The Quick Read: Unexercised stock options do not count as qualifying assets on either asset-based path, but the shares you get after exercising them, once delivered to a brokerage account and seasoned, do count, and that is how an options-heavy borrower can qualify through select programs, subject to underwriting. The title’s premise needs one correction. The option is not the asset, and the exercised share is. The rest of the work is picking the right path and sizing the cash-out.
- Unexercised options and unvested restricted stock units are not eligible assets.
- Exercised or vested shares held in a brokerage account count at 100% on the asset qualifier path and 80% on the asset depletion path.
- Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path.
- A cash-out on an investment property runs only on the depletion path, at up to 60% loan-to-value, subject to underwriting.
- The best program for your situation depends on the property type, your account balances, and how much cash you want out.
What Does “Asset-Based” Mean for a Cash-Out Refinance?
An asset-based mortgage drives lender review on your documented account balances instead of your pay history. There are two paths, and a borrower is reviewed on one at a time. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, and it places these files through select lenders in its wholesale network. The lenders review eligibility and approve.
On the asset qualifier path, eligible assets after the credit percentages must equal or exceed the entire loan. No employment or income is documented. That means no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. Every file is still fully underwritten, and the assets are documented with statements.
On the asset depletion path, usable assets are divided by 60 months. The result is a monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program page lays out the full structure. This article covers the part most borrowers with equity compensation ask about first: what counts and what does not.
Do Stock Options Count as Assets?
Unexercised stock options do not count on either path. An option is a right to buy shares at a set price. It is not a balance in an account. The depletion path lists stock options as not eligible, and the qualifier path has no balance to credit.
Unvested RSUs follow the same rule. They are on the not-eligible list for the depletion path. NerdWallet’s RSU explainer notes that the promised shares are not transferred to you, and carry no value, until the vesting conditions are met. A lender cannot count what you do not yet own.
Here is how each type of equity is treated.
| Equity type | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Unexercised options | Not a balance | Not eligible |
| Unvested RSUs | Not a balance | Not eligible |
| Exercised or vested shares in brokerage | 100% | 80% (securities) |
| Sale proceeds in a seasoned cash account | 100% | 100% |
The table shows the credit percentages for each path. Do not blend the two columns. A file is calculated on one path or the other.
How Do Options Become Qualifying Assets, Step by Step?
Options become qualifying assets only after you exercise them and the resulting shares, or the cash from selling them, sit in an account that meets seasoning. Here is the sequence a broker walks through with an options holder.
1. Sort your equity by what it is today. Delivered shares in a brokerage account are assets. Options and unvested units are not.
2. Convert what you can. Exercising turns an option into a share. The exercise price and any resulting tax bill come from your cash. That cash may be the same pool the loan wants to count, so plan the order of steps. Exercising nonstatutory options creates taxable income on the spread, and a later sale produces a capital gain or loss, per IRS Topic 427, so tax treatment varies and a qualified professional should review the plan before you exercise.
3. Pick the path. If your usable assets cover the whole loan, the qualifier path fits. If your assets are large but fall short of the loan, the depletion path turns them into income.
4. Apply the credit percentages. Brokerage accounts count at 100% on the qualifier path. Securities count at 80% on the depletion path.
5. Document and season. The qualifier path wants 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. The depletion path wants statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days.
6. Size the cash-out. Leverage and the property’s value set the ceiling, and cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
Seasoning is where options holders get caught. Shares that landed in your account last week have no statement history. A new exercise usually means waiting before the shares can carry a file.
What Does the Math Look Like?
Both examples below are illustrative. The lender’s own calculation governs, and every figure is subject to underwriting.
Qualifier path. Say you want an $800,000 loan on your residence. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, including exercised shares that have been delivered and seasoned. Credit at 100% is $330,000. You also hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under age 59½, which counts at 90%, or $270,000. Add $200,000 in savings at 100%. Your usable assets total $800,000, which matches the loan, so the file is reviewed on assets alone.
Depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which counts at 80%, or $1,200,000. You also hold $300,000 in cash at 100%. Usable assets are $1,500,000. 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.
Notice what drove each result. Vesting and exercise decided what could count at all. The credit percentage decided how much counted.
Which Path Fits an Investment Property Cash-Out?
An investment property cash-out runs on the asset depletion path only. The qualifier path is for a principal residence or second home. On the depletion path, an investment property can reach up to 65% loan-to-value on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and up to 60% on a cash-out refinance, through select programs and subject to underwriting.
A principal residence or second home on the depletion path can reach up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on the qualifier path, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published.
Loan amounts run from $125,000 to $3,500,000 on the depletion path and up to $4,000,000 on the qualifier path.
Depletion files carry minimums. 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, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid assets. If you have salary income, asset-derived income can supplement it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs a 700 credit score. Otherwise the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix applies. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Because an investment-property cash-out is a business-purpose loan, it is reviewed differently from an owner-occupied mortgage. Per the Federal Register, business-purpose loans fall outside the consumer ability-to-repay rules. The lender’s own guidelines still apply in full.
What About Private Company Stock?
Founders, early employees and anyone else holding closely held shares should know that private company stock is not published as an eligible asset.
The documented route is liquid assets. If a sale, buyout or tender offer converts your shares to cash, that cash can count once it sits in a regulated account and meets the seasoning rules. Public securities and retirement accounts count at their credit percentages. Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles also are not published as eligible on either path. The same route applies: convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
How Do You Judge the Best Program for Your Situation?
The best program for your situation depends on the property, your accounts and the cash you need. The lenders that write this product differ on overlays, reserves and how they treat concentrated stock positions. A broker that shops several wholesale lenders can match the scenario to the program. Across that network, these are the questions that decide fit.
- Is the property your home or a rental? A rental narrows you to the depletion path.
- Do your assets cover the whole loan? If yes, the qualifier path may fit a home. If no, depletion turns assets into income.
- How much of your net worth is one stock? A price drop between statement dates can change the result. Plan for a cushion.
- How much cash do you need out? Cash-out ceilings are lower than purchase ceilings on the depletion path.
- Do you have salary income too? Asset income can supplement it, which changes the minimum-assets test.
Which Path Fits Your Situation?
| Your situation | Likely path |
|---|---|
| Only unexercised options | Wait, exercise, or use another loan type |
| Exercised shares plus cash | Depletion, or qualifier if assets cover the loan |
| Recent sale or tender offer | Seasoned cash balance, then either path |
| Private company shares | Convert to cash first |
| Rental with a salary | Depletion with supplemental asset income |
For a rental that earns solid rent, a DSCR cash-out may be simpler. That loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. The asset route earns its place when the rent does not carry the payment, or when you want a loan size the rent cannot support.
Where Does the General Rule Break?
Double-trigger RSUs. Some units need a second condition beyond time vesting, such as a company liquidity event. Until both conditions are met, the units are not shares you own. NerdWallet’s RSU explainer covers the double-trigger design.
Shares delivered but sitting in a custodial or escrow account. Custodial accounts and escrow accounts are not eligible on the depletion path. Shares need to be in your own brokerage account.
Cash on hand. Cash on hand is not eligible on the depletion path. Cash needs to sit in a regulated account with statements.
Retirement accounts. These count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% after on the qualifier path. They count at 70% at any age on the depletion path.
Credit history. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. Housing history is 0x30x12, with one 30-day late in the last twelve months considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. A housing event needs four years of seasoning on the depletion path.
What Should You Prepare Before Applying?
A short checklist keeps the file moving through lender review.
- Brokerage statements showing the shares held and delivered, covering the required seasoning window.
- Exercise confirmations that show when shares were delivered.
- Statements for cash, savings and retirement accounts you want counted.
- A record of where any sale or buyout proceeds came from.
- A clear target: loan amount, property and path.
Key Terms Defined
Exercise: The step where you pay the strike price and turn an option into a share you own.
Vesting: The point when you earn the right to a grant, either to exercise an option or to receive RSU shares.
Asset qualifier path: The route where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must cover the entire loan.
Asset depletion path: The route where usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying monthly income.
Credit percentage (haircut): The share of an account balance the program counts, such as 80% for securities on the depletion path.
Seasoning: The time funds or shares must show on statements before they count.
What Is 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. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Program details change, and every file is underwritten individually. This is not a commitment to lend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can unvested options or RSUs qualify as assets?
No. Unvested options and non-vested RSUs are not eligible on the depletion path, and the qualifier path has no balance to credit for them. Only shares that have vested, been delivered and been held in an account can count.
Do I have to sell my shares to qualify?
No, not on either path. Delivered shares in a brokerage account count at 100% on the qualifier path and 80% on the depletion path. Selling is one route, but holding shares keeps your position while still supporting the file. Weigh that against the concentration risk of one employer’s stock.
Does a cash-out change the rules?
Yes. On the depletion path, a cash-out refinance on a principal residence or second home is limited to 60% loan-to-value, compared with 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance. An investment property is limited to 60% on a cash-out, compared with 65% otherwise. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
Can I combine salary with asset income?
Yes, on the depletion path. Asset-derived income can supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. A borrower on the qualifier path documents no income at all.
What if my company is private?
Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. The route is a sale, tender offer or buyout that converts shares to cash in a regulated account. That cash can count once it meets the seasoning rules.
A deeper walk-through of investment-property equity extraction lives in Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
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
2. IRS Topic 427, Stock options
3. Federal Register, Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards Under Regulation Z
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 Get a Texas Asset-Based Mortgage With No Job? · How to Document a Wire From a Sale Before an Asset-Based Mortgage · Can You Take Cash Out of a Primary Residence on an Asset-Based Mortgage?
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.