The Quick Read: Yes, for a primary residence or second home, as long as your eligible assets either cover the whole loan or convert into qualifying income, and your credit, statements and the property meet the program’s rules, subject to underwriting. You do not need a California paycheck, but you do document the assets.
- Two paths exist. The asset qualifier path uses your assets to cover the entire loan. The asset depletion path turns your assets into monthly qualifying income. You are qualified on one path at a time.
- Leverage differs by path. The qualifier path goes up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase. The depletion path goes up to 80% on a primary residence or second-home purchase.
- Statements matter. Expect two months of statements per account on the qualifier path, with 60 days of seasoning.
- Rentals are a different loan. A California rental typically runs on a DSCR loan, which looks at the property’s income instead of yours.
- Sequence is the real risk. Moving money, selling a home and relocating can all trip the seasoning rules if you do them in the wrong order.
Picture a couple selling a home in another state. The proceeds sit in a savings account, a brokerage account holds more, and neither of them has started a California job. Their balances are large and their documented income is zero. A traditional lender sees no income and stops. An asset-based program sees the balance sheet and keeps going.
Lendmire is a mortgage broker. It places these files with select lenders in its network, and the lender underwrites every file individually. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, and California is one of them.
Which Path Fits Your Situation?
Match the loan to what you own and what you plan to do with the house. If you will live in it, the choice is between the asset qualifier path and the asset depletion path. If it is a rental, DSCR is the usual route. A conventional job-offer loan is a fourth option, but it needs a signed offer.
| Path | Who it fits | What you document | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier | Cash-heavy buyer, home to live in | Assets only, two months of statements | Assets must cover the whole loan |
| Asset depletion | Large portfolio, any property use | Assets, converted to income | Haircuts and a debt-to-income test |
| DSCR | Buyer purchasing a rental | Credit, assets, appraised rent | Not for a home you will occupy |
| Conventional job-offer loan | Someone with a signed offer | Offer letter, reserves | Needs a real offer and a start date |
The last row describes conventional agency-style rules, not Lendmire’s asset-based program. It is the right tool only if a California employer has actually hired you.
The Asset Qualifier Path: Assets Cover the Loan
On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No employment or income is documented. The lender’s ability-to-repay review rests on the assets themselves.
Across Lendmire’s wholesale network, this is the cleanest route for someone who has sold a business, a home or a portfolio position and is holding the proceeds. Through select programs, leverage goes up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and 75% on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. Loan amounts run up to $4,000,000. The credit score floor is 600, subject to underwriting.
Here is how the arithmetic works, as an illustration only. Take an $800,000 loan. The borrower holds $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%, so $330,000 counts. A 401(k) of $300,000, with the borrower under 59½, counts at 90%, which is $270,000. Savings of $200,000 count at 100%. The usable total is $800,000, so the borrower is reviewed on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Reserves are not required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. Assets must season for 60 days, which means they sit in your account for that long. Each qualifying account needs two months of statements.
The Asset Depletion Path: Assets Become Income
On the depletion path, the lender takes your usable assets, divides them by 60 months and treats the result as monthly income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. This path fits borrowers whose balances are large but whose assets do not quite equal the full loan.
An illustration: $1,500,000 in securities counts at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Add $300,000 in cash at 100%. Usable assets total $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That figure then has to cover the new housing payment and other debts. The lender’s calculation governs.
The key figures for this path, through select programs and subject to underwriting:
- Purchase or rate-and-term refinance: up to 80% on a principal residence or second home, up to 65% on an investment property.
- Cash-out refinance: up to 60% on a principal residence, second home or investment property. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
- Loan amounts: $125,000 to $3,500,000.
- Minimum assets: the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance, and never below $250,000 liquid when depletion is your only income source.
- Credit: the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix applies. A first-time investor needs 700. Housing history is 0x30x12, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case.
If you are still earning some documented income, asset-derived income may supplement it, up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When assets supplement income this way, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Which Assets Count, and for How Much?
The two paths treat the same account differently, so read each table separately. These are the shares of the balance that count.
Asset qualifier path:
| Asset | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Money market and savings | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA, under age 59½ | 90% |
| 401(k) and IRA, age 59½ or older | 100% |
Accounts combine.
Asset depletion path:
| Asset | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts and CDs | 100% |
| Securities | 80% |
| Private stock | 75% |
| Retirement accounts, any age | 70% |
| Real-estate equity | 60% |
Several things do not count on the depletion path: 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, pledged or borrowed funds, and business accounts beyond your ownership share are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source of those funds. Do not plan on any of them counting at a percentage.
When the Home Is a California Rental
If you are buying the California home as a rental, the loan changes. 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.
DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. You get it by dividing the property’s monthly rent by its monthly housing obligation: principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA dues. A ratio above 1.00 means the rent covers the payment. The loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. For a purchase, there is no rental history to show, so the lender typically relies on the appraiser’s market-rent estimate or the lease, whichever the program uses. The appraisal forms that carry this are the 1007 rent schedule for single-family homes and the 1025 for small income properties.
You still document credit, sourced down-payment funds and reserves. “No personal income documentation” is not the same as “no documentation.” Prices in much of California can push rent below the full payment. Select lenders in the network do offer programs below 1.00 coverage, but leverage and terms adjust. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide covers the mechanics.
One trap catches relocating buyers. The CFPB’s rule on exempt transactions treats credit to buy non-owner-occupied rental property as business-purpose. That treatment does not apply if you expect to occupy the property for more than 14 days in the coming year. Planning to stay in the house “just until your place is ready” can move the loan out of DSCR territory. The Federal Register’s rulemaking record explains that business-purpose and investment-purpose loans sit outside the consumer ability-to-repay standards. If you will live there, use a primary-residence program.
On the depletion path, investment property is available too, at the 65% and 60% leverage ceilings listed above. That is a consumer-purpose loan, so it is a different animal from DSCR. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
A Relocation Timeline That Avoids the Usual Traps
Sequence matters more than speed. The documents do not move on your schedule; the seasoning rules do.
1. Before you sell anything. Gather statements for every account you might count. Qualifier path files need two months per account. Depletion path files need statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days.
2. Keep funds in regulated accounts. Cash in a drawer, foreign accounts and crypto wallets do not count on the paths above.
3. Home-sale proceeds. The depletion path excuses sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds from seasoning. Home-sale proceeds are not on that list. Plan on those funds seasoning like any other deposit, and leave them in one account if you can.
4. Choose your path. If assets cover the loan outright, the qualifier path is simpler. If they fall short, run the depletion math. Ask for both calculations on the same statements.
5. Credit check. Look at your credit before the move. Housing events need 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path, and multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
6. Under contract. Your lender will want to source any large recent deposit. A clean paper trail is worth more than a clever structure.
The Documentation Checklist
- Government ID and the purchase contract
- Two months of statements for each qualifying account on the qualifier path; the 120-day and 45-day statement set on the depletion path
- Evidence of the source for any large recent deposit
- Credit authorization
- For a rental: the appraisal with market rent, and entity documents if you are buying through an LLC, subject to lender program eligibility
Rent First or Buy First?
Renting for a few months is cheaper than buying the wrong house, and it costs nothing in loan eligibility. You can season your funds while you learn neighborhoods, commutes and insurance realities. Buying immediately makes sense when you have a clear target, funds that are already seasoned, and a reason the timing matters.
The same logic applies here. Do not let a deadline force a purchase before your paperwork is ready.
Not every income-light borrower is asset-rich. Someone who is self-employed and documents income through deposits belongs in a different program. Lendmire’s article Can You Buy a Home on 1099-NEC Income From One or Multiple Clients? covers that route.
Risks and Tradeoffs You Should Weigh
Asset-based loans exist for a reason, but they are not free money. Three tradeoffs matter most.
First, pricing and structure differ from conventional loans. Specifics depend on the lender and your file, so compare them rather than assume.
Second, markets move. If your assets sit in securities, a drop between application and closing can shrink the usable balance. A qualifier path borrower who is just barely at the loan amount has no cushion.
Third, a large share of your portfolio is now earmarked for the loan. Keep liquidity for moving costs, furnishings, taxes and insurance, which vary by California county. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
A couple where one spouse has retired and the other will start work later has options. They can qualify on assets now and refinance once documented income exists. They do not have to wait for the second paycheck.
Refinancing Later
Once you have a paycheck in California, you can look at refinancing. The qualifier path allows up to 75% loan-to-value on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. The depletion path allows up to 80% on a rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance for a principal residence or second home. All figures are through select programs and subject to underwriting.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: a program where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion path: a program that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Seasoning: the period funds must sit in your account before a lender counts them.
Haircut: the percentage a lender subtracts from an asset’s balance, such as counting retirement accounts at 70%.
DSCR: the property’s monthly rent divided by its monthly housing obligation.
Loan-to-value (LTV): the loan amount as a percentage of the home’s value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a California job, or even a California address, before I apply?
No. Asset-based programs review your file on assets, not on local employment. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in California, among 16 states, so a California purchase can be placed through its network. Your credit, statements and the property still go through underwriting.
Do I have to sell my investments to use them?
Not necessarily. On the qualifier path, brokerage accounts count at 100%, and on the depletion path, securities count at 80%. The funds can stay invested, though the balance and statements must meet the program’s rules.
Can I count my 401(k) or IRA?
Yes, with a haircut. On the qualifier path, retirement balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age.
What if my money is mostly proceeds from selling a home?
Those funds need to season. The depletion path excuses seasoning only for sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds. Home-sale proceeds are not on that list, so plan around the statement and seasoning rules.
Can I use this program to buy a California rental?
On the depletion path, investment property is allowed at lower leverage. Most buyers purchasing a rental use DSCR instead, which is reviewed on the property’s rent rather than your assets or income.
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.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in California page presents the program for California borrowers.
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
1. CFPB – 12 CFR 1026.3 Exempt transactions
2. Federal Register – Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards final rule
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How Big Can an Assets-Only Mortgage Be? · How to Refinance a Jumbo Loan in Retirement on Assets · How to Qualify for a Mortgage on Liquid Assets Alone
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in California
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.