The Quick Read: Yes, a New Mexico homeowner can refinance a principal residence or second home by qualifying on assets instead of a paycheck, through select programs and subject to underwriting. Assets either cover the whole loan outright or get converted into monthly qualifying income. The program has to fit the property and the borrower’s balance sheet.
- Asset qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan amount, and no employment or income is documented.
- Asset depletion path: usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
- Refinance leverage: up to 75% on the qualifier path, and up to 80% on a rate-and-term refinance or 60% on a cash-out refinance of a principal residence or second home on the depletion path.
- Documentation: income stops being the test. Assets are still fully documented and seasoned.
- Rental homes: a different route exists for business-purpose rentals, covered below.
This applies to someone with real balances and no current paycheck. Think retirees, people who sold a business, inheritance recipients, and households living off a portfolio. Lendmire is a broker. It places these files with select lenders in its network, and each file is underwritten individually.
Which Path Fits Your Situation?
The path depends on how your assets compare with the loan. If your eligible assets cover the entire balance, the qualifier path is cleaner. If they don’t, the depletion path turns a large portfolio into monthly income. A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. The two never blend.
Here is the practical split:
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| How assets are used | Must cover the whole loan | Become monthly income |
| Income documented | None | Derived from assets |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term, 60% cash-out |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Credit | 600 minimum score | The lender’s matrix |
All figures are ceilings and floors through select programs, subject to underwriting. They are not offers. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on the qualifier path is set by the lender and isn’t published, so don’t plan around it. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path.
How Do Assets Become Qualifying Income?
On the depletion path, the lender takes your usable assets after haircuts and divides by 60 months. The result is a monthly income figure. That figure must carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. You don’t sell anything. You show that the balance supports repayment.
Run the numbers on this illustrative file. A borrower holds $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. Securities count at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Cash counts at 100%, which is $300,000. Usable assets total $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the payment and other debts. The lender’s own calculation governs, and this arithmetic is illustrative only.
The depletion path also has asset minimums. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset depletion is the only income source, liquid assets can’t fall below $250,000. If you still have some documented income, such as a pension, derived income can supplement it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. In that case the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Credit matters on both paths. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the norm, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies aren’t eligible. A housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path.
Which Assets Count, and At What Value?
The two paths treat the same account differently, so name the path before you quote a number. Retirement money is the clearest example. On the qualifier path a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path it counts at 70% at any age.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | Securities 80% |
| Cash and savings | 100% | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% after | 70% any age |
| Private stock | Not listed | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 60% |
On the qualifier path, accounts combine. Consider an $800,000 loan. The borrower holds $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100%, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) under 59½ (90%, so $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100%, so $200,000). That counts $800,000 of usable assets, which covers the loan and is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Some assets don’t 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. Crypto, precious metals, collectibles, and pledged or borrowed funds aren’t published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender reviews the source of those funds.
What If Your Income Has Already Stopped?
Income stopping doesn’t end the conversation. That’s the whole point of the program. But the assets have to be in order, and timing on the paperwork matters more than most borrowers expect.
Seasoning is the usual friction. On the qualifier path, funds need 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning.
Here is the sequence that keeps a file clean:
1. Pull statements for every account you plan to use and check that the balances have been stable.
2. Park any large, recent deposits in a regulated account early, and keep the source paperwork. Unexplained deposits get questioned.
3. Decide the path. If assets don’t cover the loan outright, run the depletion math.
4. Gather credit information and the current mortgage statement.
5. Submit the file with statements for every account in one package.
“No income documentation” never means “no documentation.” The assets are documented on both paths. Files that treat it as a lighter-paperwork product are the ones that stall.
What About Rental Homes?
If the property is a rental, personal income isn’t the test at all. 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. The file qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Credit, LTV, reserves, and property eligibility are still reviewed.
The appraisal does two jobs on these files. It sets the value that drives LTV, and it produces a market-rent opinion that drives the coverage ratio. Underwriting generally uses the lower of the signed lease and the appraised market rent. Select lenders in the network also offer programs below 1.00 coverage, with LTV and terms adjusting.
Your own home can’t simply be relabeled as a rental. Whether a loan is business purpose depends on the facts of the transaction, not a label. The CFPB’s page on business-purpose factors lists the tests, including personal management involvement and the size of the transaction. The eCFR text of 12 CFR 1026.3 sets the exemption itself.
Investment property is also possible on the depletion path, at lower leverage: up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. A first-time investor on that path needs a 700 score.
Does This Fit You? A Decision List
The honest answer is that it fits some borrowers and not others.
- Assets cover the loan outright: the qualifier path is the cleanest fit.
- Large portfolio, loan bigger than the assets: the depletion path, if you meet the asset minimums.
- Some documented income, such as a pension: derived income may supplement it on the depletion path up to 45% debt-to-income.
- Thin balances: neither path works. You’d look at other options, such as selling, a loan modification, or a reverse mortgage, which is a separate product with different rules.
- Income documented through deposits: that borrower is a better fit for a bank statement program than for an asset-based one.
- A rental property: compare the DSCR route first.
One risk deserves plain language. Paying a mortgage from a portfolio means the balance can shrink. If markets fall after closing, the lender isn’t re-testing you, but your cushion is. Borrowers should size the loan against what they can sustain, not just what qualifies.
New Mexico Considerations
The program figures above don’t change by state. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, and New Mexico is one of them. State facts such as local prices, taxes, and insurance are context for your budget, not program parameters. If a spouse is on title, discuss how that affects who signs and whose assets are used. The lender sets those requirements file by file.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets must equal or exceed the whole loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion: a path where usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: the share of an account’s balance that doesn’t count toward qualifying.
Seasoning: the period funds must sit in an account before they count.
Rate-and-term refinance: a refinance that changes the loan terms without taking out additional cash.
Debt-to-income: the share of monthly income that goes to housing and other debts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I refinance with zero income at all?
Yes, on the asset qualifier path, where eligible assets must cover the entire loan and no income is documented. The lender’s ability-to-repay review rests on the assets. Credit, a 600 minimum score on this path, still applies, and the file is underwritten individually.
Do retirement accounts count?
They do, at different values by path. On the qualifier path a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path retirement accounts count at 70% at any age. The assets stay yours, and you don’t have to liquidate them.
Can I take cash out on an asset-based refinance?
On the depletion path, yes, at up to 60% on a principal residence, second home, or investment property. On the qualifier path, cash-out terms are set by the lender and aren’t published. Cash-out proceeds never count toward qualifying assets.
How much documentation is involved?
A lot, just not income documents. Expect statements for every qualifying account, seasoning proof, and credit review. The qualifier path wants two months of statements per account. The depletion path wants statements at least 120 days old plus one within 45 days.
Is this the same as a DSCR loan?
No. Asset-based mortgages are consumer loans on a principal residence or second home, with assets standing in for income. The depletion path also reaches investment property, where the loan is business-purpose, at lower leverage. DSCR loans are business-purpose loans on rentals that qualify primarily on the property’s rent. The two answer different questions, so match the program to how the property is used.
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. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in New Mexico page presents the program for New Mexico 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
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 You Buy a Second Home in Georgia on Assets Instead of Income? · Can You Relocate to Michigan and Buy a Home on Assets Before You Have Local Income? · Can a New Mexico Widow Qualify for a Mortgage on Life Insurance and Retirement Assets?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in New Mexico
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.