The Quick Read: The right provider for you depends on your assets, not a ranking, because the lenders that write this loan qualify you on documented balances instead of paychecks, and Lendmire, a mortgage broker, matches your file to a program in its wholesale network.
- Two paths exist. The asset qualifier path lets eligible assets cover the entire loan. The asset depletion path turns assets into monthly qualifying income.
- Cash-out leverage is published for the depletion path. On the asset depletion path, leverage is up to 60% on a cash-out refinance, on a principal residence, second home or investment property, subject to underwriting. On the asset qualifier path, the lender sets whether cash-out is allowed and at what leverage.
- Assets are documented. You skip traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs and employment verification. You do not skip statements.
- Cash-out proceeds never count toward the assets you qualify with.
- Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path.
Which Path Fits Your Situation?
Start with one question: do your assets equal the whole loan, or do you need them to act like income? Your answer picks the path. You qualify on one path at a time, never a blend.
On the asset qualifier path, eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No employment or income is documented. Loans run up to $4,000,000 through select programs. Leverage is up to 80% on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published. Ask before you assume.
On the asset depletion path, usable assets are divided by 60 months. That monthly figure becomes qualifying income and goes through the debt-to-income test. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000. This is the path built for cash-out.
This profile fits retirees, business sellers, heirs, people with settlement proceeds, early-retired professionals and households living off a portfolio. Big balances, thin paper income. Every figure here is a ceiling or floor, subject to underwriting. It is not an offer.
Key Terms Defined
- Cash-out refinance: a new, larger mortgage that pays off the old one and returns the difference as cash.
- Asset qualifier path: qualifying on eligible assets that cover the whole loan, with no income documented.
- Asset depletion path: dividing usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
- Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared with your monthly income.
- Seasoning: how long funds have sat in your account before the lender counts them.
- Haircut: the part of an asset’s balance the lender does not count. A 20% haircut on securities means they count at 80%.
How Underwriting Treats Your File, Step by Step
1. You pick the path. The loan goal, the property and your asset mix decide it.
2. The lender sizes the loan. On a depletion-path cash-out, the new balance, including the payoff, stays within 60% of appraised value. Because the cap is low, borrowers with high equity fit best.
3. Assets are counted. Each account is reduced by its haircut. Cash-out proceeds from this loan never count.
4. Statements are checked. The lender reviews seasoning and the source of funds.
5. Credit is reviewed. Every file is fully underwritten.
6. Qualifying income is derived on the depletion path and tested against the housing payment and your other debts.
Two Paths Side by Side
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| Core test | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets ÷ 60 = income |
| Loan range | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000–$3,500,000 |
| Purchase leverage | Up to 80% | Up to 80% (65% investment) |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term (65% investment) |
| Cash-out leverage | Set by lender, not published | 60% on all occupancy types |
| Statements | Two months per account, 60-day seasoning | One 120+ days old, one within 45 days |
Leverage on the qualifier path applies to a principal residence or second home. Depletion-path purchase and rate-and-term limits are 80% for a principal residence or second home and 65% for an investment property.
What Counts as an Asset?
| Asset | Qualifier path counts at | Depletion path counts at |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | Securities at 80% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Money market and savings | 100% | Cash accounts at 100% |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 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. Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles and borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
Two Worked Examples
The lender’s own calculation governs. These examples show the shape.
Qualifier path. Picture an $800,000 loan. A borrower holds $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) at age 55 (90% counts, so $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100% counts, so $200,000). Together that is $800,000 of usable assets. The assets alone cover the loan, subject to underwriting.
Depletion path. Say a household holds $1,500,000 in securities (80% counts, so $1,200,000) and $300,000 in cash (100% counts, so $300,000). Usable assets come to $1,500,000. Dividing by 60 months gives $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must then carry the housing payment and other debts through the DTI test.
Where the Rules Bend or Break
Minimum assets. On the depletion path, you need qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. Never less than $250,000 liquid when assets are your only income source. If you have documented income, asset income can supplement it up to a 45% DTI, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Seasoning exceptions. Depletion-path funds from a business sale, inheritance or legal settlement are excused from the statement-age seasoning.
Credit. The qualifier path sets a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. 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.
Reserves. The qualifier path needs none at or below 75% LTV. Above that, the lender sets them. The depletion path publishes no reserve months. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Per the Federal Register, investment-purpose loans are treated as business-purpose, and ability-to-repay rules apply only to consumer-purpose credit. The CFPB’s Regulation Z excludes business-purpose credit even when a dwelling secures it. How you use the proceeds matters, so keep the purpose clear. Business-purpose rental financing that is reviewed on a property’s rent instead of your assets is DSCR, a different product.
How to Find the Right Provider
You will not find a trustworthy top-five list here. Provider fit depends on your property, credit profile, leverage need and documents. Any list that ignores those is a guess.
Lendmire’s role is simple. It is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It works with a network of wholesale cash-out refinance lenders and matches your scenario to the program whose rules fit it. Programs change, and each lender underwrites individually. The lenders that write this loan depend on your scenario. Their overlays differ on credit, asset types and property types.
Compare programs on these points:
- Whether the program offers a qualifier path, a depletion path, or both
- The leverage cap on a cash-out for your occupancy type
- Which asset types count, and at what percentage
- Statement age and seasoning rules
- Credit and housing-history requirements
- Minimum-assets tests
A broker that shops several wholesale lenders can read these against your statements before you apply anywhere. Skip the single-lender page that only shows its own matrix.
What Else Could You Use?
| Option | What to know |
|---|---|
| HELOC | Borrows against equity; that program’s rules weigh documented income |
| Bank statement loan | For borrowers who document income with deposits |
| Selling assets | No new debt; tax treatment varies, so consult a qualified professional |
| Full-doc conventional | Built around tax returns and pay stubs |
Asset-based borrowing fits when you want to keep your portfolio invested and your income is hard to document. It is a poor fit if you cannot comfortably carry the new payment.
Who Should Skip This
- Borrowers whose balances sit mainly in privately held stock, crypto or collectibles that they cannot convert to seasoned cash
- Borrowers whose assets fall below the depletion-path minimums
- Anyone borrowing against a home with no realistic plan to carry the payment. High equity is a cushion, not income.
- Anyone expecting cash-out proceeds to count toward qualifying. They do not.
What to Gather
Expect these items:
- Statements for every qualifying account (the qualifier path wants two months each)
- Proof of ownership and a source of funds for large deposits
- Current mortgage statement
- Homeowners insurance and property tax details
- ID and credit authorization
- Sale, inheritance or settlement paperwork, if relevant
Because this is a consumer mortgage on a principal residence or second home, standard consumer mortgage disclosures apply.
Where Lendmire Fits
Lendmire arranges asset-based mortgage options through select lenders in its network, in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Details on asset-based mortgage programs are on the program page. Availability depends on the state, property and lender guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my privately held company stock count as an asset?
No. Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. The route for a founder or shareholder is documented liquid assets. Seasoned proceeds from a sale or conversion, cash, public securities and retirement accounts all count at their stated percentages. On the depletion path, sale-of-business funds are excused from the statement-age seasoning.
Can I use cash-out proceeds to qualify?
No. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. You qualify on assets you already hold, then the loan returns cash.
How much equity do I need?
On the depletion path, a cash-out refinance goes up to 60% of the property’s value, whether it is a principal residence, second home or investment property. That means the payoff plus the cash you take stays within that cap, subject to underwriting. The qualifier path’s cash-out terms are set by the lender and not published.
Is this a no-documentation loan?
No. You provide no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. You do provide asset statements, credit and property documents, and the file is fully underwritten.
Can I combine both paths?
No. You qualify on one path at a time. The only blending allowed is on the depletion path, where asset income can supplement documented income up to a 45% DTI.
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.
A deeper walk-through of investment-property equity extraction lives in Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
About Lendmire
As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states qualify on bank statements, a profit-and-loss statement, 1099s or liquid assets instead of tax returns, through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; program terms are set by the lender and its guidelines. 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. Federal Register — Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards Under the Truth in Lending Act
2. CFPB — Regulation Z § 1026.43
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 That Appraises Low · Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program When Monthly Income Is Limited
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
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.