Current asset-based guidelines, updated from one source.
The block below is the asset-based program reduced to the figures that decide a file, read from Lendmire’s single guideline source and refreshed on this page when the wholesale sheets change: the loan ceiling on each path, the credit floor, the leverage by purpose and occupancy, and the share of each account type that counts. Everything else on the page is explanation.
Up to $4,000,000 on assets alone; $3,500,000 when assets become income
The asset qualifier path reaches $4,000,000 when the usable assets cover the whole loan; the asset depletion path runs from $125,000 to $3,500,000 with the assets converted into income instead. Both are program ceilings, not offers, and the placing lender confirms the amount for the file.
The asset qualifier path’s published floor; the depletion path follows the suite’s score and amount matrix
Credit enters an asset-based file through a floor rather than a formula: 600 on the path that covers the loan with assets, a matrix cell on the path that converts them into income. On the depletion path a clean recent housing history is the expectation, with one late payment in the past year tolerated at a cost; the qualifier path publishes the floor alone.
That ceiling on a purchase and 75% on a refinance when assets cover the loan; 60% on a depletion cash-out
A buyer on the asset qualifier path brings at least the balance of the price above 80% as a down payment, and refinances to 75%. On the asset depletion path a principal residence or second home reaches 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out, with investment property lower, as the table shows; qualifier-path cash-out is set by the lender.
Credited under 59½, and at 59½ or older, when assets cover the loan; 70% at any age when assets become income
A 401(k) or IRA is credited at 90% of its balance for an owner under 59½ and 100% for an owner at 59½ or older on the asset qualifier path; the asset depletion path counts a flat 70% of the balance. Brokerage, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit count in full when the assets cover the loan.
| Account type | Credit toward the loan |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts (stocks, bonds, funds) | 100% of the balance |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% of the balance |
| Money market accounts | 100% of the balance |
| Savings and checking | 100% of the balance |
| Retirement accounts (401(k), IRA) — owner under 59½ | 90% of the balance |
| Retirement accounts (401(k), IRA) — owner 59½ or older | 100% of the balance |
| Account type | Share counted |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% of the balance |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% of the balance |
| Securities (stocks, bonds, funds) | 80% of the balance |
| Private stock | 75% of the balance |
| Retirement accounts (any age) | 70% of the balance |
| Real-estate equity | 60% of the balance |
| Path and occupancy | Purchase | Rate-and-term | Cash-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier — primary residence or second home | 80% | 75% | set by the lender |
| Asset depletion — primary residence | 80% | 80% | 60% |
| Asset depletion — second home | 80% | 80% | 60% |
| Asset depletion — investment property | 65% | 65% | 60% |
Two paths behind these pages: on the asset qualifier path the usable assets must equal or exceed the whole loan and no employment or income is documented; on the asset depletion path the usable assets are divided across the published number of months (the table above) into a qualifying income that carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test. Reserves are not required on the qualifier path at or below the refinance leverage; the depletion path asks for statements at least one hundred twenty days old plus a current one. Minimum assets on the depletion path: the lesser of one million dollars or one and a quarter times the loan, never below a quarter million liquid when assets are the only income. Lendmire is a broker, not the lender, and the lender is not named.
Current asset-based snapshot · updated October 21, 2026 · a Lendmire loan officer confirms the path, the asset credit, and the leverage for the file before an offer.
For informational purposes only. This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit, an offer, or a quote. Program parameters shown are wholesale lender guidelines in force on the date shown, are subject to change without notice, and every figure depends on the borrower, the property, the occupancy, the selected path, and full underwriting. Asset credit percentages and the qualifying arithmetic shown are illustrative; the lender’s own calculation governs. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender, licensed to broker consumer mortgages in sixteen states. NMLS #2371349.
What an asset-based mortgage is — and how the two paths qualify a file.
The asset-based program is one program with two doors. Through the first, a Gardiner buyer walks in with statements that add up to the loan and leaves employment and income out of the file entirely. Through the second, a buyer whose balances do not cover the loan walks in with the same statements and the lender turns them into a monthly figure to test against the payment. The cards below describe each door and the rules at the threshold.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program, or the statewide guide at Asset-Based Mortgage in Montana; for the age rule on retirement withdrawals, see the IRS.
Two paths, one program
The asset qualifier path and the asset depletion path share a premise and differ in arithmetic. Both qualify a Gardiner buyer on eligible accounts rather than earnings. The first requires the usable assets to equal or exceed the entire loan and documents no employment or income; the second does not require the assets to cover the loan: it converts them into a monthly income and runs that income through the debt-to-income test with the new payment included.
The asset qualifier path
Two months of statements for each qualifying account document the path, and the balances are read as they stand after the credit percentages. The credit floor is published; the leverage is published; the largest loan is published. What the lender settles file by file is which accounts are eligible and how the age rule applies to each retirement account, and a Gardiner loan officer settles that before an offer is written.
The asset depletion path
On this path the eligible balances are reduced by account type, the total is spread over the divisor, and the monthly figure is read as income against the housing payment and other debts. Seasoning is longer here than on the asset qualifier path: statements at least four months old at application plus a current one, unless the money came from the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement. A Gardiner loan officer sorts the eligible accounts from the ineligible ones at the start.
Seasoning, statements, and what counts
Seasoning means how long the money has been where the statements say it is. On the asset qualifier path, two months of statements for each qualifying account is the rule. On the asset depletion path the lender wants statements at least four months old plus the most recent one, with the sale of a business, an inheritance, or a legal settlement excused from the wait. A Gardiner buyer planning a purchase after a liquidity event plans the seasoning first.
Enter the Gardiner price and the loan wanted, then the balances. The first result is the asset qualifier verdict: the usable assets cover the loan or fall short by a stated margin. The second set of results is the asset depletion reading: the haircut assets, the monthly income they produce, and the housing payment at the benchmark against that income.
Gardiner’s market in figures — and how asset-based lending fits.
Local context for a Gardiner asset-based file: how many people live here, what a typical home is worth, how many households own rather than rent, and how large the owner pool is. None of these figures enters underwriting; all of them shape the price a loan officer sees first.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Read the value figure against the leverage ceiling: the asset qualifier path finances a share of the price and the assets must cover the loan, so a higher median moves the asset threshold up with it. The ownership figures describe the market an appraiser values the home within.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Gardiner neighborhoods, distinct asset files.
A loan officer sees Gardiner as a set of distinct files, not one market. Below are the submarkets where asset-based loans are written most often, with the path, the occupancy, and the appraisal question each one usually raises.
Year-round primary residences
A year-round Gardiner home bought on assets is the retiree’s file: the former residence sold, the proceeds in the accounts, and the new home financed on the statements. The usable total usually covers the loan outright. When it does not, the depletion path converts the proceeds into income after its own longer seasoning period. Median household income in Gardiner sits near $60,598 on the latest Census estimate.
Waterfront and view homes
A Gardiner waterfront purchase on assets is the program’s signature file. The usable total is measured against a loan at the second-home leverage, the retirement credit is applied by the owner’s age, and the flood policy enters the depletion ratio if the file is written on that path. On a home in Gardiner priced at or above the median, the asset qualifier path finances up to 80% of the price on a purchase — the balance of the price is the down payment, and the usable assets must cover the loan itself.
Estate and compound properties
Gardiner’s estate and compound properties are where the program’s largest loans are written, and the asset qualifier path is the natural fit there: a balance sheet that covers a loan near the ceiling, no income in the file, and an appraisal that takes its time. The margin above the loan is the figure the loan officer watches. The median owner-occupied home value in Gardiner runs near $633,400 on the latest Census estimate.
Resort condominium projects
A Gardiner resort condominium is an eligibility question before it is an asset question. The loan officer orders the project review early; if the building qualifies, the file proceeds on the account rules like any second-home purchase. The building’s status is settled before the path is chosen. About 45% of Gardiner’s households rent — roughly 170 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Rental-ready properties
A Gardiner rental financed on assets is a depletion file by definition, read with the investment row of the leverage table and the program’s investor credit rules. The asset qualifier path does not reach investment property. Cash-out on a rental is capped at the depletion path’s cash-out ceiling, and the proceeds never count as assets. Gardiner is home to about 647 people.
Second homes and vacation condominiums
For a Gardiner vacation condominium, the building’s review runs alongside the asset review. Resort projects with rental programs or heavy commercial space can fall outside the lender’s rules regardless of the balance sheet, so the review is ordered early. Roughly 205 Gardiner households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 55% of all households, the pool an asset-based purchase joins.
The rules do not change with the street. Every Gardiner file is checked the same way: eligible accounts, credit share or haircut, usable total against the loan or divided into income, leverage against the ceiling for the purpose and occupancy, seasoning, and credit. The submarket shapes the price and the appraisal, nothing more.
Four ways Gardiner buyers put their assets to work.
The asset-based mortgage does one thing the income programs cannot: it lends to a household whose statements, not its earnings, show the means to repay. Four common Gardiner uses follow, each read against the path that usually carries it.
Buy a home on assets alone, with no income in the file
When the balance sheet covers the loan, a Gardiner household keeps the income question out of the file entirely. The lender credits the accounts, confirms the total against the loan, checks the leverage for a purchase, and reads the credit report; reserves are not required at or below the refinance leverage, and the path reaches well into the jumbo range.
Finance a second home or a rental on assets
A second home is reachable on either path at the same purchase leverage; an investment property is reachable on the asset depletion path only, at a lower ceiling. A Gardiner buyer financing a rental on assets is qualified on the depletion income, the rental is underwritten as an investment occupancy, and a first-time investor needs a stronger score.
Buy after a liquidity event, before the next venture
The seller of a Gardiner business, the founder after an exit, the household after an inheritance: the money is new, large, and often unaccompanied by income. The asset qualifier path reads it once the two months of statements exist; the depletion path excuses the usual seasoning for sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds.
Keep the investments invested
A Gardiner household that could pay cash often prefers not to: selling the portfolio interrupts its income and empties accounts that took decades to build, and the sale itself has consequences a tax adviser, not a lender, should weigh. The asset-based mortgage lets the assets qualify the loan while staying where they are. The accounts are documented, not drawn down, and neither path requires the balances to be moved.
Measure a Gardiner loan against the assets before requesting a review.
Enter a Gardiner price, the loan wanted, and the balances by account type, then choose whether the owner of the retirement accounts is past the age line, and the calculator shows whether the usable assets cover the loan on the asset qualifier path, the largest loan they would cover inside the leverage ceiling, and the monthly income the same accounts would produce on the asset depletion path beside a thirty-year payment at the benchmark.
Gardiner asset coverage estimate
The starting figures are a Gardiner price in the upper part of the market with a loan at seventy percent of it and a balance sheet that covers the loan at the under-59½ retirement credit. Every field is editable, and the benchmark updates weekly from the Freddie Mac series.
Editable benchmark: 7.40% as of October 15, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an asset-based mortgage quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $875,000 price above the Gardiner median, a loan at seventy percent of the price, a balance sheet split among cash, brokerage, and retirement accounts with the owner under 59½, a thirty-year payment at the current Freddie Mac conforming benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Montana (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The credit percentages, the haircuts, and the divisor are wholesale program parameters hydrated from Lendmire’s guideline endpoint; the lender’s own calculation governs, and which accounts count, how they season, and what the age rule allows are settled in underwriting. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conforming benchmark, a market reference and not an asset-based mortgage quote; the terms on an asset-based mortgage are set by the lender at lock. Taxes and insurance are estimates. Nothing here is tax or investment advice.
Same buyer, three ways to document the file.
For a Gardiner buyer with assets and an unconventional income picture, the comparison is between covering the loan, depleting the assets, and documenting deposits. The rows set out the strengths of each, and the last row says where each one fits.
Assets that cover the loan, assets as income, or deposits as income.
When the credited balances reach the loan, nothing else about income needs to be shown. The trade is the threshold: the assets must cover the loan itself, not a share of it, and investment property is not on this path. Reserves are not required at or below the refinance leverage, and the file is the statements, the credit report, and the appraisal.
Haircut assets divided by the divisor into a monthly income, then the debt-to-income test with the new payment. Principal residences, second homes, and investment property; purchase, rate-and-term, and cash-out at published ceilings; a minimum-assets rule when the income stands alone; longer seasoning.
A different question entirely: not what the household owns but what the business brings in. The bank statement loan suits the Gardiner owner with strong deposits and modest savings, where the asset-based paths suit the household with strong savings and modest deposits. See Lendmire’s bank statement loan program.
Assets that cover the loan, assets that become income, deposits that become income: three answers to one question, and the right one for a Gardiner household is read off its statements. The comparison on this page is run for real on every file before the lender’s terms are put in writing. Loans above the conforming limit on documented income: Lendmire’s jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a Gardiner scenario review.
An asset-based file is documented through statements rather than pay stubs, so the preparation is account-centered: every eligible account, every page of every statement for the required months, and the paperwork behind any large or recent deposit. The list below is the usual Gardiner set.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the path, the accounts, and the credit picture. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
The figures in the snapshot are the program’s; the details below are where a Gardiner file moves. Which side of the age line the owner stands on, how long the money has been in place, which accounts the lender will count, and which path the occupancy allows are settled before the terms are written.
Use these checks to keep the Gardiner file clean and fundable.
Three things to settle before a Gardiner review: which side of the age line the owner of each retirement account stands on, whether every account has seasoned for the path, and whether the usable total reaches the loan or the file belongs on the depletion path instead.
- Confirm the age rule: a birthday close to the age line can change the usable total and the path.
- Count the months: two months of statements per account cover the loan on the asset qualifier path.
- Match the purpose to the ceiling: cash-out proceeds never count toward the assets.
Retirement accounts and the age line
Retirement balances are the most age-sensitive figure in the program. On the asset qualifier path they are credited by the owner’s age; on the asset depletion path they are haircut at a flat share whatever the age. A Gardiner household with a large retirement account and a modest brokerage account is read carefully on both, because the usable totals can land on opposite sides of the loan.
Seasoning by path
Seasoning differs by path. Covering the loan with assets needs two months of statements for each qualifying account. Depleting the assets into income needs a statement at least four months old plus a current one, with sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds excused. A Gardiner buyer timing a purchase after a liquidity event counts the months before the offer.
Leverage by purpose
Whether cash can be taken out on the asset qualifier path, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and not published; the depletion path’s cash-out ceiling is published, and cash-out proceeds never count as assets. A Gardiner loan officer confirms the cash-out treatment with the lender before a refinance is structured.
Which accounts count
Most of the eligible list is shared by both paths, with real-estate equity and private stock counting on the depletion path only; the share counted is what differs. A Gardiner household whose wealth sits in a private company, in options, or in an account held abroad may find the usable total smaller than the net worth suggests, and the sorting is done before the path is chosen so the result is not a surprise.
Supplementing income with asset income
Standalone or supplemented is a choice the loan officer makes with the borrower. Standalone depletion income needs the minimum pool; supplemented income needs documented earnings and a combined ratio within forty-five percent. A Gardiner file is run both ways when the earnings exist, and the version with the better ratio is the one placed.
From a Gardiner asset review to keys in hand.
From the first conversation to the keys, a Gardiner asset-based file passes four stages. The first is the one that differs from an income loan: the statements are read, the accounts are sorted, the usable total is calculated on both paths, and the path is chosen before anything else happens.
Asset review
A Gardiner asset review is a sizing exercise with the account rules open: the balances by type, the share credited on each path, the total against the loan, the income against the payment. The loan officer writes the outcome down for the offer. Nothing is assumed; every account is read from its statement.
Contract and appraisal
With the path settled, the Gardiner offer is written to the leverage the path allows, and the appraisal is ordered once the contract is signed. The appraised value, not the price, sets the leverage on a refinance, and the lower of the two on a purchase.
Underwriting
Underwriting on an asset-based file is about the accounts: every page of every statement, every large deposit explained, every retirement owner’s age confirmed, the seasoning counted. On the depletion path the ratio is calculated with the new payment; on the asset qualifier path the total is confirmed against the loan.
Closing
Closing on an asset-based loan looks like any other closing from the outside. From the inside, the difference is what did not happen along the way: no employment call, no tax transcript, no income calculation on the asset qualifier path. A Gardiner loan officer attends to the funds to close so the usable total is intact.
A brokerage that reads both paths.
Asset-based files reward careful reading. Which accounts count, at what share, on which path, with what seasoning, at what leverage for the purpose: each is a place where a file placed carelessly costs the buyer a larger down payment or a longer wait. Lendmire reads them in order, before the offer, for every Gardiner buyer.
Both paths, one set of statements
The comparison printed on this page is run for real on every Gardiner file: assets that cover the loan beside assets that become income beside deposits read as income, and the written terms follow from it. The buyer sees the usable total on each path, the margin above the loan, and the derived income beside the payment before anything is signed.
The account rules explained before the offer
Reading the statements early is the whole method. A Gardiner loan officer sorts the accounts, confirms the owners’ ages against the age line, counts the months, and names the usable total on each path, in writing, before an offer is drafted. The aim is a file with as little as possible left to be discovered in underwriting.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Asset-based mortgages on a principal residence or a second home are consumer loans, placed under Lendmire’s consumer licensing in sixteen states with the disclosures that attach to any consumer mortgage. A Gardiner buyer gets the terms in writing from a licensed loan officer, and nothing on this page is an offer or a quote.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Gardiner asset-based mortgage FAQs
The questions Gardiner buyers bring to an asset-based mortgage, answered in order: the two paths, the age rule, the seasoning, the eligible accounts, the leverage, the occupancies, and the comparison with a bank statement loan.
What is an asset-based mortgage?
Think of it as the mortgage for the buyer who could pay cash but would rather not. The accounts stay invested, the lender reads them on paper, and the loan is sized to what the usable assets cover or to the income they produce. For a Gardiner household with wealth and little income on paper, it is often the mortgage that fits.
How does the asset qualifier path work?
The path has three tests: the usable assets must cover the loan, the loan must sit inside the leverage for the purpose, and the credit score must be at or above the published floor. Reserves are not required at or below the refinance leverage. Income is never asked for.
How does the asset depletion path work?
The depletion path can carry a loan the balances would not cover outright, but it brings the ratio back. When the asset income stands alone, a minimum pool of qualified assets applies; when it supplements documented earnings, the minimum is waived and the combined ratio may run to forty-five percent. A Gardiner loan officer runs both versions where earnings exist.
How are 401(k) and IRA balances counted, and why does 59½ matter?
Retirement money counts on both paths, and it counts most generously on the asset qualifier path for an owner past the age line. For a Gardiner file built mostly on retirement balances, the owner’s birthday can decide whether the assets cover the loan, and a loan officer checks the date first.
What credit score does an asset-based mortgage need?
Credit enters through a floor on one path and a matrix on the other, with the housing history read on the depletion path. The figure for the asset qualifier floor is in the snapshot; the depletion path’s requirement depends on the loan amount and the leverage, and a loan officer names it for the specific Gardiner file.
How long do the assets need to be in the accounts?
Two months on one path, a statement at least four months old plus a current one on the other. Transfers between the borrower’s own accounts are traced rather than treated as new money; large deposits are documented with their source. A Gardiner file with a clean trail seasons without friction.
Are reserves required?
Reserves are not required on the asset qualifier path at the published refinance leverage, and the depletion path does not list reserve months. What the lender does read is the usable total after the funds to close are paid, so a Gardiner file keeps a margin above the threshold.
Can I buy a second home or a rental on assets?
Yes to both, on different paths. For a second home a Gardiner buyer covers the loan on the asset qualifier path when the balances allow and depletes them into income when they do not. For a rental only the depletion path is open, and it is read with the investment-property row of the leverage table.
How much can I borrow against the price or the value?
Leverage and the asset threshold work together on the asset qualifier path: lowering the loan with a larger down payment lowers the usable total needed to cover it. The calculator shows the largest loan the assets would cover inside the ceiling for the purpose chosen.
Can I take cash out?
On the asset depletion path, yes, at a published cash-out ceiling on every occupancy, and the cash taken out never counts as an asset. On the asset qualifier path, whether cash-out is offered and at what leverage is set by the lender and not published; a Gardiner loan officer confirms the treatment before the refinance is structured.
Keep the portfolio invested and finance the Gardiner home on it.
Share the balance sheet once; the review covers the asset qualifier path, the asset depletion path, and the alternatives on the same statements. The terms come in writing from a licensed loan officer.
This guide covers Gardiner — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Asset-Based Mortgage in Montana, part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program.
Nearby markets in Montana: Big Sky · West Yellowstone · Bozeman · Billings · Helena · Great Falls · Missoula · Whitefish
Related programs: Bank Statement Loans · Jumbo Loans · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans