These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
The Quick Read: Lenders check your credit first, then match your assets to one of two qualifying paths. A 660 score clears the published floor on one path and follows the lender’s matrix on the other. Leverage, asset credit and seasoning then decide how much cash you can take out. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
- A 660 score is usually enough to enter the file, but it does not set your leverage. Property type, path and assets do.
- The asset qualifier path covers the entire loan with eligible assets and documents no employment or income. Its published credit floor is 600.
- The asset depletion path turns usable assets into monthly income, divided over 60 months, and runs it through a debt-to-income test.
- On the depletion path, a cash-out refinance tops out at 60% loan-to-value on a principal residence, second home or investment property, subject to underwriting.
- On the depletion path, cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets, and every file is fully underwritten.
Who This Route Fits
An asset-based refinance fits borrowers with large balances and small documented income. Think retirees, people who sold a business, heirs, recipients of a settlement, and early-retired professionals living off a portfolio.
Their tax returns often show little income. Their statements show a great deal of money. The asset-based mortgage programs Lendmire places through its wholesale network read the statements instead of the tax returns.
That does not make the loan undocumented. You provide no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. You do provide account statements, a credit report, a property appraisal and proof of where the money came from.
Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It shops your scenario across several wholesale lenders and matches it to the program that fits. The consumer mortgage program is offered in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Every figure below is a ceiling or floor, not an offer, and all of it is subject to underwriting.
Key Terms Defined
Cash-out refinance: A new mortgage that pays off the old one and hands you the extra equity as cash.
Asset qualifier path: A way to qualify where eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan.
Asset depletion path: A way to qualify where usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: The part of an asset’s balance that does not count. If securities count at 80%, the haircut is 20%.
Seasoning: How long funds must sit in your account, or how old your statements must be, before a lender trusts them.
Debt-to-income (DTI): Your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared with your monthly qualifying income.
Loan-to-value (LTV): The loan balance as a share of the property’s appraised value.
What Does the Underwriting Sequence Look Like at 660?
Underwriters work through eight checks in order. Credit comes first, then path, assets, seasoning, property and leverage, the income test, reserves and conditions. A 660 score mostly affects the first and fifth checks. The rest turn on your assets and the property.
Step 1: Credit. The lender pulls your credit and reads the score and the housing history. A 660 sits above the qualifier path’s published floor of 600. On the depletion path, the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix applies, so a 660 is read against the size of your loan.
Housing history is typically 0x30x12, meaning no 30-day late payments on the mortgage in the last twelve months. One late in that window is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. On the depletion path, a housing event such as a foreclosure needs four years of seasoning.
What a 660 changes: it places you in a mid-tier band, which can narrow the choice of programs and leverage a lender will offer.
Step 2: Path selection. You are qualified on one path at a time. The underwriter asks whether your eligible assets can cover the whole loan. If they can, the qualifier path is cleaner. If they cannot, the depletion path may work, because assets become income instead.
What a 660 changes: nothing about the choice itself, but cash-out matters here. Whether the qualifier path allows cash-out proceeds, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published. The depletion path publishes a cash-out ceiling, which makes it the usual route for this loan type.
Step 3: Assets and the credit percentages. The lender applies a percentage to each account. On the qualifier path, brokerage, CDs, money market and savings count at 100%. Retirement accounts count at 90% if you are under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine.
On the depletion path, cash and CDs count at 100%. Securities count at 80%, retirement accounts at 70% at any age, and real-estate equity at 60%.
What a 660 changes: nothing. The percentages are the same at any score.
Step 4: Seasoning and sourcing. 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 one statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that depletion-path seasoning.
What a 660 changes: a mid-tier file leaves less room for surprises, so a clean paper trail helps.
Step 5: Property and leverage. The appraisal sets value, and value sets the loan size. On the depletion path, a cash-out refinance is capped at 60% LTV on a principal residence, second home or investment property. A rate-and-term refinance can go higher on that path: up to 80% on a principal residence or second home and 65% on an investment property. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
What a 660 changes: these are ceilings. A mid-tier score can bring a lower final number, depending on the lender’s matrix.
Step 6: The income or coverage test. On the qualifier path, eligible assets must meet or exceed the entire loan, and no income is documented. On the depletion path, the derived income must carry the housing payment and other debts through the DTI test.
Step 7: Reserves. The qualifier path requires none at or below 75% LTV. Above that, the lender sets them. The depletion path publishes no reserve months. Every figure here varies by lender and program, since guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
Step 8: Conditions. The underwriter issues a list of items still needed. Typical items are updated statements, a letter explaining a large deposit, a payoff statement and appraisal follow-up.
The Two Paths Side by Side
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| How assets are used | Must cover the whole loan | Become monthly income |
| Published credit floor | 600 | Lender’s matrix |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Cash-out up to 60% |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Statement seasoning | 60 days, two statements | 120-day-old plus one within 45 days |
| Investment property | Not eligible | Eligible |
These figures are subject to underwriting and apply through select programs. The qualifier path covers a principal residence or second home. The 75% figure is its refinance ceiling, and its cash-out treatment is lender-set.
How the Math Works: Two Illustrations
The numbers below are illustrative. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Qualifier path. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%, or $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) and you are under 59½, so it counts at 90%, or $270,000. You hold $200,000 in savings at 100%, or $200,000. Usable assets total $800,000, which equals the loan, so the file is reviewed on assets alone.
Depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. Securities count at 80%, or $1,200,000. Cash counts at 100%, or $300,000. Usable assets are $1,500,000. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must then carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the DTI test.
Now suppose that same $1,500,000 sat in retirement accounts instead of securities. Those would count at 70% rather than 80%, so the derived income would drop. The fix is to rebalance what you hold, add eligible assets, or reduce the loan amount.
Where a 660 Score Helps and Where It Does Not
A 660 is a workable score on this route, not a weak one. It will not unlock the top of any leverage range. The table shows what the score touches and what can offset it.
| Underwriting factor | Does a 660 change it? | What can offset it |
|---|---|---|
| Path eligibility | Clears the 600 qualifier floor | Larger eligible assets |
| Depletion matrix | Read against loan size | Lower loan amount |
| Asset percentages | No | Not applicable |
| Leverage | Can narrow it | Lower LTV request |
| Housing history | Late payments matter more | Clean 0x30x12 record |
Strong assets can compensate for a mid-tier score in some cases. A smaller loan against the same assets leaves more cushion. Assets cannot erase a recent mortgage late, a bankruptcy or a housing event that is still inside its seasoning window.
One edge case deserves a flag. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs a 700 score. A borrower with a 660 who wants to cash out of an investment property for the first time is therefore usually not a fit for that path. A borrower who already owns investment property, or who is borrowing against a principal residence or second home, reads the matrix differently.
Can Cash-Out Proceeds Count as Assets?
No. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. The lender will not let you borrow money and then use it to prove you can repay the borrowing.
This closes the circular-qualification loop. If a file only works when the new cash is counted, it does not work. Your assets have to qualify the loan before the loan creates anything.
The same logic applies to pledged or borrowed funds. They are not published as eligible on either path.
Where the General Rule Breaks
Privately held company stock. Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. That is the rule, and no percentage applies. A founder’s or shareholder’s route is documented liquid assets: seasoned proceeds from a sale or buyout, cash, public securities and retirement accounts at their percentages.
Digital and hard assets. Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is to convert them to cash in a regulated account. The lender reviews the source of those funds.
Assets that are excluded 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 are not eligible there.
Business accounts. Only the share you own counts, and it is subject to lender review.
Supplementing income. If you have some documented income, asset-derived income can supplement it up to a 45% DTI. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Minimum assets. When asset depletion is the only income source, you need qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. The floor is never below $250,000 in liquid assets.
Retirement accounts and age. The qualifier path treats a retirement balance at 90% under age 59½ and 100% after. The depletion path counts retirement accounts at 70% at any age.
What About Investment Property?
Investment property is eligible only on the depletion path, and the loan is business-purpose. A cash-out refinance on an investment property is capped at 60% LTV on that path. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Investor loans like these are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The CFPB’s Regulation Z rule exempts credit extended primarily for a business purpose. The official interpretations say the creditor decides in each case whether that purpose test is met.
The practical consequence is simple. You should not treat your primary residence as an investor-loan candidate, and the stated purpose has to match the use.
What the Lender’s Underwriter Wants to See
The statements arrive complete, with every page. Large deposits are explained before the underwriter asks. The borrower picks one path before the file is built.
Another common snag is an asset that looks eligible to the borrower but is not published as eligible, such as crypto. The documented route is converting it to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
Prepare these items before you apply:
- Two months of statements for each qualifying account on the qualifier path.
- A 120-day-old statement plus one within 45 days on the depletion path.
- Documents for any sale, inheritance or settlement proceeds.
- A mortgage payoff statement for the current loan.
- A clear statement of how you plan to use the cash.
If the File Falls Short
A file that misses is not always dead. Lenders review these options:
- Reduce the cash-out amount so the LTV drops.
- Add eligible assets, such as moving funds into a regulated cash account.
- Season recently moved funds until they meet the statement rules.
- Switch from the qualifier path to the depletion path, or the reverse.
- Wait out a housing-history issue or a housing-event seasoning window.
A lower loan against the same assets is often the simplest fix. Another route is a different income-documentation product. Lendmire’s piece on how lenders underwrite a bank statement cash-out refinance explains the program for borrowers who document income through deposits.
Who Should Skip This
Skip it if your wealth sits mostly in private company shares, crypto or borrowed funds. Skip it if you are a first-time investor with a 660 looking at an investment property on the depletion path. Skip it if you need leverage above the published cash-out ceiling.
Skip it too if your recent housing history has a late or an event still inside its window. For the full list of tests, see Lendmire’s guide to asset-based cash-out refinance requirements at a 660 score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 660 credit score enough for an asset-based cash-out refinance?
A 660 clears the qualifier path’s published 600 floor. On the depletion path, the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix decides. The score gets you into review but does not set your leverage. Final eligibility depends on housing history, assets, property and underwriting. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
Do I have to sell my investments to qualify?
No. Assets are counted at their credit percentages, not liquidated. Brokerage balances stay invested, and the lender reads the statements. You document the accounts and their seasoning, and you keep the holdings.
Can I use my privately held company stock?
No. If you sold or converted the shares, the proceeds can count once they sit in a regulated account and meet the seasoning rules. Public securities and retirement accounts count at their percentages.
Can the cash I take out count toward qualifying?
No. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Your existing, documented assets must meet the test on their own. This keeps the loan from qualifying on money it has not yet created.
Does the asset-based route work for a rental property?
Only on the depletion path, where investment property is eligible and the loan is business-purpose. A cash-out refinance there is capped at 60% LTV, subject to underwriting. A first-time investor on that path needs a 700 score, so a 660 borrower with no investing history usually needs another route.
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, or request a quote.
The strongest asset-based files are built backward from the statements, so start by deciding which of your accounts actually count.
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.
Investors weighing their equity options can start with 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. CFPB Regulation Z, Section 1026.3
2. eCFR, Supplement I to Part 1026 (official interpretations)
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 Lenders Underwrite an Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance at 60% Loan-to-Value · Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Lenders When the Property Is Owner-Occupied · How Lenders Underwrite an Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Using Retirement Accounts
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.