The Quick Read: Which lender fits a newly built home depends on your file rather than a ranking, because lenders in this space check completion proof, a cleared construction loan, appraised value, how the property is titled, and 12 to 24 months of bank deposits that show your income. A recent closing is not the barrier. Equity, title, and occupancy are.
- The home must be finished, with a certificate of occupancy or the local equivalent.
- Any construction loan has to be paid off or converted first.
- Investment-property lines top out at 70% CLTV, subject to lender guidelines.
- An LLC cannot hold title on these lines.
- Bank statements replace tax returns in the income math. Credit, equity, and the property are still underwritten.
A self-employed builder or investor finishes a new home, and the tax returns show little income after write-offs. That is where this product earns its keep. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It places these files with wholesale lenders, so the sections below explain how those lenders think instead of ranking companies.
How large a line the equity supports.
An equity line is sized by combined loan-to-value, occupancy, and credit — not by rental coverage. Switch the occupancy or the credit band and the ceiling moves with it.
Investment-property lines require a 700 minimum credit score; second-home lines start at a 640 minimum and primary-residence lines at 600, and the combined-LTV ceiling steps down as the credit band drops on primary-residence and second-home lines and holds on investment-property lines; the line cap steps down on primary-residence lines and holds at every tier on investment-property and second-home lines.
A debt-to-income ratio above 45% requires 680+ credit. Profiles under 640 are limited to single-family homes. At least 75% of the approved line is drawn at closing. Ceilings, floors, and caps update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source.
Line estimate
Illustrative estimate only — not a quote, Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. The rate is an editable assumption; equity-line pricing is variable through both the draw and repayment periods and never converts to fixed. Occupancy and credit drive the ceiling together: an investment property tops out at 70% combined LTV (minimum credit 700, line cap $500,000); a second home tops out at 90% combined LTV (minimum credit 640, line cap $500,000), with the ceiling stepping down as the credit band drops (the cap holds at every tier); a primary residence tops out at 90% combined LTV (minimum credit 600), and its $750,000 maximum line is available only at 75% combined LTV or below with a 700-or-better credit profile (720 on the longer-runway program) and a full appraisal. Lines above $500,000 require a full appraisal. Credit, debt-to-income, property type, and full underwriting review all affect the final line.
What a Bank Statement HELOC Actually Is
A bank statement HELOC is a home equity line of credit that is reviewed against deposit history instead of your tax returns. A HELOC is a revolving line secured by the home. You borrow against it as needed, up to a limit.
The program documents your income a different way, but it is not a loose loan. Credit score, equity, debt load, and the property all get full review. In our wholesale network these lines sit as a standalone first or second lien.
Our network also offers two draw structures. One has a 3-year interest-only draw followed by a 17-year fully amortizing repayment. The other, which this article calls the longer-runway program, uses the 5-year structure. Investment-property lines run the 5-year structure only.
At least 75% of the line is drawn at closing. Pricing floats during both the draw and repayment periods and never converts to fixed. Lenders review your file on the interest-only payment calculated on the maximum draw, which matters for your debt ratio.
Can You Get One on a Brand-New Home?
Yes, once the home is finished and any construction financing is retired. No industry-wide waiting period applies after you buy or build. Yahoo Finance notes that most lenders set no fixed wait after a purchase and that available equity is the main factor.
On a new build, three gates come before equity.
1. Completion. A HELOC is not construction money. The lender needs a finished home with a certificate of occupancy or the local equivalent. An unfinished house has no rent history and no reliable collateral value.
2. Construction loan payoff. A construction loan is short-term and interest-only. It must be paid off or converted to a permanent mortgage before a new line can record. Your new line cannot sit ahead of the construction lender’s lien.
3. Lien position. Position follows recording order. If the home has no mortgage, the line can sit in first position. If a permanent loan is in place, the line sits second.
If you built with cash and have no mortgage, the path is simpler. If you built with a loan that converted to a permanent mortgage, the HELOC sits behind it, and your combined leverage counts both.
How Lenders Turn Deposits Into Income
Lenders convert deposits to income by averaging a clean run of statements and applying an expense factor to business deposits. Scotsman Guide describes the standard non-QM approach. A self-employed borrower supplies 12 to 24 months of personal or business statements. The lender applies an expense factor (50% is the article’s example) or uses a profit-and-loss statement from a third-party tax professional.
Each program sets its own factor, so treat 50% as an illustration. The underwriting steps look like this:
1. You provide complete, consecutive statements with every page.
2. The underwriter removes transfers between your accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, and one-off deposits.
3. Large deposits get sourced.
4. The expense factor applies to business-account deposits.
5. The result is averaged and tested against your debts, including the new line.
The network’s debt-to-income limit is 50% at most. It drops to 45% for credit profiles from 600 to 679. A ratio above 45% requires a 680 minimum.
A gap is the usual snag. If you closed one business and opened another, a new account with a thin history leaves little to average. A short history does not always sink the file, but it can shrink the qualifying income.
Where a Newly Built Home Gets Tricky
New construction changes the valuation, the listing history, and sometimes the property type. Those three issues cause most of the stalls we see.
Valuation. On lines at or below $500,000, the network ordinarily runs an automated valuation with no traditional appraisal. A higher CLTV may trigger a secondary valuation. You can also request a full appraisal. A brand-new house has little sales history, so an automated model has less to work from. A full appraisal is more likely than on a seasoned home. Every line above $500,000 requires one.
Your equity depends on appraised value, not on what the build cost you. A builder-sold price can match or exceed the appraisal. If it comes in low, your available line shrinks.
Listing history. In several states in the network, a property listed for sale, or listed within the past 60 days, is ineligible. Builders and spec-home owners often list a finished house before deciding to keep it as a rental. If that is you, check the listing history before you apply.
Property type. Single-family homes, 2-4 units, PUDs, townhomes, and condominiums (including non-warrantable condos) are eligible. Modular factory-built homes are eligible on the longer-runway program only, which is the 5-year draw structure. Manufactured homes and log homes are not offered. If your “new build” is one of those, this product does not apply.
Occupancy Sets the Ceiling
Occupancy decides how much you can borrow against the home, and the gap is large. The table shows the network’s program ceilings by occupancy, subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
| Occupancy | Minimum credit | Top CLTV | Maximum line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary residence | 600 | 90% (720+ only) | $500,000 at 90% CLTV; $750,000 at 75% CLTV, 700+ (720 on the longer-runway program) |
| Second home | 640 | 90% (720+ only) | $500,000 |
| Investment property | 700 | 70% | $500,000 |
CLTV means combined loan-to-value. It adds every lien plus the full credit limit and divides by the home’s value. A HELOC counts the whole limit, not just what you have drawn.
Credit tiers step the ceiling down. On a second home, a 640 score reaches 75% CLTV, while a 700 score reaches 85%. On a primary residence, a 620 score reaches 70%, and a 700 score reaches 85% up to $500,000.
A line above $500,000 is for primary residences only. It requires a credit profile of 700 or better (720 on the longer-runway program). It caps at 75% CLTV and needs a full appraisal.
NerdWallet reports that an investment-property HELOC is harder to get than one on a primary home. Not every lender offers one, and multiple appraisals may be required. That matches what we see: the investment pool is thin, which is why shopping several wholesale lenders matters.
The Title Trap for Investors Who Built in an LLC
If your new build is deeded to an LLC, this product will not work as titled. Fee simple or leasehold title must be held by you as an individual or by an inter vivos revocable living trust. LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and irrevocable, blind, or land trusts cannot hold title.
This is the sharpest structural difference from a DSCR loan. A property already in an LLC needs a vesting change before a line can record. The other route is a DSCR cash-out refinance, which can work on LLC-titled properties, subject to lender program eligibility. A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
A vesting change has side effects. It can affect your existing insurance and the entity’s liability protection, so make that call with your attorney, not just your loan officer.
Who Actually Provides These Lines?
The lenders that write this product fall into a few groups, and the right one depends on your situation. A broker’s value is access to several of them at once.
Large retail lenders and depository institutions tend to underwrite to tax returns, so self-employed borrowers with heavy write-offs often hit a wall there. Some credit unions are more flexible, but investment-property lines are rare across the whole market. Wholesale non-QM lenders build programs around alternative income documentation, and a broker like Lendmire places files with select lenders in that network.
Availability is narrower than our DSCR footprint. Lendmire’s DSCR investor programs run in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. These lines are offered only in the 16 states where Lendmire has full-service retail licensing.
Three questions narrow the field before any lender is named:
- Is the property your primary home, a second home, or a rental?
- Is it titled in your name or a trust, rather than an LLC?
- Do you need leverage above 70% CLTV, or a line above $500,000?
Two programs in the network differ on tradelines, housing history, and foreclosure-family history. One program declines foreclosure-family history regardless of age. The other seasons a foreclosure at 7 years and a deed-in-lieu, pre-foreclosure, or short sale at 4 years. Matching your credit story to the right program is the work a broker does.
Two Scenarios Worth Running
Picture a self-employed contractor who built a duplex and kept it as a rental. A 740 score and two years of business statements would put the file near the investment-property ceiling of 70% CLTV. The home is titled in the contractor’s own name, the construction loan is paid off, and the certificate of occupancy is in hand. Lenders would still test deposits, debt ratio, and appraised value before sizing the line.
Now consider an investor who built a single-family home through an LLC. The income documentation is fine, but the title blocks the product. The choices are to retitle personally, then apply, or to skip the line and test a DSCR cash-out refinance. A DSCR cash-out is where the property’s income, not yours, gets tested. Cash-out refinances run up to roughly 75% LTV on a standard rental across most of the network. About 6 months of seasoning is the common expectation. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Two cautions apply to that DSCR route. Clearing 1.00 coverage does not mean positive cash flow, because DSCR compares rent to the full payment only. Repairs, vacancy, management, and capital expenses sit outside the ratio. Also, 1.00 is where many select programs start. A separate select-lender path takes coverage below 1.00, with leverage and terms adjusted.
Documents to Gather for a New Build
Bring more than a typical resale file would need:
- The settlement statement and the recorded deed, showing individual or trust vesting.
- The certificate of occupancy or equivalent completion proof.
- A payoff letter or conversion paperwork for any construction loan.
- Builder or warranty paperwork, plus homeowner’s insurance.
- Your first mortgage statement, if one exists.
- 12 to 24 months of complete personal or business statements.
The credit report must be no more than 90 days old at closing, and rescores are not allowed. The network uses a single-bureau score keyed to the primary wage earner, so fix errors before you apply, not after.
Why Files Stall
The common causes are predictable. A construction lien is still open. The appraised value lands under the build cost. Deposits include transfers that shrink the averaged income. Title sits in an LLC. A recent listing triggers the 60-day rule.
The program also has caps that no down payment erases. A borrower is limited to three lines. Combined exposure caps at $2,000,000 on the higher-leverage program and $750,000 on the longer-runway program. A borrower with more than 15 financed properties is not eligible. Experienced builders sometimes hit that last limit before they hit any credit issue.
Federal rules for open-end credit secured by a dwelling, found in the CFPB’s Regulation Z § 1026.40, also limit when a creditor can freeze or cut a line after closing. That is context, not a reason to avoid the product. It is one more reason to draw conservatively on a young property whose value has not been tested over time.
Key Terms Defined
Bank statement income: a way to document earnings by averaging deposits over 12 to 24 months instead of using tax returns.
CLTV: combined loan-to-value, which adds every lien and the full credit limit, then divides by the home’s value.
Expense factor: the share of business deposits a lender treats as operating costs before counting the rest as income.
Certificate of occupancy: local proof that a new home is complete and legal to live in.
Lien position: where a loan sits in line for repayment, set by recording order.
Vesting: how the property’s title is held, such as an individual or a revocable trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a waiting period after finishing or buying a new home?
No fixed industry-wide wait exists, though individual lenders vary. What matters is a finished home, a cleared construction loan, a recorded deed, and enough appraised equity. In practice, a thin equity cushion on a recent closing is a bigger obstacle than the calendar.
Can a bank statement HELOC pay for the construction itself?
No. A permanent line is not construction money, and an unfinished home cannot serve as collateral. Construction is funded by cash or a construction loan. A HELOC becomes an option only after the home is complete and that construction lien is cleared.
Can I use this on a rental I built in an LLC?
Not as titled. LLCs cannot hold title on these lines, so you would retitle to yourself or a revocable trust. Otherwise, a DSCR cash-out refinance tests the rent against the payment and can work on LLC-titled properties, subject to lender program eligibility.
Do I still need an appraisal on a new build?
Often, though not always. Lines at or below $500,000 ordinarily use an automated valuation, but a new home has little sales history, and a higher CLTV may require a secondary valuation. A full appraisal is required above $500,000, and you can request one anytime.
Does every lender offer this on an investment property?
No. The pool is small and requirements are strict. In our network, investment-property lines need a 700 minimum credit profile and top out at 70% CLTV. Availability also depends on your state, your title, and the property type.
Next Step
If you are considering a home equity line and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare HELOC options based on the property, the equity available, credit profile, combined leverage, and your goals. For background on rental financing when the line is not the right fit, read the complete DSCR loans guide. Self-employed borrowers can also see how the same documentation approach works on a residence in Lendmire’s piece on bank statement HELOC options without tax returns for a primary or second home. Programs change, and every file is underwritten individually. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) arranging home equity lines of credit — primary-residence, second-home and investment-property lines — through a wholesale lending network in its 16 full-service states. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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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. Yahoo Finance, how soon can you get a HELOC after purchasing property
2. Scotsman Guide, non-QM lending overview
3. NerdWallet, can you get a HELOC on an investment property
4. CFPB, Regulation Z § 1026.40
This article is part of Lendmire’s bank statement HELOC program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Qualify for a Bank Statement HELOC on a Home You Just Bought and Closed On · Banks That Offer a Bank Statement HELOC for First-Time Investors Tapping Home Equity · Top Bank Statement HELOC Providers to Close on an Investment Property
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
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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.