The Quick Read: It depends on the path, and Indiana does not change the answer. On the asset qualifier path, 100% of a brokerage balance typically counts toward the loan. On the asset depletion path, securities typically count at 80%. Both are subject to underwriting and offered through select programs in Lendmire’s wholesale network.
- Asset qualifier path: brokerage, CDs, money market and savings typically count at 100%, and eligible assets must cover the entire loan amount.
- Asset depletion path: securities typically count at 80%, and usable assets are divided by 60 months to produce qualifying income.
- Retirement money: 90% under age 59½ and 100% after on the qualifier path; 70% at any age on the depletion path.
- You do not sell anything. The assets are documented and counted, not liquidated.
- Indiana changes nothing in the formula. Taxes, insurance and local prices differ by state. The program figures do not.
A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. The two paths never blend, so the first job is deciding which one fits you.
Which Path Fits You: Assets Cover the Loan, or Assets Become Income?
The two paths answer different questions. The asset qualifier path asks whether your eligible assets equal or exceed the whole loan. The asset depletion path asks whether your assets, converted to monthly income, can carry the housing payment and your other debts.
Both paths are consumer mortgages, built for people who are rich in balances and light on documented income: retirees, people who just sold a business, inheritance or settlement recipients, early-retired professionals, and households living off a portfolio. Across Lendmire’s wholesale network, these are the borrowers the programs were designed for.
Both paths document the assets. Skipping traditional personal-income documentation, such as pay stubs and employment verification, never means skipping documentation altogether. You still hand over statements, and the lender still reviews them.
| Factor | Asset Qualifier | Asset Depletion |
|---|---|---|
| What it tests | Assets cover the entire loan | Assets become monthly income |
| Income documented | None | Derived from assets |
| Brokerage credit | 100% | Securities 80% |
| Purchase leverage | Up to 80% | Up to 80% primary or second home; 65% investment |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Rate-and-term as purchase; cash-out 60% |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
All figures are typical ceilings and floors through select programs, subject to underwriting. They are not offers.
How Much Counts on the Asset Qualifier Path?
On the asset qualifier path, brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market and savings typically count at 100% of the balance. Retirement balances count at 90% if you are under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine, and the total must equal or exceed the entire loan amount.
That is the cleanest test in the lineup. Here is the shape of the math, illustrative only, since the lender’s own calculation governs. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which counts at 100%, so $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½, which counts at 90%, so $270,000. You hold $200,000 in savings at 100%, so $200,000. Together that is $800,000 of usable assets, which matches the loan and is reviewed on assets alone.
Notice what the brokerage line did. Nothing was discounted. If your loan were larger than your usable assets, the file would not qualify on this path. Moving to the depletion path would change the question, not the balance.
Other requirements on this path, typically:
- Credit score of at least 600.
- 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Leverage up to 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, on a principal residence or second home.
- No reserves required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
Cash-out proceeds on this path are set by the lender and are not published, so do not plan around them.
How Much Counts on the Asset Depletion Path?
On the asset depletion path, securities in a brokerage account typically count at 80% of the balance. Cash and certificates of deposit count at 100%. The usable total is divided by 60 months, and the result becomes monthly qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
Run the numbers on this example: you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which counts at 80%, so $1,200,000. You also hold $300,000 in cash at 100%, so $300,000. Usable assets come to $1,500,000. 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. Again, illustrative only.
Here is the full haircut schedule on this path:
| Asset | Share That Counts |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Securities | 80% |
| Retirement accounts | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | 60% |
Some assets are not eligible here at all. That list includes 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. Privately held stock is not eligible on either path. If you own a closely held company, the documented route is a sale or buyout converted to a seasoned cash balance.
The depletion path has its own minimums. Qualified assets must typically be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When assets are your only income source, liquid assets can never be below $250,000. Asset-derived income may also supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and in that case the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Leverage is tighter than on the qualifier path. A principal residence or second home can reach 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. An investment property tops out at 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
Credit follows the lender’s matrix, and a first-time investor on this path needs a 700 score. Housing history is typically 0x30x12, with one 30-day late in the last twelve months considered case by case. A housing event needs four years of seasoning on this path.
Why Does the Percentage Differ From What You Read Elsewhere?
Because no law sets it. Each lender’s guidelines set the percentage, and it varies across the programs Lendmire, as a broker, places files with. Some programs credit securities at full value, some at 70%, some at 80%. Divisors vary too, and the divisor often moves the result more than the haircut does, since a longer divisor produces less income from the same pool.
The federal ability-to-repay rule is the only national frame, and it is silent on the number. Under 12 CFR 1026.43 on the Cornell Legal Information Institute site, a creditor must consider income or assets other than the value of the home securing the loan, and must verify those assets using reliable third-party records. The rule does not say how much of a brokerage balance to credit. That is lender policy.
Ask which path and which schedule applies before you trust any figure, including the ones here, which describe select programs in Lendmire’s network.
What Reduces Your Countable Balance Before the Percentage?
On the depletion path, closing funds come out of the pool before income is calculated. Plan on post-closing balances, not statement totals. A $1,000,000 account that funds a down payment, closing costs and any required reserves is no longer a $1,000,000 account in the lender’s math.
Common reductions and exclusions:
- Down payment and closing costs. The same dollars cannot be counted twice.
- Margin balances and pledged positions. Borrowed or pledged funds do not count.
- Recent large deposits. Expect the lender to review the source.
- Ownership. The account generally needs to be yours. Business accounts count only for your ownership share.
- Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles. These 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.
If a market drop hits between application and closing, expect the lender to rely on current statements. Seasoning rules shape which statements those are. On the qualifier path you need 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements per account. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent one within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning.
What About Indiana?
Indiana does not change the formula. The percentages, divisors and leverage limits are the same in every state where the program is available, and Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, Indiana among them. If you are buying or refinancing a home there, you work from the same figures above.
What does change by state is the cost side of the purchase: taxes, insurance and local prices. Those affect how much house your assets can support, but they are context, not program parameters. A lender runs them in underwriting.
Is This the Right Path, or Should You Look Elsewhere?
Choose the qualifier path if your eligible assets are at least the size of the loan. Choose the depletion path if you want a purchase that is larger than your assets, but need income derived from them to carry the payment. Choose neither if you are buying a rental that will pay for itself.
That last case belongs to a different product. Rental purchases that qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment run through DSCR loans, subject to lender guidelines. The asset-based paths are consumer mortgages built around your personal profile. Business-purpose investor loans are reviewed differently, and the business-purpose exemption in 12 CFR 1026.3 turns on the loan’s primary purpose, not just the property type.
If your documented income comes from deposits rather than traditional personal-income documentation, a bank statement program may fit better.
Common Mistakes
1. Assuming brokerage always counts dollar for dollar. It does on the qualifier path. It does not on the depletion path.
2. Using the statement total. Closing funds and reserves come out first on the depletion path.
3. Blending the two tables. Pick a path and stay on it.
4. Treating depletion as a spending plan. The assets stay where they are. The 60-month division is a qualifying convention, not a withdrawal schedule.
5. Counting crypto. It is not published as eligible on either path.
6. Moving money late. Fresh deposits can fail seasoning.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before moving assets.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion: a path that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: the discount applied to an asset, so only part of the balance counts.
Divisor: the number of months used to turn a pool of assets into monthly income.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in an account before they count.
Debt-to-income test: the check that your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, fit within your qualifying income.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sell my stocks to use them?
No. The assets are documented and counted, not liquidated. The exception is funds you choose to use for the down payment or closing costs, which leave the pool. Assets that are not eligible, such as crypto, can be converted to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account.
Do ETFs and mutual funds count the same as individual stocks?
Generally they are treated as securities, so the same percentage applies on the depletion path, typically 80%. Any particular holding is reviewed individually in underwriting.
Can the same money count for the down payment and for qualifying?
No. On the depletion path, down payment, closing costs and required reserves come out of the pool before income is calculated. On the qualifier path, the total must cover the entire loan amount.
What if the market drops before I close?
Expect the lender to rely on current statements. A lower balance means fewer usable assets, which can change whether the file clears or how large a loan it supports. Statement timing rules are covered above.
Does Indiana change how much of my brokerage account counts?
No. The credit percentages are program rules and are the same in every state where the program is offered. Indiana affects costs like taxes and insurance, not the formula.
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare options through its asset-based mortgage programs, based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Every file is underwritten individually, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
A brokerage balance counts for the full amount on one path and for four-fifths on the other, so the first decision is which path you are on, not which state you live in.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Indiana page presents the program for Indiana borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage brokerage serving self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending channels; Lendmire brokers the financing and the lender underwrites each application. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Cornell LII – 12 CFR 1026.43
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Can Two Texas Retirees Buy a Home Together on an Asset Qualifier Mortgage? · How Much Does a Retiree Need in Assets to Qualify for a Mortgage? · How Much of a Brokerage Account Counts Toward a North Carolina Asset Qualifier Mortgage?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Indiana
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Legal disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage that arranges financing through wholesale lender relationships. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or registered financial advisor. The discussion above is general informational content about real estate financing — it is not financial, legal, or tax advice, and readers should consult licensed professionals for guidance on their individual circumstances. Loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not represent a commitment to lend. Loan terms, rates, and qualification standards vary by borrower, property, and state, and are subject to change at any time. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.