path, a retirement balance counts at 90% under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age, so the birthday matters only on the qualifier path.
Can I use a spouse’s or someone else’s account?
That depends on the program and on whether the account holder is on the loan. Ownership is reviewed account by account, so confirm it for each account before you plan around it.
The 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. Call 828-256-2183 or request a quote to start. Lendmire is a mortgage broker arranging loans through select lenders in its network, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs page.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Virginia page presents the program for Virginia borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. IRS Topic No. 557, Additional Tax on Early Distributions from IRAs
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 Real Estate Equity Count on an Asset Qualifier Mortgage? · Can Equity in a Rental Property Help You Qualify for an Asset-Based Mortgage? · How an Asset Depletion Mortgage Works
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Virginia
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.