The Quick Read: A retiree with large savings and investments can qualify on assets instead of a paycheck, through select programs and subject to underwriting. One path uses eligible assets to cover the entire loan with no employment or income documented. The other divides usable assets by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income. Either way, the assets are documented with statements, and the file is fully underwritten.
- Asset qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the whole loan. Leverage runs up to 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home.
- Asset depletion path: usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying income, which then runs through the debt-to-income test.
- You work on one path at a time. The two tables of percentages never blend.
- Paperwork shrinks, but it does not vanish. Expect no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification, yet full asset statements, credit review, an appraisal and title work.
- Retirement accounts count. You do not have to cash them out to use them.
Retirement does not make a mortgage impossible. It changes what the lender looks at. A paycheck is one way to show you can repay a loan. A large, well-documented pile of cash and investments is another. Lendmire is a broker, so it compares how select lenders in its wholesale network treat those assets and places the file where it fits best.
Why Retirees Hear “No” From the Big Banks
Most large retail lenders are built around paycheck-style income that is steady and likely to continue. A retiree living on portfolio withdrawals rarely fits that mold on paper, even with seven figures in the bank.
Standard underwriting also treats retirement-account withdrawals with caution. Agency-style rules expect retirement distributions to continue for three years. That is a contrast, not how the asset-based programs below work.
Age is not the barrier. Documentation style is. The retiree whose balances are large and whose reported income is small simply needs a program that reads the balance sheet instead.
Which Path Fits You?
Assets That Cover the Loan, or Assets That Become Income: Which One Fits Your Situation?
Start with one question: could your eligible assets cover the entire loan on their own? If yes, the asset qualifier path is usually cleaner. If your assets are large but not that large, or you want your existing pension and Social Security to count too, the asset depletion path may fit better.
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets ÷ 60 months = income |
| Income documented | None | Derived, plus any real income |
| Purchase leverage | Up to 80% | Up to 80% (home); 65% (investment) |
| 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 | Lender’s matrix |
All figures are typical ceilings and floors through select programs, subject to underwriting. They are not offers. On the depletion path, leverage on a principal residence or second home is up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. On an investment property it is up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out.
The Asset Qualifier Path, Step by Step
This path asks one thing: do your eligible assets, after the credit percentages, equal or exceed the entire loan? If so, no employment or income is documented.
Step 1: Count the assets. Brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market and savings count at 100%. Retirement accounts such as a 401(k) or IRA count at 90% if you are under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine.
Step 2: Season them. Funds typically need 60 days in the account, with two months of statements for each qualifying account.
Step 3: Check credit. The published floor is a 600 score. A credit review still happens. Nothing here means “no credit check.”.
Step 4: Do the property work. An appraisal and title work apply as on any purchase or refinance.
Here is an illustrative case. Say the loan is $800,000. The borrower holds $330,000 in brokerage accounts (counted at 100%, or $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (counted at 90%, or $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100%, or $200,000). That adds up to $800,000 of usable assets, so the borrower is reviewed on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Reserves work simply here. None are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them.
The Asset Depletion Path, Step by Step
Here the lender turns assets into a monthly income number. Eligible assets, after haircuts, are divided by 60 months. That figure must carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
The haircuts differ from the qualifier path, so do not mix the tables:
- Cash accounts and certificates of deposit: 100%
- Securities: 80%
- Privately held stock: not eligible on either path.
- Retirement accounts: 70% at any age
- Real-estate equity: 60%
Take $1,500,000 in securities (80%, or $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100%, or $300,000). That is $1,500,000 usable. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Several rules apply on this path. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They can never fall below $250,000 liquid when depletion is the only income source. Statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus a recent one within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
Pension and Social Security can supplement the picture. Asset-derived income may add to documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Credit follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on this path needs a 700 score. A housing event such as a foreclosure needs four years of seasoning, and multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
What Counts, and What Does Not
Across Lendmire’s network, the safest assets are the plainest ones: cash, CDs, brokerage holdings and retirement accounts. Some assets do not make the list on either path:
- Custodial accounts, deferred compensation and escrow accounts
- Foreign funds and cash on hand
- Stock options and non-vested restricted stock units
- Funds from non-regulated financial companies
Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles are not published as eligible either. The documented route is to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source. Pledged or borrowed funds do not count.
Retirement accounts deserve one more note. You do not have to liquidate an IRA or 401(k) for the asset-based programs to count it. The lender uses the balance to qualify, and your money stays invested. Taking real distributions to show income is a different approach with different consequences. Withdrawals before 59½ can bring a 10% early-withdrawal penalty. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified tax professional.
Where the Rules Bend: Edge Cases
Buying a rental. The asset depletion path is the only one of these two that covers an investment property. That loan is business-purpose. Regulation Z exempts credit extended primarily for a business purpose, and the test looks at the loan’s purpose, not the property type. For a rental where the lease income is the real story, many investors use DSCR instead. DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties, and they qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your portfolio then supports reserves and credit strength rather than the ratio.
Early retirees under 59½. On the qualifier path, retirement balances still count at 90%. On the depletion path they count at 70% at any age. Retire at 52 with a large 401(k) and the percentage matters, so run both paths.
Couples. Eligible assets combine across accounts. A spouse’s pension can supplement derived income on the depletion path. Who is on the loan and whose names are on the accounts should be settled before you apply.
A first-time investor. The 700 credit minimum on the depletion path catches people who assume a big portfolio overrides a thin credit file.
Late payments. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the standard. One 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case.
Cash-out proceeds. On the depletion path, cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Whether the qualifier path allows cash-out, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published.
What Retirees Often Get Wrong
“No paycheck means no documentation.” That’s not the case. Assets are documented with statements, and the program is fully underwritten. What drops away is traditional personal-income documentation, such as pay stubs and employment verification.
“Retirees can’t get a mortgage.” The federal ability-to-repay rule, explained in the CFPB’s ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage compliance guide, has lenders consider “current or reasonably expected income or assets.” Assets count. That legal flexibility is why asset-based programs exist at all.
“I have to sell my investments.” No. See above.
“A big portfolio helps a DSCR file’s ratio.” It does not. It supports reserves and credit strength.
“My account balance is all that matters.” Seasoning, account type and ownership matter as much. A balance that appeared last week will not count as one that has sat for months.
Choosing in Practice: Three Profiles
Picture a single retiree with $2,000,000 across brokerage, savings and a rollover IRA, buying a $900,000 home with a large down payment. The qualifier path may work if usable assets cover the loan. Little to document, little to argue about.
Consider a couple with modest pensions and $1,800,000 in securities and cash who want a bigger loan. Depletion may fit better, because pensions supplement the derived income and the debt-to-income test does the rest.
Now run the numbers on a retiree who wants a rental. Her portfolio is strong, but the property’s lease income matters most. Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs cover the home side, while a DSCR loan is usually the better fit for the rental itself.
If you hold large equity in a long-held house, that equity counts at 60% on the depletion path, but it is the weakest asset on the list. Stock sale proceeds or a business sale may help more.
A Practical Checklist
1. Pull statements. Collect two months for each account you plan to use.
2. Check ages. Confirm every account has sat long enough, or that the source is excused.
3. Sort by path. Total your usable assets once with the qualifier percentages and once with the depletion haircuts.
4. Compare to the loan. Does the first total cover the loan? Does the second, divided by 60, support the payment?
5. Pull credit. Know your score before you apply.
6. Talk through leverage. The figures are ceilings; the right number depends on the file.
Because this is a consumer mortgage on a home you will live in, standard consumer-loan disclosures apply. That differs from business-purpose investor loans.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets cover the entire loan and no income is documented.
Asset depletion: a path that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: the share of an asset’s balance a lender will not count.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in an account before they count.
Debt-to-income (DTI): monthly debts divided by monthly income.
DSCR: debt service coverage ratio, the rent-to-payment test used on investment property loans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any income to qualify?
On the asset qualifier path, no employment or income is documented. On the asset depletion path, your assets are converted into income, and any pension or Social Security can supplement it. Credit review, statements, an appraisal and title work apply either way, subject to underwriting.
Can I use my IRA or 401(k)?
Yes. On the qualifier path, retirement accounts count at 90% under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. You do not have to liquidate them.
Is this a no-doc loan?
No. The file is fully underwritten and your assets are documented with statements. What you skip is traditional personal-income documentation, such as pay stubs or employment verification.
What if my money is in crypto or gold?
Neither is published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source.
Is this available in California?
Yes. The program’s consumer lending is licensed in 16 states, and California is one of them. The figures above do not change by state, though local prices and costs affect the numbers. For a related look at larger loans for retirees, see Lendmire’s guide to super jumbo DSCR loans for asset-rich retirees.
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. Programs change, every file is underwritten individually. This is not a commitment to lend.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in California page presents the program for California borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending partners for borrowers whose traditional income documentation understates their income, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
2. CFPB, Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rule Small Entity Compliance Guide
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 Pennsylvania Retirees Qualify for a Mortgage Without a Paycheck · How Florida Retirees Qualify for a Mortgage Without a Paycheck · How Early Retirees Get a Mortgage Before Age 59½
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
Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.