The Quick Read: You qualify by documenting twelve or twenty-four consecutive months of bank statements, letting the lender convert eligible deposits into income after an expense ratio, and then clearing credit, leverage, and reserve tests that tighten as the loan grows. You apply by assembling statements, payoff and property documents, and use-of-funds details so a broker can match the file to a program.
- Qualifying income comes from eligible deposits, not from tax returns, and the expense ratio is the biggest swing factor.
- Maximum leverage steps down as the loan amount rises, and every loan above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission.
- Reserves run 3, 6, or 9 months depending on loan size, and above certain sizes cash-out proceeds cannot count toward them.
- Cash-out is unlimited at or below 60% LTV on the portfolio program, with a cap above that.
- All figures here describe select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting. None is a commitment to lend. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Many founders, physicians, attorneys, and business owners hit the same wall. Their tax returns show a fraction of their real cash flow because legitimate write-offs shrink taxable income. A bank statement program measures what actually moves through your accounts. It is still a fully underwritten loan. This article walks through how that works at large loan sizes, in order.
What Does Super Jumbo Mean, and Who Is This Loan For?
Super jumbo is a lender-set tier, not an official category. In practice it means a loan large enough that the rules tighten: lower leverage, higher credit expectations, heavier reserves, and manual review. In the wholesale network Lendmire places files with, the tightening starts at $3,500,000 on a primary residence and $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property.
The loan fits a borrower whose income is real but hard to show on a tax return. Think of a founder paying herself through distributions, a physician with a practice entity, an entertainer with lumpy deposits, or an investor with several entities. If a W-2 and two years of returns tell your story cleanly, a full-documentation jumbo may be simpler. If they do not, deposits can tell it better.
Two wholesale programs cover the range. A portfolio non-QM program (a non-QM loan is one that sits outside the standard Qualified Mortgage box) carries bank-statement files up to $6,000,000. A bank portfolio jumbo program carries twelve-month-statement files up to $30,000,000 on its own size ladder. That second ladder begins above $4,000,000, overlaps the first through $6,000,000, and stands alone above it. Both are available through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
Key Terms Defined
Eligible deposits: The deposits left after the lender removes transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, and one-time items.
Expense ratio: The share of business deposits the lender treats as operating cost, not income.
LTV (loan-to-value): The loan amount divided by the property’s appraised value.
Reserves: Liquid funds you hold after closing, counted in months of the new obligation.
Overlay: An extra requirement a program adds on top of its base rules, usually at larger sizes.
Cash-out refinance: A new, larger loan that pays off the old one and puts the difference in your hands.
Is Bank Statement the Right Path for You?
It is the right path when your deposits are strong and your returns are not. Other paths exist, and the best program for your situation depends on which one your file proves most cleanly.
| Path | What gets tested | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Bank statement | Deposits after expense ratio | Self-employed, heavy write-offs |
| DSCR | Subject rent vs. monthly obligation | Rental property, any income story |
| Asset-based | Liquid assets | Large portfolio, uneven income |
| Full-documentation jumbo | Returns and W-2s | Salaried or clean returns |
A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. It does not use your personal income at all. If you are refinancing a rental, that can be the cleaner route. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide covers it in full. If you are pulling cash from your own home, DSCR is off the table because there is no rent to measure.
Skip the bank statement route if your account activity is thin, your deposits mix personal and business money in ways you cannot explain, or you need leverage the ladder below does not offer.
How Underwriting Turns Deposits Into Income
Underwriting follows a fixed sequence. Knowing it lets you fix problems before the lender finds them.
Step 1: Choose the window and account type. You supply 12 or 24 consecutive months of personal or business statements. The bank portfolio program uses 12. A trade-press overview from Scotsman Guide describes the same basic setup: a self-employed borrower with no W-2 supplies 12 to 24 months of statements. Statements must be complete and consecutive. Transaction histories never substitute.
Step 2: Scrub the deposits. The underwriter strikes anything that is not income. That includes moves between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, and one-time windfalls. One exception helps you. Transfers from your own business into your personal account count at 100%.
Step 3: Apply the expense ratio. For business statements, the program applies a fixed ratio. It is 20% for a service business with no employees, 40% for one to five employees, and 50% for six or more employees or any product business. An accountant-provided ratio is another option. So is a profit-and-loss method, which this program caps at 80%. The same overview lists a standard expense factor, a P&L, or a tax-professional expense statement as the usual routes. Business statements also require at least 25% ownership.
Step 4: Divide by the months. Qualifying income is eligible deposits divided by the statement months, after the expense ratio, scaled by your ownership share.
Here is the logic with no dollar figures. A consulting firm with no employees keeps 80% of its average eligible deposits as income. A product business with the same deposits keeps only half. Same bank activity, very different borrowing power. That gap is why the ratio matters more than almost any other input.
Step 5: Test debt-to-income. Your qualifying income feeds a debt-to-income ratio, which can run up to 50% on these programs. The new obligation and any other debts are measured against it.
Lendmire’s piece on documenting a super jumbo cash-out with bank statements goes deeper on the paperwork itself.
The Checks That Decide the Outcome
Five things decide most files: income, credit, leverage, reserves, and property and borrower conditions. Income is covered above, so here are the other four.
Credit
The portfolio program sets a 660 floor up to the super jumbo line and 700 above it. The bank portfolio program keeps a 680 floor at every size. Higher scores unlock higher leverage inside a band. The score a band’s top cell needs is not a floor. A lower score simply takes a lower-leverage cell in the same band.
On a primary residence, the top cell needs 680+ up to $1,000,000, 700+ from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, 720+ from $1,500,000 to $3,500,000, and 760+ from $3,500,000 to $4,000,000.
Leverage
The ladder below shows primary-residence ceilings, through select wholesale programs, subject to underwriting. Bands are loan amounts, never purchase prices. Work out your loan first, then read the row.
| Loan band | Purchase | Rate-term | Cash-out | Program |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300K–$1M | 90% | 90% | 80% | Portfolio non-QM |
| $1M–$1.5M | 85% | 85% | 80% | Portfolio non-QM |
| $1.5M–$2M | 85% | 85% | 75% | Portfolio non-QM |
| $2M–$2.5M | 80% | 80% | 70% | Portfolio non-QM |
| $2.5M–$3M | 80% | 80% | 70% | Portfolio non-QM |
| $3M–$3.5M | 75% | 75% | 65% | Portfolio non-QM |
| $3.5M–$4M | 75% | 70% | 65% | Portfolio, super jumbo overlays |
| $4M–$5M | 65% | 65% | 60% | Bank portfolio, on review |
| $5M–$6M | 60% | 60% | 55% | Bank portfolio, on review |
| $6M–$10M | 60% | 60% | 55% | Bank portfolio, on review |
| $10M–$20M | 55% | 55% | 50% | Bank portfolio, on review |
| $20M–$30M | 55% | 55% | 50% | Bank portfolio, on review |
Notice that the ladder does not simply fall in a straight line. When the bank portfolio program takes over, the best cell on each row holds flat or keeps stepping down at a larger size. Read each band on its own.
Second homes and investment properties have their own ladders. On a cash-out, the top band up to $1,000,000 allows 75% on a second home and 75% on an investment property, against 80% on a primary residence. Take every figure from the occupancy’s own ladder. Do not subtract from the primary-residence figure.
Because every loan above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission, treat any figure at that size as a starting point for the conversation, not a quote.
Reserves
Reserves are 3 months up to $500,000, 6 months up to $1,500,000, and 9 months above that. Add 2 months for each additional financed property, up to a 12-month maximum. First-time investors need 12 months.
Above $3,500,000 on a primary residence and $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property, cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves. You need those funds sitting outside the loan.
Property and borrower conditions
At those same sizes, the super jumbo overlays apply. They include a 700 credit floor, a 0x30x24 housing history (no 30-day late payments in the past 24 months), and 48 months of seasoning after any credit event. The borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, with no non-occupant co-borrowers, no rural property, and ten acres at most.
Property type also moves the ceiling. Warrantable condos go to 85% and non-warrantable condos to 80%. Condotels get 75% on a purchase and 65% on a cash-out, or 50% on the bank program. Two-to-four-unit properties go to 85%. Second homes must be one unit.
What Changes at Super Jumbo Size
Four things change together: leverage, credit expectations, reserve treatment, and the review process.
Leverage drops by band, as the table shows. Credit expectations rise above the super jumbo line, with 700 on the portfolio program. Reserves move from 3 to 6 to 9 months, and proceeds stop counting toward them. Finally, files above $4,000,000 are reviewed case by case before they are submitted.
Experience across this kind of deal flow shows a pattern. Borrowers focus on the headline loan amount and underestimate how much cash they need to hold outside the loan. A file that clears income and leverage can still stall on reserves. Ask for the reserve math at the start of the conversation, not the end.
What Cash-Out Adds to the Picture
A cash-out loan is a new loan that pays off the old one and delivers the difference to you. Three numbers matter: the new loan amount, the payoff, and the costs rolled in or paid. What remains is cash in hand.
On the portfolio program, proceeds are unlimited at or below 60% LTV. Above 60%, cash in hand is capped at $1,500,000. The bank portfolio program has no published cash-in-hand cap, but its leverage ladder already limits the loan size. Lenders also ask what the money is for. Expect a short written explanation, and keep records showing where the proceeds go. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Where the Rules Break
The general rules above bend in a handful of named cases.
Personal versus business statements. Personal statements carry no expense ratio in many programs, while business statements do. The right choice depends on where your income actually lands. Mixing the two can confuse the analysis, so pick the account that tells the clearest story.
Ownership below 25%. Business statements require at least 25% ownership. Below that, the business account is off the table, and your personal deposits or another path have to carry the file.
Primary residence versus rental. A cash-out on your own home is a consumer-purpose loan, and the lender must make a documented ability-to-repay finding. The CFPB’s ATR/QM compliance guide explains that lenders rely on reasonably reliable third-party records. That is the reason deposits get scrubbed instead of taken at face value.
A rental refinance can be business-purpose. Business-purpose credit is generally outside consumer-credit rules, as the Federal Reserve’s Regulation Z summary describes, and purpose is what controls. Business-purpose loans are still reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage, and proceeds used for personal reasons can change the classification. Settle the purpose with your broker before you apply.
When deposits are not the story. Two asset paths exist for primary and second homes. An asset allowance divides liquid assets by 36, 60, or 84 months and adds the result to income. The divisor is 36 when the file’s debt-to-income before the asset income is at or below 60%, and 60 when it is above. It is 84 when the allowance stands alone or the loan exceeds $3,500,000. The qualifying ratio with that income counted must still fit the 50% ceiling.
An assets-only path needs no debt-to-income test. It requires U.S. liquid assets equal to the loan amount plus closing costs plus 60 months of any net loss on other residential property. Retirement accounts count at 70% (80% for borrowers 59.5 or older). Business funds, gifts, most trusts, unvested stock, and cryptocurrency never count.
High debt-to-income. Debt-to-income can run to 50%. Beyond that, the usual fixes are paying off a debt with proceeds, picking a different statement window, or moving to an asset path.
How to Apply, Step by Step
Applying is a sequence. Doing it in this order avoids most surprises.
1. Define the goal. Decide how much cash you need and what it is for. That determines whether the file needs a cash-out ceiling you can reach.
2. Pull complete statements. Gather every page of 12 or 24 consecutive months. Screenshots and transaction histories will not work.
3. Mark your deposits. Label transfers, loan proceeds, and one-time items yourself. It shortens the scrubbing step and shows the underwriter you understand your own cash flow.
4. Decide the expense ratio path. Ask your accountant whether a prepared ratio or P&L could beat the fixed ratio. Do this before applying, because it can move the maximum loan.
5. Check credit. Review all three reports and your middle score. Note any credit event, since 48 months of seasoning applies at the largest sizes.
6. Confirm reserves. Add up liquid funds outside the loan, and remember proceeds may not count at the largest sizes.
7. Collect property documents. Have your current mortgage statement, homeowner’s insurance, and, for condos, the association details ready.
8. Write the use-of-funds note. One paragraph on what the cash will do.
9. Submit through a broker. A broker that shops multiple wholesale lenders matches your deposits, leverage need, and property to the program whose rules fit. Above $4,000,000, that review happens before the file is submitted.
10. Respond to underwriting conditions. Expect follow-up requests on deposits and the appraisal. Clear them in full and in writing.
Why Files Stall, and What Fixes Them
Most stalled files trace back to one of five causes.
- Unexplained deposits. Fix them with a short written explanation and supporting paperwork for each large item.
- A high expense ratio. Ask whether an accountant-prepared ratio is allowed and whether the P&L period matches the statement window.
- Reserves that rely on proceeds. Move liquid funds into your account before applying, or lower the loan size.
- Leverage above the band. Reduce the cash-out request, or look at a lower-leverage cell in the same band.
- Credit events. Check seasoning against the 48-month overlay and consider waiting if you are inside it.
If you were declined before, ask which kind of decline it was. An income-measurement problem points to a different statement type or ratio. A leverage, credit, or value problem needs a different fix, and switching documentation will not help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a bank statement cash-out refinance a no-documentation loan?
No. It is reviewed on documented income under the applicable program, subject to lender guidelines. You supply complete, consecutive statements, and the underwriter scrubs the deposits, applies an expense ratio, and tests credit, debt-to-income, reserves, and the appraisal. The paperwork is different from a tax-return file, but it is no lighter.
Do business and personal statements get treated the same?
They do not. Business statements go through an expense ratio of 20%, 40%, or 50% depending on size and type, or an accountant-provided ratio. They also require at least 25% ownership. Transfers from your business into a personal account count in full.
Can my cash-out proceeds count as reserves?
At the largest sizes they cannot. Below those sizes, reserve treatment depends on the program and the file, so confirm it up front.
Does a rental property qualify for this loan?
It can. Investment property has its own leverage ladder, and a rental refinance can be business-purpose. A DSCR loan is another route, since it qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment. The best program for your situation depends on your deposits, the property’s rent, and how much leverage you need.
Is there a ceiling on how much cash I can take out?
On the portfolio program, proceeds are unlimited at or below 60% LTV, with a $1,500,000 cash-in-hand cap above that. The bank portfolio program has no published cash-in-hand cap, but its leverage ladder limits the loan. Every loan above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case. Each figure is subject to lender guidelines and a complete review of property type, leverage, and credit.
Next Step
Lendmire is a broker, not a lender, and its consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, so confirm availability for your state. Reach the team at 828-256-2183 or request a quote.
For how equity extraction works on an investment property, see Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan programs page.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
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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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. Scotsman Guide, “Rev Up the Engine for Non-QM Lending”
2. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
3. Federal Reserve Board, Regulation Z coverage summary
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Super Jumbo Bank Statement Cash-Out Refinance Requirements for Owners Who Reinvest Profits · Best Super Jumbo Bank Statement Cash-Out Refinance Program to Invest in the Stock Market
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.