Current asset-based guidelines, updated from one source.
One guideline source feeds every number here, and the page updates when the source does. The four cards carry the headline figures; the tables underneath show how each account type is credited on the asset qualifier path, how each is haircut on the asset depletion path, and what leverage each path and occupancy allows. The wholesale lender is not named.
Up to $4,000,000 on assets alone; $3,500,000 when assets become income
Loan size follows the path. Covering the loan outright with usable assets reaches $4,000,000; spreading a pool of assets into a monthly income reaches $3,500,000 and starts at $125,000. The amount on either path is a program parameter, subject to the lender’s guidelines at lock.
The asset qualifier path’s published floor; the depletion path follows the suite’s score and amount matrix
The asset qualifier path publishes a 600 decision-score floor. The asset depletion path follows the score and loan-amount matrix of the documentation suite it belongs to, where the floor rises with the leverage and the amount. The score is read from the credit report at application; it is never promised here.
That ceiling on a purchase and 75% on a refinance when assets cover the loan; 60% on a depletion cash-out
On the asset qualifier path a purchase reaches 80% of the price and a refinance 75% of the value, on a principal residence or a second home. On the asset depletion path a purchase or rate-and-term refinance reaches the same 80% on those occupancies, and a cash-out refinance stops at 60%.
Credited under 59½, and at 59½ or older, when assets cover the loan; 70% at any age when assets become income
Retirement accounts are the figure that moves most with the borrower. On the asset qualifier path a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% of its balance while the owner is under 59½ and at 100% from 59½ on. On the asset depletion path retirement balances count at 70% of the balance at any age.
| 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.
There are two questions a lender can ask of a balance sheet. Is there enough here to cover the whole loan? Or, spread across a fixed number of months, is there enough here to look like the income the loan needs? The asset qualifier path asks the first and the asset depletion path the second, and a Montebello buyer is qualified on one of them, not both at once.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program, or the statewide guide at Asset-Based Mortgage in California; 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 Montebello 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
On the asset qualifier path the lender adds up the eligible accounts, credits each at its share, and compares the total with the loan. Brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and savings count in full; a 401(k) or IRA counts at a reduced share while the owner is under 59½ and in full from 59½ on. Accounts combine across types, so a Montebello buyer with a mixed balance sheet is read on the sum.
The asset depletion path
The path exists for the household whose assets are substantial but short of the loan. The minimum is a stated pool of qualified assets or a multiple of the loan balance, whichever is less, with a floor on liquid assets when the depletion income is the only income in the file. When the asset income merely supplements documented earnings, the minimum-assets rule is waived and the combined ratio may run to forty-five percent.
Seasoning, statements, and what counts
Seasoning is the proof that the assets are the borrower’s to keep: two months of statements on the asset qualifier path, older statements plus the current one on the asset depletion path. Large recent deposits inside that window are read, not ignored: a transfer between the borrower’s own accounts is documented as such, a sale of property or a business with its paperwork, and a gift under the lender’s gift rules. A Montebello file that shows the trail cleanly meets fewer questions in underwriting.
Enter the Montebello 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.
Montebello’s market in figures — and how asset-based lending fits.
The local median home value is the floor of the conversation for a buyer who qualifies on assets, not the ceiling: the program’s loan amounts run well past it. The Census figures below give Montebello’s population, typical home value, and ownership, the ground an asset-based file sits above.
Read the figures as backdrop. Population and owner households describe the depth of the market; the median value describes its height. An asset-based file turns on the second more than the first, because the loan the assets must cover or carry follows the price.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Montebello neighborhoods, distinct asset files.
A loan officer sees Montebello 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.
Historic and estate homes
Condition and comparable sales decide the appraisal on a Montebello historic home; the statements decide the rest. A loan officer runs the file at the contract price and at a lower value so the buyer knows both margins. The margin above the loan is the figure to watch. Roughly 9,043 Montebello households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 46% of all households, the pool an asset-based purchase joins.
Newer executive subdivisions
A Montebello subdivision home bought on assets is read plainly: the comparable sales support the price, the statements are counted, the age rule is applied to retirement accounts, and the path is named. The calculator on this page is seeded to a price typical of such a subdivision. On a home in Montebello 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.
Rural acreage and farmettes
Acreage around Montebello raises the residential-use question: the property must be a home, not a farm, and outbuildings carry little value. On the asset side the file is ordinary; on the property side the placing lender’s rules decide eligibility, and a loan officer confirms them before the path is chosen. Montebello is home to about 61K people.
Second homes in the area
For a second home around Montebello, the account rules are unchanged and the second-home row of the leverage table applies. A loan officer shows the usable total on both paths and the leverage the row allows before the offer. About 54% of Montebello’s households rent — roughly 10,640 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Lakefront and view properties
A Montebello waterfront home bought on assets is a second-home or principal-residence file like any other on the account side. The appraisal and the insurance are the property’s questions; the loan officer orders both early so the leverage and the payment are known before the file is placed. The median owner-occupied home value in Montebello runs near $697,900 on the latest Census estimate.
The retiree buying on a portfolio
In a smaller market like Montebello the balance sheet often covers the loan outright. When it does not, a supplemented depletion file with the pension and the derived income together is the common answer, with the minimum-assets rule waived. A loan officer runs both versions on the same statements. Median household income in Montebello sits near $79,971 on the latest Census estimate.
The rules do not change with the street. Every Montebello 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 Montebello buyers put their assets to work.
Four ways Montebello buyers put the program to work, from a principal residence bought on assets alone to a rental financed on depletion income. Each use names the path and the detail that most often decides the file.
Finance a second home or a rental on assets
For a rental, the asset depletion path is the only path open, at the investment-property leverage, with cash-out at the depletion path’s cash-out ceiling. For a second home, both paths are open. A Montebello loan officer sorts the occupancy first, because it decides the path before the balances are even read.
Refinance a home the assets already stand behind
The refinance is the retiree’s use: the income that qualified the original loan has stopped, the portfolio has not, and the asset qualifier path reads the portfolio. A Montebello file needs usable assets equal to the new loan, a loan inside the refinance leverage, and two months of statements per account.
Turn a portfolio into qualifying income
Depletion is the path for the household with meaningful savings and a modest paycheck, or no paycheck at all. The assets are read as income rather than as collateral, the leverage matches the qualifier path on a purchase, and the ratio test comes back into the file. A Montebello loan officer runs both paths before recommending this one.
Buy after a liquidity event, before the next venture
A liquidity event produces exactly the balance sheet the program is built for: assets well above the loan and earnings that have paused. A Montebello buyer in that position covers the loan on the asset qualifier path with no income in the file, or, if the proceeds are smaller, converts them into income on the depletion path with the seasoning excused.
Measure a Montebello loan against the assets before requesting a review.
The starting figures are a Montebello price above the median, a loan at a share of the price inside both paths’ purchase leverage, and a balance sheet split among cash, brokerage, and retirement accounts with the owner under 59½. Change any of them. The verdict, the margin, the depletion income, and the payment update as you type.
Montebello asset coverage estimate
The starting figures are a Montebello 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 $975,000 price above the Montebello 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 California (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.
Three routes to the same closing table, compared on what each one counts: the balance sheet in full, the balance sheet as income, or the deposit history of a business owner. A Montebello loan officer prices the route the file supports best, and the comparison below explains how the choice is made.
Assets that cover the loan, assets as income, or deposits as income.
Usable assets equal to the whole loan, no employment or income documented, principal residences and second homes, purchase and refinance at the path’s leverage, two months of statements, reserves not required at or below the refinance leverage. The path with the fewest questions, and the one that asks the assets to cover the whole loan.
The path for the household whose savings are real but smaller than the loan. It can carry a loan the balances would not cover outright, widens the occupancies to include rentals, and adds a cash-out ceiling; in exchange it brings the ratio back and counts retirement money at a flat haircut.
A different question entirely: not what the household owns but what the business brings in. The bank statement loan suits the Montebello 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 Montebello 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 Montebello scenario review.
Because the assets are the whole case on the asset qualifier path and most of it on the depletion path, the lender reads them carefully. A Montebello buyer who assembles complete statements, with the transfers and the deposits explained, is far less likely to meet the questions that stall a file.
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 Montebello 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 Montebello file clean and fundable.
Settle the age rule, the seasoning, and the eligible accounts first. Everything else in a Montebello file, the path, the leverage, the loan amount, is arithmetic once those three are known.
- Confirm the age rule: the depletion path haircuts retirement balances at a flat share regardless of age.
- Count the months: a sale of a business, an inheritance, or a settlement is excused from the depletion wait.
- Confirm the reserves: balances are read after the down payment and closing costs are drawn.
Retirement accounts and the age line
The owner’s age decides how much of a 401(k) or IRA counts on the asset qualifier path: a reduced share under 59½ and the full balance from 59½ on. For a Montebello file built mostly on retirement money, a birthday can be the difference between covering the loan and falling short, and a loan officer checks the date against the age line before the path is chosen.
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 Montebello buyer timing a purchase after a liquidity event counts the months before the offer.
Reserves by path
Reserves are light on this program: the assets that qualify the loan are the reserves, and on the asset qualifier path none are required at or below the refinance leverage; above it, up to the purchase ceiling, the lender sets the requirement. A Montebello buyer still plans the down payment and closing costs so the usable total is not reduced at closing.
The minimum-assets rule on the depletion path
When depletion income is the only income in the file, the pool of qualified assets must meet a minimum: the lesser of a stated amount or a multiple of the loan balance, and never below a liquid floor. A Montebello buyer with a small loan clears it easily; a buyer with a large loan and a modest pool may not, and the minimum is read before the income is even calculated.
Occupancy decides the path
The occupancy also moves the leverage. On the depletion path the investment-property row sits below the owner-occupied rows for a purchase and matches them for a cash-out. A Montebello rental financed on assets is a depletion file at the investment ceiling, read with the rental’s own appraisal and the program’s investor rules.
From a Montebello asset review to keys in hand.
An asset-based purchase runs in a fixed order: a review of the statements that settles the path and the leverage, a contract and an appraisal, underwriting of the accounts and the credit, and closing. The steps below describe each for a Montebello file.
Asset review
The first conversation settles the shape of a Montebello file: which path the balances support, what leverage the purpose allows, how long the accounts have seasoned, and whether the usable total clears the loan with a margin. The review names the path, and the loan officer writes the outcome down before any offer is drafted.
Contract and appraisal
The contract sets the price the loan is measured against; the appraisal confirms the value supports it. On a Montebello file where the assets just cover the loan, an appraisal that lands under the price is answered with a larger down payment, which lowers the loan the assets must cover.
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
The final figures arrive in the closing disclosure, the funds to close are wired from a documented account, and the Montebello home records in the buyer’s name. Nothing about the portfolio changes unless the buyer chose to draw the down payment from it.
A brokerage that reads both paths.
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage licensed for consumer lending in sixteen states, and on an asset-based file the brokerage’s job is to read the balance sheet against both paths, place the loan with the wholesale program that fits, and put the terms in writing. The lender is never named on these pages; the arithmetic is.
Both paths, one set of statements
Before any recommendation, the Montebello statements are run through the asset qualifier path and the asset depletion path on the lender’s own rules: the credit shares and the age line on one side, the haircuts and the divisor on the other. The buyer sees the usable total against the loan and the derived income against the payment, and the path is chosen on the result.
The account rules explained before the offer
Which accounts count, how retirement money is credited by age, how long each account must season, what a large deposit needs behind it: a Montebello buyer hears these before the contract is signed, not after the underwriter asks. The margin above the threshold is shown, so the down payment and the closing costs can be planned around it.
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 Montebello 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.
Montebello asset-based mortgage FAQs
The questions below are the ones a Montebello loan officer hears first from a buyer who has assets and no income on paper. The answers describe the program’s rules in words; the figures live in the snapshot above.
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 Montebello household with wealth and little income on paper, it is often the mortgage that fits.
How does the asset qualifier path work?
It covers the loan with the balances. Brokerage, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit count in full; retirement accounts count at a reduced share under 59½ and in full from 59½ on; the accounts combine. A Montebello buyer whose credited total reaches the loan is written on this path with two months of statements per account.
How does the asset depletion path work?
The assets are haircut by type and divided by the divisor into a monthly income that runs through the ratio test. Seasoning is longer on this path: statements at least four months old plus a current one, with sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds excused. Cash-out refinances have their own ceiling, cash-out proceeds never count as assets, and a first-time investor needs a stronger score than an owner-occupant.
How are 401(k) and IRA balances counted, and why does 59½ matter?
On the asset qualifier path a retirement account is credited at a reduced share of its balance while the owner is under 59½ and at the full balance from 59½ on; the age line is the lender’s, and it tracks the age at which retirement plans generally allow withdrawals; what a withdrawal would cost is a question for a tax adviser. On the asset depletion path retirement accounts are haircut at a flat share regardless of age. The figures are in the snapshot above.
What credit score does an asset-based mortgage need?
A clean recent housing record and a score at or above the floor are the expectation. A Montebello buyer with a strong portfolio and a weak score is not repaired by the portfolio; the credit question is answered first, and the asset question second.
Do I need to show any income at all?
The program exists because income on paper understates many households’ means. On the asset qualifier path the question is never asked; on the depletion path it is answered by arithmetic. A Montebello loan officer explains which path the statements support before any income paperwork is discussed.
What sets the timeline on an asset-based mortgage?
No employment verification and no tax transcript on the asset qualifier path remove two of the steps an income loan carries, but the account documentation replaces them. A Montebello buyer who gathers every statement page and the paperwork behind each large deposit before applying sets the pace.
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 Montebello file with a clean trail seasons without friction.
Can I take cash out?
Yes on the depletion path, at its own ceiling; per the lender on the asset qualifier path. In both cases the cash taken out is not an asset the file can count, and the balances are read as they stand before the refinance.
Which accounts count, and which do not?
Brokerage, savings, checking, money market, certificates of deposit, and vested retirement balances count on both paths; custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow balances, foreign funds, cash on hand, options, and unvested units do not. Equity in other real estate and private stock count on the depletion path only, at reduced shares, with real-estate equity the smallest of any account type, so a Montebello buyer whose balance sheet is mostly property usually lands on that path, with the equity counted at a fraction.
A Montebello mortgage sized to the balance sheet, not the pay stub.
An asset-based review is the first step, and it asks only for the statements. The statements are read against both paths and a bank statement loan, and the recommendation follows the numbers.
This guide covers Montebello — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Asset-Based Mortgage in California, part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program.
Nearby markets in California: Pico Rivera · Monterey Park · Alhambra · Downey · Whittier · El Monte · Huntington Park · South Gate
Related programs: Bank Statement Loans · Jumbo Loans · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans