The Quick Read: Vested shares sitting in a brokerage account can qualify you for a mortgage as assets through select programs, because the loan is judged on what you hold rather than on a paycheck, while unvested restricted stock units (RSUs, a company’s promise to deliver shares later) count for nothing and underwriting still reviews every file. The shares must have vested, been delivered to your account, and been seasoned with statements. After that, they work like any other investment balance.
- On the asset qualifier path, eligible assets must cover the entire loan. No traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification are requested.
- On the asset depletion path, usable assets are divided by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
- Brokerage balances count at 100% on the qualifier path. Securities count at 80% on the depletion path.
- Unvested RSUs and stock options are not eligible assets on the depletion path.
- Everything is subject to underwriting, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
What Counts When You Are Paid in Stock?
Only shares you actually own count. An RSU is a promise, and a promise is not a balance. Carta’s RSU guide explains that nothing is taxed at grant and that tax applies to the shares’ fair market value when you receive them at vesting. Enact MI, a mortgage insurer, puts the lender’s side plainly: an RSU has no tangible value until vesting is complete.
Your stock compensation moves through three events:
1. Grant. The company promises shares. You can still lose them if you leave. For a lender, this is a document, not money.
2. Vest. The shares become yours and land in your brokerage account. This is the moment they turn into an asset.
3. Sale. If you sell, the proceeds become cash in a bank or brokerage account. That cash is the cleanest asset a lender can see.
For underwriting, the line sits between steps one and two. Shares that have vested and been delivered are assets. Shares that have not vested are not, no matter how large the grant looks in your employer’s portal.
Plenty of Ohio engineers, product managers and data scientists end up in a lopsided spot. The W-2 is modest next to the portfolio, and a paycheck-based file undersells them. Asset-based underwriting exists for that mismatch. Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs let a broker place a file on what you hold, through select lenders in its network.
Key Terms Defined
Vesting. The date your restricted stock units convert into shares you own.
Seasoning. The stretch of time your funds must sit in an account, shown by statements, before a lender counts them.
Asset qualifier path. A route where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan, and no income is documented.
Asset depletion path. A route where usable assets, after haircuts, are divided by 60 months into a monthly qualifying income.
Haircut. The share of an asset’s value a lender discounts, so a balance counts for less than 100%. A 75% credit means a 25% haircut.
Debt-to-income (DTI). Your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared with your monthly qualifying income.
Loan-to-value (LTV). The loan amount as a percentage of the property’s value.
How Does a Conventional Lender Treat the Same Shares?
Conventional lenders turn stock into a monthly income number, and the rules are strict. Agency-style guidelines generally want proof that the shares have vested and been delivered, a vesting schedule, and a history of prior distributions. They then average that history into a monthly figure. Restricted stock vesting over any length of time on a sign-on grant is not eligible income on the agency side.
That route works for some borrowers. It fails for others. A recent hire has no vesting history. A pre-IPO employee holds shares with no public price. Someone whose grant refreshes unevenly has income that averages low. Meanwhile a borrower with a large vested balance and a small salary may not need the income number at all.
Across our wholesale network, this is the practical split. If your story is steady stock income with a long history, a conventional file may fit. If your story is a big balance and a thin paycheck, assets are the stronger input.
How Does the Asset Qualifier Path Work?
The asset qualifier path asks one question: do your eligible assets cover the entire loan? If they do, the loan is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting. No employment or income is documented. That means no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. The assets themselves are fully documented with statements.
Leverage runs up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loan amounts go to $4,000,000. Credit starts at a 600 minimum score. Reserves are not required at or below 75% loan-to-value, and above that the lender sets them.
Here is how much of each balance counts on this path:
- Brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market and savings: 100%.
- 401(k) and IRA balances: 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older.
- Accounts combine.
Seasoning is 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account. For you, that matters in a specific way. Shares that vested last week have no statement history yet. Let them sit in your brokerage account, then show the statements.
Run the numbers on one illustrative file. Say an Ohio buyer wants an $800,000 loan. The buyer holds $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90% counts, so $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100% counts, so $200,000). That adds up to $800,000 of usable assets, which covers the loan, so the file is reviewed on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs, and this is an illustration, not an offer.
How Does the Asset Depletion Path Work?
The depletion path turns your assets into income on paper. The lender takes your usable assets and divides them by 60 months. That monthly figure must then carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. You are on one path or the other, never both at once.
Depletion leverage is up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loan amounts run from $125,000 to $3,500,000. Credit follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor needs a 700 score on this path.
The haircuts are steeper here, because the lender is converting balances into income. These are the shares of each balance that count:
- Cash accounts and certificates of deposit: 100%.
- Securities: 80%.
- Private stock: 75%.
- Retirement accounts: 70% at any age.
- Real-estate equity: 60%.
Not eligible on this 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. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset depletion is your only income source, they must also never fall below $250,000 liquid. Asset income can supplement documented income too. In that case it can be used up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Seasoning differs from the qualifier path. Statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days.
Consider an illustrative depletion file. A borrower holds $1,500,000 in publicly traded shares from years of vested stock pay. Securities count at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Add $300,000 in cash at 100%, and usable assets reach $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That figure then has to carry the housing payment and other debts under the debt-to-income test, subject to underwriting.
Which Path Fits an Ohio Stock Earner?
Pick the path by asking what you are trying to buy and what you hold. The table sets the two side by side.
| Factor | Asset Qualifier | Asset Depletion |
|---|---|---|
| What is tested | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets become monthly income |
| Income documented | None | Derived from assets, then DTI |
| Brokerage and securities | 100% | 80% |
| Purchase leverage, primary | Up to 80% | Up to 80% |
| Investment property | Not offered | 65% purchase, 60% cash-out |
| Seasoning | 60 days, two statements | 120-day statements plus one within 45 days |
If your vested balances are big enough to cover the loan outright, the qualifier path is simpler. It also gives you the better credit percentages. If your assets are large but would not cover the whole loan, the depletion path lets you qualify through derived income. It also covers investment property.
One more trade-off deserves honest weight. Under either path you are counting on shares whose price moves. A concentrated position in a single company is volatile, and the lender values it at its market price. The more of your qualifying balance sits in one stock, the more a bad month matters.
What If the Property Is a Rental?
An investment property only works on the depletion path. Leverage is up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. Because investment property loans are business-purpose, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage.
The line between consumer and business purpose is narrower than many borrowers assume. The CFPB’s official interpretation treats credit to buy or maintain non-owner-occupied rental property as business purpose. That falls away if you expect to occupy the property for more than 14 days in the coming year. So a place you plan to use as a vacation home on weekends is a different file than a pure rental.
For an investor whose main goal is rental cash flow, a separate loan type may fit better. DSCR loans qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. The asset path is the one to ask about when the rent alone is thin and your portfolio is the strong part of the story.
Which Documents Do You Need?
You document the assets, not a job. The exact list depends on the path and on the lender, but the core pieces are consistent across the programs we place files with:
| Document | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Brokerage statements | Show shares delivered and held |
| Vest or delivery records | Prove the shares are vested |
| Bank statements | Show sale proceeds or cash balances |
| Sale confirmations | Trace shares you sold into cash |
| Credit report | Reviewed against the program’s score rules |
| Source of large deposits | Lender reviews where funds came from |
If you sold shares, keep the sale confirmation and the matching bank deposit. If you moved money between accounts, expect questions. Large transfers that cannot be traced are a common reason files stall.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, borrowed funds and pledged assets 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.
What Is Specific to Ohio?
The program figures do not change by state. The 75% credit on private stock or the 60-month divisor reads the same in Columbus as it does anywhere else. What changes is licensing and context. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, and Ohio is one of them. An Ohio borrower can ask about these programs directly. The Ohio items below are context only, never program rules.
Your cash picture is the Ohio-adjacent piece worth planning. At vest, your employer commonly withholds shares to cover tax. IRS Publication 15 sets the flat withholding on supplemental wages at 22%, rising to 37% above $1 million in a calendar year. Bankrate notes that employers often withhold by keeping a portion of the shares. For many high earners, that is less than the full bill. Money you earmarked for a down payment may be needed in April. Verified, seasoned funds are what count, so set the tax money aside before you count the rest.
Tax treatment varies by situation and state, and borrowers should consult a qualified tax professional before relying on any assumption.
What Can Go Wrong, and How Do You Fix It?
Most problems come from timing and counting. These are the ones we see most when stock earners apply:
- Shares that have not vested. They are not assets. Wait for the vest, then let the account season.
- A falling share price. Shares are valued at market, so a drop reduces the balance a lender can credit. Cushion your file by holding more than the minimum.
- Not enough seasoning. New deposits and fresh vests need statement history. Planning ahead avoids a restart.
- Credit that misses the score. The qualifier path has a 600 minimum, and the depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on depletion needs 700. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the standard, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. A housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
- Occupancy surprises. If you plan to use a rental yourself, the property may not be business-purpose, and the leverage and path change.
- Private-company shares. On the depletion path, private stock counts at 75%. Expect the lender to want more support for how it is valued.
- Stock options. Not eligible on the depletion path. Exercise and sell, then document the cash.
If a file is declined, the fix is usually specific. Add assets, season them, switch paths, or lower the loan amount. A broker who sees many lenders can often tell you which lever matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use unvested RSUs to qualify?
No. Unvested RSUs are not eligible assets on the depletion path, and a promise of future shares has no balance for a lender to count. Once they vest and land in your account, they become eligible under the rules for that account type, after seasoning.
Do I have to sell my shares to qualify?
Not necessarily. On the qualifier path, brokerage accounts count at 100%, so shares can stay invested. On the depletion path, securities count at 80%. Selling is optional, though some borrowers sell to simplify the file. Weigh that choice with a tax professional.
Do these programs require traditional personal-income documentation or pay stubs?
On the asset qualifier path, no income is documented, so there are no traditional income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. The assets are documented with statements, and every file is fully underwritten. On the depletion path, assets become your qualifying income. Your balances are still reviewed with the lender’s credit and debt-to-income standards.
Can I buy a rental with this?
Yes, on the depletion path only. Investment property leverage is up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. A first-time investor needs a 700 score. If the rent is strong, a DSCR loan may fit better than an asset-based file.
Does it matter if I work for a private company?
Yes. Private stock counts at 75% on the depletion path, a lower share than publicly traded securities at 80%. Private shares are harder to value, so expect extra review. Converting to cash in a regulated account is the cleaner route when it makes sense for you.
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. Reach the team at 828-256-2183 or request a quote. Programs change, terms vary by borrower and property. This is not a commitment to lend.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Ohio page presents the program for Ohio borrowers.
About Lendmire
As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states qualify on bank statements, a profit-and-loss statement, 1099s or liquid assets instead of traditional income documentation, through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; program terms are set by the lender and its guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
2. Enact MI, underwriting loans with restricted stock units as income
3. CFPB, Regulation Z section 1026.3 official interpretation
5. Bankrate, restricted stock units explainer
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 a California Widow Qualify for a Mortgage on Life Insurance and Retirement Assets? · How New Mexico Tech Employees Paid in Stock Get a Mortgage on Assets · How Ohio Retirees Qualify for a Mortgage Without a Paycheck
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Ohio
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.