The Quick Read: An asset-based cash-out refinance lets you borrow against your property while you have no paycheck, because the lender reviews your documented savings, investments, and equity instead of pay stubs. Few large banks write these loans, and most are placed through non-bank lenders in a wholesale network, subject to underwriting.
- The loan runs on one of two paths: assets that cover the whole loan, or assets that are converted into monthly qualifying income.
- Cash-out leverage on the asset depletion path tops out at 60% loan-to-value, on both a principal residence or second home and an investment property.
- You skip traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs, and employment verification, but you still document every asset with statements.
- The money you pull out cannot be counted toward qualifying for the loan itself.
- The lender that fits you depends on your property, credit, leverage need, and how your assets are held.
Why “Banks” Is the Wrong Starting Question
Most large retail banks do not offer this product. Their cash-out refinance is built around pay stubs and a debt-to-income test, and a borrower with no current job fails that test before the file gets reviewed. Asset-based loans sit mostly with non-bank lenders that fund through investor channels. A few depository institutions do offer them, so the honest answer to the title is few banks and many non-bank lenders.
That is why a broker changes the search. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It places files with select lenders in a wholesale network, then matches your scenario to the program whose rules fit it. The lenders that write this loan, and the terms they use, depend on your property type, credit profile, leverage need, and the assets you hold.
The program is available in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Everything below is a program range, not an offer. Each file is underwritten individually. This is not a commitment to lend.
Key Terms Defined
Cash-out refinance: a new, larger loan that pays off your current mortgage and hands you the difference in cash, after closing costs.
Asset qualifier path: a program path where eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan amount, and no employment or income is documented.
Asset depletion path: a program path that divides your usable assets by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income.
Debt-to-income test (DTI): the comparison of your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, against your qualifying income.
Seasoning: the length of time money must sit in your account, shown on statements, before a lender counts it.
Haircut: the part of an asset’s balance that does not count. If securities count at 80%, the haircut is 20%.
Business-purpose loan: a loan on a rental property you do not live in, used for investing rather than personal living costs.
What an Asset-Based Cash-Out Actually Is
Think of a retiree, a founder who just sold a company, or an executive between roles. Their balances are large and their documented income is thin. A conventional lender reads that as a weak file. An asset-based program reads the same file as a strong one.
The program takes your income out of the equation and puts your statements in its place. No traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs, or employment verification are collected. This is not a shortcut around underwriting, since every file is fully underwritten and the assets are documented. What changes is the proof. Statements replace paychecks.
The first decision is which path you are on. A borrower is qualified on one path at a time, and the two paths use different figures. Never blend them.
Path One: Assets That Cover the Whole Loan
On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No income or employment is documented. Loans run up to $4,000,000, subject to underwriting.
Leverage on this path reaches 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and 75% on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path, and at what leverage, is set by the individual lender. Confirm that before you plan around it.
Here is what counts, as the share of the balance:
- Brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and savings count at 100%.
- Retirement accounts (401(k) and IRA balances) count at 90% if you are under 59½ and at 100% at 59½ or older.
- Accounts combine, so several smaller balances can add up.
Seasoning is 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account. The credit score minimum is 600. No reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value, and above that the lender sets them.
Consider an illustrative loan of $800,000. Say you hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90% counts, so $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100% counts, so $200,000). That is $800,000 of usable assets, which covers the loan on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Path Two: Assets Converted Into Income
On the asset depletion path, usable assets are divided by 60 months to produce monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000.
The credit percentages here are stricter, and they are shares that count:
- Cash accounts and certificates of deposit count at 100%.
- Securities count at 80%.
- Retirement accounts count at 70% at any age.
- Real-estate equity counts at 60%.
Take $1,500,000 in securities, where 80% counts, so $1,200,000. Add $300,000 in cash at 100%. Usable assets total $1,500,000. 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 DTI test. This is illustrative, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
Leverage is where cash-out borrowers should focus. On this path, a cash-out refinance of a principal residence or second home goes up to 60% loan-to-value. A cash-out on an investment property also goes up to 60%. Purchases and rate-and-term refinances get higher ceilings: 80% on a principal residence or second home, and 65% on an investment property.
Minimums matter too. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset depletion is your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid assets. If your assets supplement documented income instead, the program allows a debt-to-income ratio up to 45%, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
On this path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus one recent statement within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning. Credit follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on this path needs a 700 score. The housing history standard is 0x30x12, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible, and a housing event needs four years of seasoning.
Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. The money you pull out cannot be used to qualify you for the loan that produced it.
What Does Not Count (and the Founder’s Route)
Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. Stock options and non-vested restricted stock units are not eligible on the depletion path either. Also off the list on that path are custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, and funds from non-regulated financial companies.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, business accounts beyond your ownership share, and pledged or borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route for all of these is conversion. You sell or convert the holding into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, and the lender reviews the source of that money.
If you own a closely held business, your route is documented liquid assets. That means seasoned proceeds from a sale or buyout, cash, public securities, and retirement accounts, each at its percentage. Sale-of-business proceeds are excused from the 120-day statement age on the depletion path, which helps a founder who just exited.
Which Path Fits Someone Between Jobs?
The asset qualifier path fits when your liquid balances are large compared to the loan. You need no income, so a job gap does not matter. The tradeoff is that your assets must cover the full loan, which takes a very large balance.
The depletion path fits when your assets are big but not loan-sized. It converts them to income, and the DTI test still applies. It is also the route that spells out cash-out leverage and covers investment property.
If you have a severance payment or a 401(k) rollover, the seasoning rules matter. Money that just arrived needs statements that show where it came from. On the qualifier path, 60 days of seasoning applies. Run the dates before you apply.
| Path | What qualifies you | Between-jobs fit |
|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier | Assets cover the whole loan | Strong if balances are large |
| Asset depletion | Assets become monthly income | Strong, DTI still applies |
| Bank statement | Deposits show income | Weak, needs ongoing deposits |
| Rental-property financing (DSCR) | Property rent covers the payment | Investment property only |
| HELOC | Lender’s own home-equity rules | Often needs income, varies |
The bank statement program is for borrowers who document income through deposits, so a person with no current deposits stream does not fit it. Business-purpose rental financing is DSCR, which qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. A HELOC follows each lender’s own home-equity rules.
How to Find a Lender That Offers This
Treat it like an interview. Whether you call a bank or a broker, these questions sort the lenders quickly:
1. Do you offer an asset-based program, and which path does it use?
2. Is cash-out allowed on that path, and at what loan-to-value?
3. Which of my asset types do you count, and at what percentage?
4. How do you treat retirement accounts at my age?
5. How many months of statements do you need, and what seasoning applies?
6. Do you need a minimum asset balance beyond the loan amount?
7. What credit score and housing history do you require?
8. Do you hold the loan yourself, or place it with an investor?
A lender that holds loans on its own books, such as a community bank or credit union, may set its own rules. Some of those lenders ask for employment or cash-flow information even when the property is an investment. Check the policy directly.
A broker like Lendmire shops multiple wholesale lenders and matches your assets to the program whose rules fit best. That is the practical advantage for someone with unusual holdings. One lender may discount an asset class another lender handles differently, so the right fit depends on your statements.
When the Property Is a Rental
If the property is a true rental you do not live in, the loan is business-purpose. DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The CFPB’s rule on credit scope treats non-owner-occupied rental financing as business purpose, and the Federal Register rule history says investment-purpose loans are considered business-purpose loans.
The line is occupancy. If you expect to live in the property for more than 14 days in the coming year, it is not treated as non-owner-occupied under that same CFPB text. A primary-residence cash-out is a consumer loan, and a borrower with no job faces full income and employment checks on a conventional version. This is where an asset-based program earns its place.
Business purpose is not a free pass. A law-firm analysis of business-purpose loans notes that other laws can still apply. For investment property on the asset depletion path, the loan is business-purpose, and the lender still reviews your assets, credit, and the appraisal. If you are comparing a rental cash-out on assets against other products, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs for the full set of paths.
Where the General Rule Breaks
A few cases change the answer.
Owner-occupied or might-live-there property. This is the biggest break. If you will occupy the home, the loan is a consumer mortgage, and the asset-based paths above apply to a principal residence or second home. Be honest about occupancy, since you sign an occupancy certification.
Cash-out used for personal spending. The loan’s stated purpose matters. An investment property loan whose proceeds fund personal living costs invites questions from the underwriter. 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.
A new job mid-process. Starting a job does not break an asset-based file, since income is not what the file rests on. But an account you drain to cover a deposit changes your usable balance. Stay consistent with the statements you submitted.
Vesting in an LLC. Closing in an entity can work for rental property, subject to lender program eligibility. The lender still reviews the guarantor’s credit.
Thin liquidity. The payment still has to be paid while income is low. Stress-test the new payment against the balances you will have left after closing. A loan you can qualify for is not always a loan you should take.
Selling assets instead. Borrowing against property avoids selling investments, but it adds a payment. Weigh that against the cost of liquidating holdings.
What to Have Ready
Gather these before you talk to anyone:
- Two or more months of statements for every account you plan to use.
- Older statements, at least 120 days back, if you expect the depletion path.
- Proof of the source for any recent large deposit.
- A current mortgage statement for the property.
- Homeowners insurance details and the latest property tax bill; confirm the actual amounts with your insurance agent and the local tax authority.
- Your ID, and entity documents if the loan will close in an LLC.
The lender orders an appraisal, and the cash you receive is the new loan, minus the payoff of the existing loan, minus closing costs. On a rental that is vacant or leased below market, the appraiser’s rent schedule supports market rent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do a cash-out refinance with no job?
Yes, through the right program. An asset-based loan is reviewed around documented assets instead of income. Your credit, the property, and the appraisal still get reviewed, and the loan remains subject to underwriting.
Does an asset-based loan mean no documentation?
No. It means no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs, or employment verification. Every asset is documented with statements, and the file is fully underwritten. Expect to show seasoned balances, credit, and the property’s appraisal.
Can I count my retirement accounts?
Yes, at different percentages by path. On the qualifier path, 401(k) and IRA balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age.
Does privately held company stock count as an asset?
No. If you sold or converted your shares, the proceeds count once they sit as a seasoned cash balance and the lender has reviewed the source.
Do all banks offer this program?
No. Few large banks do, and most of these loans come through non-bank lenders in wholesale networks. Credit unions and community banks that hold loans on their own books set their own rules, so ask them directly.
For how equity extraction works on an investment property, see Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
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.
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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. Federal Register: Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards Final Rule
3. Fortra Law: Consumer Laws That Apply to Business Purpose Loans
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 After Selling a Business · How to Qualify and Apply for an Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance as a Retiree · Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program Without a Mortgage
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
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.