The Quick Read: No asset-based program waives every kind of seasoning, because the word means three different things. The waiting period on the property is set by each lender and varies. The waiting period on your funds is published, and some sources of funds are excused from it. The right fit depends on your assets, the property, and the leverage you need.
- Asset-based programs review your file on documented assets, with no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. Every file is still fully underwritten.
- Seasoning can mean how long you have owned the property, how old the loan is, or how long money has sat in your accounts.
- On the asset qualifier path, funds season for 60 days with two months of statements per account.
- On the asset depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old, but sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that.
- Every figure here is subject to underwriting.
Reader fit comes first. This page is for people with large balances and little documented income: retirees, business sellers, inheritance recipients, and households living off a portfolio. If you earn a paycheck and the property rents well, a different program may serve you better. If your cash is the story, read on.
What “Seasoning” Actually Means Here
Seasoning is a waiting period a lender wants before it treats something as settled. Cash-out refinance borrowers run into three different clocks, and sellers who write “no seasoning” rarely say which one they mean.
| Type of seasoning | What the clock measures | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership (title) | Time since you bought the property | Each lender |
| Loan age | Time since your current mortgage started | Each lender |
| Funds | Time your money has sat in your accounts | Published in this program |
The third clock is the one that trips up asset-based borrowers. A lender can waive ownership seasoning and still insist that your statements show the money has been there. Seasoning is lender policy, not law. Non-agency lenders write their own terms, so two lenders can give you opposite answers on the same day.
Key Terms Defined
Cash-out refinance: A new mortgage larger than the one it replaces, with the difference paid to you in cash.
Asset qualifier path: The route where your eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount, and no employment or income is documented.
Asset depletion path: The route where usable assets divided by 60 months become a monthly qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
Cost basis: What you paid for a property plus documented rehab and certain closing costs.
Delayed financing: An exception that lets a documented cash buyer borrow soon after purchase, without waiting out the normal cash-out clock.
Credit percentage: The share of an account balance the lender counts. A 100% credit counts the whole balance, while 80% counts four-fifths of it.
Haircut: The part of a balance that does not count. Securities counting at 80% carry a 20% haircut.
Two Paths, and You Are on Only One at a Time
Lead with the question that decides everything: do your assets cover the loan outright, or do they need to become income? You qualify on one path at a time, and the two use different rules.
| Factor | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| How you qualify | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets become monthly income |
| Property | Principal residence or second home | Also investment property |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Credit | 600 minimum score | The lender’s matrix |
| Funds seasoning | 60 days, two months of statements | Statements 120+ days old plus one within 45 days |
Leverage differs by path and by transaction. On the qualifier path, the ceiling is 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on that path, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published. Do not count on a qualifier-path cash-out figure until a lender puts one in writing.
On the depletion path, a principal residence or second home goes up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. Depletion is the path with a published cash-out number, which is why it is usually the one people mean when they say asset-based cash-out. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. You cannot pull cash out and then use it to qualify.
The investment-property option sits only on the depletion path, at up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. Those loans are business-purpose, so they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The asset-based mortgage programs Lendmire places run through select lenders in its network, and each file is underwritten individually.
How Underwriting Treats the Cash-Out, Step by Step
Here is the sequence a file follows. Each step can cap the loan.
1. Pick the path. If your assets can cover the whole loan, the qualifier path is cleaner. If they cannot, depletion converts them into income.
2. Apply the credit percentages. Not every dollar counts at face value. The next section shows the numbers.
3. Check funds seasoning. The qualifier path wants 60 days and two months of statements for each account. The depletion path wants statements at least 120 days old plus the most recent one within 45 days.
4. Check credit and housing history. The qualifier path has a 600 minimum score. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700. Housing history is 0x30x12, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. A housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path.
5. Size the loan. Leverage on the value is capped by the path and transaction. On a recently acquired property, a lender that will lend at all often sizes to the lower of appraised value or cost basis.
6. Underwrite the property. An appraisal sets the value, and the property still has to meet program standards.
Ownership seasoning is the piece that is not published for this program. It sits with each lender in the network and can differ between them. Ask about it before you apply.
What counts, and at what percentage
On the qualifier path, brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market and savings count at 100%. A 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% if you are under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine.
On the depletion path, cash accounts and certificates of deposit count at 100%. Securities count at 80%, retirement accounts at 70% at any age, and real-estate equity at 60%.
Not eligible on the depletion 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. Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, pledged or borrowed funds, and business accounts beyond your ownership share are not published as eligible either. The documented route for any of these is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
Two illustrative calculations
These are illustrations only. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Qualifier path: take an $800,000 loan. You hold $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%, so $200,000). Usable assets total $800,000, which equals the loan. You qualify on assets alone.
Depletion path: take $1,500,000 in securities (80% counts, so $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100%). Usable assets are $1,500,000. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Depletion has minimums too. 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 asset depletion is your only income source. If you have documented income, assets can supplement it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and then the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Four Routes to a Short or Zero Ownership Wait
“No seasoning” on the property usually comes from one of four structures. Each waives something different, and none waives the underwriting of the loan itself.
| Route | What it waives | What it does not waive |
|---|---|---|
| Lender with no ownership minimum | The ownership clock | Value, credit and asset tests |
| Cost-basis refinance | The cash-out label | Proceeds capped near cost |
| Delayed financing for cash buyers | The waiting period only | Cash-out eligibility and pricing |
| Rate-and-term now, cash-out later | Cash-out seasoning | A second closing’s costs |
The first route is a lender’s own policy, so it appears in some programs and not others. The second treats a refinance up to total cost basis as a lower-risk rate-and-term loan. It can feel like a cash-out to you, but the lender frames it differently. The third is an exception inside the cash-out rules, not a separate loan. The agency version of that exception, in Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide, says all other cash-out requirements still apply and cash-out pricing applies. Asset-based loans do not follow that guide, but it shows the logic: the exception removes the clock, nothing else.
The fourth route is the patient one. You refinance without taking cash, then return for cash-out once the clock has run. You pay closing costs twice, so it only makes sense when the wait is short.
Where the General Rule Breaks
Proceeds capped near cost. Inside the window, a delayed-financing loan is generally limited to the documented initial investment plus certain closing costs. Appreciation or created equity does not come back to you until seasoning ends. One originator’s filed guideline language, in an SEC-filed diligence exhibit, requires an arm’s-length original purchase and a settlement statement showing no mortgage financing. It carves out short-term or hard-money loans paid off from the proceeds. It also treats delayed financing loans as cash-outs for eligibility.
Prior financing can disqualify the exception. The loan is then treated as a cash-out that must meet cash-out seasoning, or qualify as a rate-and-term refinance. Whether a hard-money payoff counts as disqualifying depends on the specific guideline, so do not assume.
Paying off a bridge loan. Paying off a previous hard money or bridge loan is generally a rate-and-term refinance. Extra cash out is what triggers seasoning.
Exceptions happen but are not a program. A case-by-case exception may occasionally be granted after a short ownership period with compensating factors, as one SEC-filed exhibit shows. Its existence is not a guideline you can rely on. Do not plan around it.
Sale, inheritance and settlement money. On the depletion path, funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from the 120-day statement age. This is the closest thing to zero seasoning in the program, and it applies to your funds, not to the property.
Vesting mismatches. A file can stall when the refinance is in your name but the purchase money came from a partnership account. Match the borrower, the title and the funds trail before you apply. Whether an LLC-held property can be used depends on lender program eligibility.
How to Judge the Best Program for Your Situation
No single program is best for everyone. The program that fits you depends on property type, credit profile, leverage need and documentation. Judge any option against these questions:
- Does it qualify you on assets, with no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification, while still fully underwriting the file?
- Does it say in writing whether the cash-out clock runs from the recorded deed, the application, or the new loan’s start?
- Does it size the loan to appraised value or to cost basis?
- Does it publish the credit percentages on each asset type, so you can run your own numbers first?
- Does it allow the property use you have, whether a principal residence, second home or investment property?
Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It shops multiple wholesale lenders and matches your scenario to the program whose guidelines fit, subject to underwriting. A single lender’s “no seasoning” page tells you only that one lender’s policy. A broker can compare several.
Which Route Fits Which Borrower
| Your profile | Likely fit | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Retiree with large securities and cash | Depletion path | Securities count at 80%, retirement at 70% |
| Business seller with fresh proceeds | Depletion path | Funds are excused from the 120-day age |
| Large balances covering the whole loan | Qualifier path | Cash-out leverage is lender-set |
| Cash buyer who just closed | Delayed financing | Proceeds near cost |
| Renovator who paid off a bridge loan | Rate-and-term first | Cost basis versus value |
| Founder holding private company stock | Convert to liquid assets | The stock is not an eligible asset |
Take the founder row seriously. A founder’s route is documented liquid assets: seasoned proceeds from a sale or conversion, cash, public securities and retirement accounts at their credit percentages.
When Waiting Is the Smarter Move
Waiting wins in a few cases. If the property has appreciated well past cost, sizing to cost basis leaves cash on the table, so a few more months of ownership may return more. If your statements are younger than the funds clock, waiting costs less than a stalled file. If your assets cover the loan only barely, a market dip in securities can pull you under the line during underwriting.
If the wait is short, a rate-and-term refinance now and a cash-out later also works, if you accept two sets of closing costs. Run that tradeoff against your carrying costs on any short-term debt.
What Slows a File
The common stalls are quiet ones. Statements that are one month short, a funds trail that does not match the title holder, an account type that is not eligible, and a retirement balance counted at the wrong percentage are the usual culprits. Gather two months of statements for every account on the qualifier path, or the aged and recent statements on the depletion path. Gather the purchase settlement statement and rehab receipts if you are leaning on cost basis. This is a consumer mortgage when it finances a principal residence or second home, so standard consumer loan disclosures apply to those files.
In files like these, the borrower’s real problem is usually not the waiting period. It is that the money is in an account type the program does not count. Sorting that out before applying saves more time than hunting for a lender with the shortest clock.
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. Programs change, and every file is underwritten individually. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a program with truly zero seasoning on a cash-out?
Not as a universal rule. Each lender sets its own ownership clock, and some advertise a short one. The funds clock is published: 60 days on the qualifier path, and 120-day statements on the depletion path. Ask for the lender’s ownership rule in writing before you plan around it.
Can I use cash-out proceeds to qualify?
No. On the depletion path, cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Your eligible assets are measured before the cash-out, after the credit percentages, and they have to meet the program’s minimums.
How much leverage is available on a cash-out?
On the depletion path, 60% on a cash-out refinance of a principal residence, second home or investment property. On the qualifier path, the lender sets cash-out leverage and it is not published. Both are ceilings, subject to underwriting, not offers.
Do privately held shares count toward my assets?
No. The route is a sale or buyout that turns the shares into a documented cash balance, and that seasoned cash counts at 100%. Lendmire’s piece Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program With No Income Other Than Assets covers how that fits a low-income file.
Can I use cryptocurrency or precious metals?
Neither is published as eligible on either path. Convert them to cash held in a regulated account, and the lender will review where the money came from.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging bank statement and other alternative-documentation mortgages (P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based paths) through a wholesale lending network. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
For the mechanics of pulling equity out of a rental property, see Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. Fannie Mae Selling Guide, cash-out refinance transactions
2. SEC-filed diligence exhibit on delayed financing conditions
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program at 50% LTV
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
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- North Carolina Insurance Producer · License# 19053198 · Property, Casualty, Life, Health · Verify on NAIC SBS
- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
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.