The Quick Read: Usually yes, but the route depends on what you have left after paying cash: if your remaining eligible assets cover the whole loan, an asset qualifier loan can work with no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification, and if they are large but not that large, an asset depletion loan turns them into qualifying income. Both are fully underwritten, and your assets are documented with statements.
- Asset qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan. Loan-to-value can reach up to 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, on a principal residence or second home, subject to underwriting.
- Asset depletion path: usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly income that must carry the housing payment and your other debts.
- The catch: the cash you spent on the house no longer counts as an asset. Only what is left in your accounts qualifies you.
- Property use matters: a primary or second home is a consumer loan. A pure rental usually belongs on a different, business-purpose track.
Colorado is one of the 16 states where Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed. The program figures below do not change by state. Colorado is simply where you live.
Why Timing and Proof Are Two Separate Questions
Paying cash raises two questions that people tangle together. The first is timing: how soon after closing can you borrow against the house, and how much? The second is proof: how does a lender decide you can repay when your paycheck is zero?
Timing is mostly about the property and the loan type. Proof is about your statements. A retiree with a large portfolio and a house bought outright has no income problem on paper. She has a presentation problem, and asset-based lending exists to solve it.
Lendmire is a broker. It arranges these loans through select lenders in its wholesale network, and each lender underwrites every file individually. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Which Path Fits You?
Start with your remaining balances, not your house. After the cash purchase, add up what sits in brokerage, savings, CDs, money market and retirement accounts. Then compare that total to the loan you want.
| Your situation after the purchase | Likely path | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible assets cover the whole loan | Asset qualifier | No income documented |
| Large assets, short of the whole loan | Asset depletion | Assets become income |
| Some documented income plus assets | Depletion as a supplement | Income can be topped up |
| Little left in accounts | Probably not yet | Nothing to qualify on |
A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. The two paths use different asset percentages, so never blend their numbers.
Path One: Your Assets Cover the Whole Loan
The asset qualifier path asks one question: do your eligible assets equal or exceed the entire loan amount? If yes, no employment or income is documented. The lender’s review of whether you can repay rests on the assets instead.
Here is what counts on this path, as a share of each balance:
- Brokerage accounts, CDs, money market and savings: 100%.
- 401(k) and IRA balances: 90% if you are under 59½, 100% at 59½ or older.
- Accounts combine.
Run the numbers on an $800,000 loan. Say you hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (counts 100%, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (counts 90%, so $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (counts 100%, so $200,000). That is $800,000 of usable assets, enough to qualify on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs, and this is illustrative only.
The rest of the path is straightforward. Leverage tops out at 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, on a principal residence or second home. Loans run to $4,000,000. The credit score floor is 600, and statements cover two months for each qualifying account, with 60 days of seasoning. Reserves are not required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them.
Cash-out on this path is set by the lender and is not published, so no figure belongs here.
Path Two: Your Assets Become Income
The asset depletion path divides usable assets by 60 months. The result is monthly qualifying income. That income then runs through the debt-to-income test with your housing payment and other debts.
The percentages are lower here. Cash and CDs count 100%. Securities count 80%, private stock 75%, retirement accounts 70% at any age, and real-estate equity 60%.
Take $1,500,000 in securities (80%, so $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100%, so $300,000). That is $1,500,000 usable. Divided by 60 months, it gives $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That figure must then carry the housing payment and other debts.
Depletion has firmer minimums. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They can never be below $250,000 liquid when depletion is your only income source. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000.
Leverage depends on the property and the transaction:
- On a principal residence or second home, up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out.
- On an investment property, up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, and 60% on a cash-out.
Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. If you have a little documented income, depletion income can supplement it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. In that case the minimum-assets rule is waived.
The Spent-Cash Problem
This is the part most borrowers miss. Cash you used to buy the house is gone from your balance sheet. It is now equity in a property, and equity in the subject house is not a seasoned account balance.
Picture a buyer who had $2,000,000 in liquid assets and put $900,000 into a house. A lender sees $1,100,000, not $2,000,000. Whether that clears the loan amount on the qualifier path, or the 1.25x test on the depletion path, comes down to the remainder. It does not come down to what you used to own.
So work the math before you wire the money. The cleanest sequence is to decide how much loan you will want afterward, then keep enough eligible assets to support it. Some buyers find they should pay cash for less house, or keep a bigger cushion.
Large deposits matter too. Qualifier-path assets need 60 days of seasoning. Depletion-path statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus a recent one within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning.
What Conventional Delayed Financing Does
You may have heard of delayed financing. It is a conventional-loan exception, and it only addresses timing. Conventional cash-out loans generally want at least one borrower on title for six months. The Fannie Mae Selling Guide names a delayed financing exception to that wait, plus carve-outs for inherited property and for time an LLC you control has held title.
Delayed financing waives the title wait. It does not waive underwriting. Conventional programs still review your income in the usual way, so a buyer with no job income is a poor fit. As conventional programs describe it, the loan is also generally sized to what you documented paying, not to a higher appraisal.
That is why the asset-based route exists. Conventional rules answer when you can borrow. Asset-based programs answer how you prove you can repay without a paycheck.
What About a Rental House?
Everything above on the asset qualifier path assumes you live in the home, or use it as a second home. These are consumer loans, and standard consumer mortgage disclosures apply.
An investment property is a different animal. On the depletion path, an investment property is business-purpose and tops out at the lower 65% and 60% leverage. A first-time investor on that path needs a 700 credit score. Many Colorado buyers with a cash-bought rental skip assets altogether and let the rent do the work instead. That means a separate business-purpose investor track. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
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 CFPB’s Truth in Lending exam procedures describe credit extended primarily for a business purpose as exempt from Regulation Z. Even so, that track still requires documents, including rent evidence, appraisal and insurance. America’s Credit Unions explains how the same exemption carries into the mortgage settlement rules.
Be honest about the label, too. Do not call a primary home a rental to get a different loan. That is misrepresentation, and underwriters look for it.
Your Paper Trail
Assets are documented on every file. Here is the set Lendmire’s lenders generally look for:
- The settlement statement showing the cash purchase, and the recorded deed.
- Statements for every qualifying account: two months on the qualifier path, or the 120-day-old plus within-45-days pair on the depletion path.
- An explanation and source for any large deposit.
- Homeowners insurance and, if the property sits in an entity, its entity documents.
- Credit, with a 600 floor on the qualifier path and the lender’s matrix on the depletion path.
Housing history is typically 0x30x12. One 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible, and a housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles and borrowed or pledged funds 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. Not eligible 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.
What Goes Wrong
Across the wholesale network, the same problems keep surfacing:
- Assets counted twice. The cash that bought the house cannot also qualify the loan.
- Unseasoned deposits. A big transfer into savings last month raises questions the file cannot answer.
- Pledged or borrowed money. Funds from a line secured by other property are not treated as your own assets.
- Wrong path, wrong numbers. Applying the 90% retirement credit from the qualifier path to a depletion-path file, where retirement accounts count at 70%, breaks the math.
- Thin credit. Strong balances do not offset a score below the program floor.
Skip the shortcut thinking, too. This is not a program where nothing is checked. Each file is fully underwritten, and every parameter here is subject to underwriting. Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held, so keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier loan: a mortgage where eligible assets must equal or exceed the whole loan, and no income is documented.
Asset depletion loan: a mortgage where usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying monthly income.
Haircut: the share of an account’s balance a lender refuses to count, because the asset can drop in value or be taxed when sold.
Seasoning: the time funds must sit in your account before they count, which shows they are really yours.
Delayed financing: a conventional exception that lets a cash buyer take a cash-out loan without the usual title-time wait.
Debt-to-income ratio: your monthly debts divided by your monthly income, used on the depletion path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a mortgage right after paying cash if I have no job?
Yes, in many cases. The asset qualifier path documents no employment or income and looks at whether your remaining eligible assets cover the whole loan. Seasoning of 60 days and two months of statements per account apply. Every file is underwritten individually.
Does the house I just bought count as an asset?
Not on the qualifier path, where counted assets are accounts like brokerage, savings, CDs and retirement. On the depletion path, real-estate equity counts at 60%. Whether that includes your newly bought home depends on the lender’s review, so ask before you plan around it.
How much can I borrow against a paid-off home?
On a primary residence or second home, the depletion path allows up to 60% on a cash-out and up to 80% on a rate-and-term refinance. The qualifier path allows up to 75% on a refinance, but its cash-out terms are set by the lender. On an investment property on the depletion path, 60% is the cash-out ceiling. All figures are subject to underwriting.
Do I need a perfect credit score?
No, but there are floors. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix, and a first-time investor needs 700. Housing history is typically 0x30x12.
Is this the same as a no-doc loan?
No. Nobody asks for traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification on the qualifier path, but your statements, credit, property and insurance are all reviewed. Assets are documented on both paths.
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 programs based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals.
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. Fannie Mae Selling Guide: Cash-Out Refinance Transactions
2. CFPB Truth in Lending Act examination procedures
3. America’s Credit Unions: Regulations and Business Loans
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Delayed Financing vs. an Asset Qualifier Loan After Paying Cash for a Home · Can a Washington Buyer Get a Mortgage After Paying Cash for a House With No Income? · Can You Buy a Second Home in Colorado on Assets Instead of Income?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Colorado
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
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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.