The Quick Read: Asset-based mortgages come from select lenders, which a broker with a wholesale network can shop for you. You qualify on documented assets instead of tax returns or pay stubs. Cash-out leverage on the asset depletion path tops out at 60%, subject to underwriting, while purchases and rate-and-term refinances on that path can go higher.
- Two paths exist. On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets must cover the whole loan. On the asset depletion path, usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying income.
- Cash-out lives on the depletion path. On a principal residence or second home, it runs up to 60% loan-to-value (LTV), through select programs.
- Borrowed cash never qualifies you. Cash-out proceeds do not count as qualifying assets.
- Giving assets away first costs you. Gifts made from your accounts before you apply shrink the balances that qualify the loan.
- Privately held company stock is not eligible on either path.
Why Is “Which Bank?” the Wrong First Question?
The lenders that write this loan depend on your assets, your property and your credit, not on a bank’s name. An asset-based file is built around account statements.
Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It places files with select lenders in its wholesale network and matches your scenario to the program that fits. This article will not name or rank any lender or bank. The best program for your situation depends on the property, the leverage you need and how your assets are held.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs are consumer mortgages, licensed in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Every file is fully underwritten. Programs change, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
How Does Underwriting Treat This Loan, Step by Step?
Underwriting starts with the assets, not a paycheck. The lender adds up what counts, checks that the money is seasoned and documented, then tests it against the loan on one of two paths. You are qualified on one path at a time.
1. Pick the path. The asset qualifier path covers the entire loan with eligible assets and documents no employment or income. The asset depletion path turns assets into monthly income that must carry the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
2. Apply the percentages. Each asset counts at a share of its balance. The share that does not count is the haircut.
3. Document it. The assets are documented with statements. Underwriting looks at no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification, but the file is never undocumented.
4. Check credit and leverage. Credit and loan-to-value then decide how much you can borrow.
5. Review the property. The lender confirms the value and the occupancy.
Seasoning is the waiting period that proves money is really yours. On the qualifier path, funds need 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements per account. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus one statement within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning.
What Counts as an Asset, and at What Share?
The shares differ by path, so read the table by column. Percentages show the share of the balance that counts, subject to underwriting.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage / securities | 100% | 80% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Savings / cash accounts | 100% | 100% |
| Money market | 100% | Not listed |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% after | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 60% |
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles and pledged or borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source. The depletion path also excludes custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options and non-vested restricted stock units.
What Does the Math Look Like?
These are illustrations only, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
Qualifier path. Say the loan is $800,000. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%, so $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½, which counts at 90%, so $270,000. You hold $200,000 in savings, which counts at 100%, so $200,000. Usable assets come to $800,000, which covers the loan, so the file is reviewed on assets alone.
Depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which count at 80%, so $1,200,000. You also hold $300,000 in cash, which counts at 100%, so $300,000. Adding $1,200,000 and $300,000 gives $1,500,000 of usable assets. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
The depletion path also has minimums. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan. When asset depletion is your only income source, you need at least $250,000 liquid. If asset income only supplements documented income, it can go up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
How Much Can You Borrow for a Gift?
For a cash-out, plan around the depletion path. On a principal residence or second home, it allows up to 60% LTV on a cash-out refinance, against 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance. On an investment property, the depletion path allows up to 60% on a cash-out and 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance. Loan amounts run from $125,000 to $3,500,000 on that path. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
The qualifier path reaches loans up to $4,000,000. It allows up to 80% LTV on a purchase and 75% on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. Whether it permits cash-out proceeds, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published. Treat any qualifier-path cash-out figure you see as unverified.
Credit matters too. The qualifier path has a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the target, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. The qualifier path requires no reserves at or below 75% LTV, and the depletion path publishes no reserve months.
Where Does the General Rule Break?
Four edge cases trip up gift-minded borrowers.
Private company stock. A founder with a large paper fortune in closely held shares gets no credit for it. Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. The route is documented liquid assets: seasoned proceeds from a sale, buyout or conversion, plus cash, public securities and retirement accounts at their counted shares.
The shrinking pile. Suppose you give a large gift from your brokerage account and then apply. The usable balance drops by the amount you gave. That can push a file under the loan amount on the qualifier path or under the depletion minimums. Run the qualifying math before the gift, not after.
Borrowed money doesn’t qualify you. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Funds you borrow for the gift cannot be counted to support the loan that created them.
Investment property. The depletion path does allow investment property, but that loan is a business-purpose loan. Federal rules treat credit extended primarily for a business purpose differently from consumer credit. Funding a charitable gift from a business-purpose loan is a poor fit. A principal residence or second home is the cleaner collateral for a personal gift.
Is Borrowing the Right Way to Give?
Borrowing to give is one of several ways to fund a gift, and a cash-out refinance is one of the routes that adds debt against your home. Here is how the routes compare in structure.
| Route | What happens | Adds debt? |
|---|---|---|
| Cash-out refinance | New mortgage replaces the old one | Yes |
| HELOC | Credit line secured by the home | Yes |
| Securities-backed line | Borrow against a portfolio | Yes |
| Donating appreciated securities | Give the asset itself | No |
| Donor-advised fund | Give to a fund, grant later | No |
Giving an asset directly often keeps the cash in your pocket and the debt off your house. Borrowing makes sense mainly when the assets are tied up, when selling them would be costly, or when the gift has a firm date. Charitable deductions are generally capped as a share of adjusted gross income, and tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; borrowers should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction, including the limits described in IRS Publication 526.
For a deeper look at the larger-loan side, Lendmire’s piece on a jumbo cash-out refinance program for large philanthropic gifts covers that structure.
What Does the Decision Look Like in Practice?
This product fits a cash-heavy, income-light household. Think of retirees, people who sold a business, inheritance or settlement recipients, early-retired professionals and families living off a portfolio. Their balances are large and their documented income is not.
Work through the decision in this order:
1. Choose the path. If your eligible assets cover the whole loan, the qualifier path fits. If you want a cash-out, plan on the depletion path and test whether your assets, after the haircuts, divide into enough monthly income.
2. Take inventory. List each account and its type. Move anything ineligible, such as crypto or private stock, into a seasoned cash balance first.
3. Sequence the gift. Qualify first, then give, and keep the statements that prove the balances at application.
4. Compare programs. A broker shops multiple wholesale lenders and matches your scenario to the program.
5. Bring in your advisers. A tax professional and a philanthropic adviser should sign off before you commit to the gift and the loan.
When you compare programs, ask each lender about these criteria:
- Does the program allow cash-out on your occupancy type?
- Which asset types does it accept, and at what shares?
- What seasoning and statement ages does it require?
- What credit score does its matrix demand at your loan size?
- Does it limit what you can do with the proceeds?
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: The route where eligible assets, after their credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion path: The route where usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
Haircut: The part of an asset’s balance that does not count. If securities count at 80%, the haircut is 20%.
Seasoning: The time money must sit in your accounts before it counts.
Cash-out refinance: A new mortgage that pays off the old one and hands you the difference in cash.
LTV: The loan amount divided by the property value, shown as a percentage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do big banks offer an asset-based cash-out refinance for charitable gifts?
No dedicated product for philanthropic gifts exists, and this article names no institutions. What exists is an asset-based mortgage that is reviewed around documented assets, placed through select lenders. The gift is simply how you choose to use the cash, and the lender’s use-of-proceeds guidelines control what is allowed.
Does privately held company stock count toward qualifying?
No. A founder’s route is documented liquid assets: seasoned proceeds from a sale or conversion, cash, public securities and retirement accounts at their counted shares.
Can I use retirement accounts?
Yes, with different shares by path. On the qualifier path, retirement balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, they count at 70% at any age. Both are subject to underwriting.
Can the gift money itself count as an asset?
No. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Money you have already given away is no longer in your accounts, so it cannot be counted either.
Is this a no-documentation loan?
No. Every file is fully underwritten, and the assets are documented with statements. What you skip is tax returns, pay stubs and employment verification.
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. Approval and terms are subject to lender guidelines and underwriting, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
A deeper walk-through of investment-property equity extraction lives in Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
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
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 to Fund a New Construction Project · Can You Get Approved for an Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance With No Income Verification? · How Lenders Underwrite an Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance to Fund a Business Expansion
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.