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
The largest loan on the asset qualifier path is $4,000,000, provided the usable assets equal or exceed it; the asset depletion path tops out at $3,500,000. Neither figure is a quote, and the lender’s own calculation of the usable assets governs the amount.
The asset qualifier path’s published floor; the depletion path follows the suite’s score and amount matrix
The published floor is 600 for the asset qualifier path. The asset depletion path prices by score tier inside the documentation suite’s matrix, and the leverage available at a given score falls as the loan grows. Either way the score is one input among several, settled in underwriting.
That ceiling on a purchase and 75% on a refinance when assets cover the loan; 60% on a depletion cash-out
The leverage ceilings are 80% for a purchase and 75% for a refinance on the asset qualifier path, and 80% for a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% for a cash-out on the asset depletion path, both on a principal residence or second home. The leverage table shows the investment-property row.
Credited under 59½, and at 59½ or older, when assets cover the loan; 70% at any age when assets become income
90% under the age line, 100% at or past it: that is how a retirement balance is credited when the assets must cover the loan. When the assets are instead converted into income, the same balance counts at 70% whatever the owner’s age. The difference can decide which path fits.
| 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.
Not a commitment to lend, not an offer of credit, not a quote. The figures shown are current wholesale program parameters that change without notice and apply only after full underwriting of the borrower and the property; the lender is never named on this page and no rate, fee, or payment is quoted. Nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice. 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 Richmond 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 California; for the age rule on retirement withdrawals, see the IRS.
Two paths, one program
A Richmond loan officer reads the statements against both paths before recommending one. Covering the loan outright keeps income out of the file and keeps the reserve requirement off at the refinance leverage, but it needs assets equal to the loan. Depleting the assets into income does not need the balances to cover the loan, opens investment property and cash-out at their own ceilings, and brings the ratio test back. The recommendation follows the balances.
The asset qualifier path
No employment and no income is documented on this path. That is not a loophole; it is the structure. The lender’s ability-to-repay review rests on the assets themselves, which is why they must cover the whole loan rather than a share of it. A Richmond retiree whose statements add up to the loan amount is read on those statements, without a tax return, a pay stub, or a bank statement income calculation.
The asset depletion path
Occupancy widens on this path: principal residences and second homes at the published purchase and rate-and-term leverage, investment property at a lower ceiling, and cash-out refinances at their own ceiling on every occupancy. Cash-out proceeds never count as assets. A Richmond buyer financing a rental on assets is on this path, and a first-time investor needs a stronger score than an owner-occupant.
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 Richmond buyer planning a purchase after a liquidity event plans the seasoning first.
Every input below is yours: the Richmond price, the loan, the balances by account type, the owner’s age against the age line, the benchmark, and the carrying costs. The calculator credits the accounts the way the asset qualifier path does, converts them the way the asset depletion path does, and shows the loan against each, with a thirty-year payment at the benchmark for context.
Richmond’s market in figures — and how asset-based lending fits.
A Richmond asset-based loan is sized to a price, and the price is set by the market these figures describe: the population, the median value, the owner share, and the owner-household count from the Census Bureau’s latest estimate. The snapshot above holds the program’s figures; this block holds the market’s.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. A typical value sets the scale of the loan, the ownership share says how many households are likely to be buyers rather than renters, and the owner count says how wide the comparable pool is when the appraisal is written.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Richmond neighborhoods, distinct asset files.
A loan officer sees Richmond 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.
High-rise and luxury condominiums
The downsizer’s file: the house is sold, the proceeds sit in the accounts, and the Richmond condominium is bought on the statements. Two months of statements season the proceeds on the asset qualifier path; the project review and the appraisal are the building’s questions, not the borrower’s. About 45% of Richmond’s households rent — roughly 18,485 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
A Richmond two-to-four-unit home bought to live in one unit is an owner-occupied file and can sit on either path where the lender’s property rules allow; bought as a rental it is an investment occupancy on the depletion path at the investment ceiling. The occupancy is settled first because it decides which path and which leverage apply. Median household income in Richmond sits near $95,391 on the latest Census estimate.
Close-in architect-designed homes
Value drives the leverage on a one-of-a-kind Richmond home; the accounts drive the rest. A loan officer runs the file at the contract price and at a lower appraised value so the buyer knows the margin on both before the offer. A margin above the loan is the usual protection. On a home in Richmond 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.
Newer luxury infill and new construction
Builder inventory and new infill in Richmond are bought on assets by households that have just sold something larger. The proceeds season (two months of statements on the asset qualifier path, longer on the depletion path), the credited total is measured against the new loan, and the file is placed on the path the total supports. The median owner-occupied home value in Richmond runs near $668,200 on the latest Census estimate.
Second homes and pied-à-terre purchases
For a second home in Richmond, both paths are open and the purchase leverage matches the principal-residence figure. The loan officer reads the statements once, shows the usable total on each path, and places the file on the one with the cleaner margin. Roughly 22,321 Richmond households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 55% of all households, the pool an asset-based purchase joins.
Estate properties
Richmond’s estate properties are where the program’s largest loans are written, and where the asset qualifier path is most often the fit: a balance sheet that covers a loan at the top of the program with no income in the file. The appraisal on an estate is usually the slowest and hardest part of the file; the assets are usually the easy part. Richmond is home to about 116K people.
Across these Richmond submarkets the program is identical; what varies is the price the assets must cover or carry and the occupancy the buyer intends. A loan officer confirms the path, the credit, and the leverage for the specific file before an offer is written.
Four ways Richmond 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 Richmond uses follow, each read against the path that usually carries it.
Buy after a liquidity event, before the next venture
The seller of a Richmond 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.
Buy a home on assets alone, with no income in the file
When the balance sheet covers the loan, a Richmond 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.
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 Richmond loan officer runs both paths before recommending this one.
Refinance a home the assets already stand behind
Replacing an old loan on assets rather than income keeps a Richmond household from documenting earnings it no longer has. The path’s refinance ceiling is lower than its purchase ceiling, and the assets must still cover the whole new loan; a loan officer confirms cash-out treatment with the lender before the file is placed.
Measure a Richmond loan against the assets before requesting a review.
This is an asset coverage estimate, not an approval: it credits each account type the way the program does, switches the retirement credit at the age line, measures the total against the loan, applies the depletion haircuts and the divisor, and estimates the payment at the Freddie Mac benchmark. A Richmond loan officer runs the lender’s own version before anything is written.
Richmond asset coverage estimate
The calculator is seeded with a Richmond price above the median, a loan inside the purchase leverage, and accounts split three ways. Edit the price, the loan, the balances, the age switch, the benchmark, or the carrying costs, and both paths recompute.
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 $925,000 price above the Richmond 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.
The same Richmond household can often be written three ways. The asset qualifier path asks the assets to cover the whole loan and needs the least paperwork. The asset depletion path does not need the balances to cover the loan and brings the ratio test back. The bank statement loan ignores the balances and reads the deposits instead. Which one fits depends on where the money shows up.
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.
Business or personal deposits over a run of statements, read as income with an expense factor, for the self-employed owner whose tax returns understate the business. Balances are not the point; cash flow is. Leverage and reserves follow that program’s own matrix. 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 Richmond 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 Richmond scenario review.
Preparation for a Richmond asset-based review is mostly gathering: the statements for each account, the age of the owner of each retirement account, the credit report, and, on the depletion path, any income the asset income will supplement. The items below are the ones a loan officer asks for first.
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.
A handful of details decide whether a Richmond asset-based file closes as planned, closes on a different path, or needs a larger down payment. The lead items below are the age rule on retirement accounts and the seasoning; the others rotate by file.
Use these checks to keep the Richmond file clean and fundable.
Before the statements go in: confirm the retirement credit by age, confirm the seasoning by path, and confirm which accounts the lender counts. A Richmond file that clears those three rarely surprises anyone in underwriting.
- Confirm the age rule: the depletion path haircuts retirement balances at a flat share regardless of age.
- Count the months: the depletion path wants a statement at least four months old plus a current one.
- Decide standalone or supplemented: asset income can supplement documented earnings on the depletion path.
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 Richmond 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
The lender wants to see that the money has been the borrower’s for a while and is not a loan dressed as an asset. Recent transfers are traced to the account they came from; recent deposits are documented with their source. A Richmond file with a clean trail seasons without friction; one with unexplained deposits waits.
Supplementing income with asset income
Supplementing changes the arithmetic without changing the accounts: the same haircut total, the same divisor, the same monthly figure, added to a documented income instead of standing alone. A Richmond retiree with Social Security and a portfolio is the typical supplemented file, and the combined ratio is read within forty-five percent.
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 Richmond 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.
Which accounts count
Not every balance is an asset to the program. Brokerage, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and retirement accounts count. Custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow balances, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, unvested restricted stock, and funds held at non-regulated companies do not. A Richmond loan officer sorts the statements into the two piles first.
From a Richmond 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 Richmond file.
Asset review
Start with the statements, the credit score, the occupancy, and the purpose. A Lendmire loan officer sorts the eligible accounts, applies the credit shares and the haircuts, reads the usable total against the loan on the asset qualifier path and into income on the depletion path, confirms the age rule for each retirement account, and puts the result in writing.
Contract and appraisal
The contract sets the price the loan is measured against; the appraisal confirms the value supports it. On a Richmond 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
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 Richmond loan officer attends to the funds to close so the usable total is intact.
A brokerage that reads both paths.
A single lender with one asset program sells that program. A brokerage with both paths on the table can say which one a Richmond file supports and why. That is the service: the statements read twice, the usable totals shown side by side, the recommendation following the numbers.
Both paths, one set of statements
A Richmond file is never assumed onto a path. The balances are read both ways, and when the depletion income would supplement documented earnings that version is run as well. The recommendation is the version with the cleanest file and the leverage that fits the purpose. The loan officer shows the arithmetic, not just the answer.
The account rules explained before the offer
Reading the statements early is the whole method. A Richmond 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 Richmond 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.
Richmond asset-based mortgage FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Richmond buyers ask most about asset-based mortgages, in the order they usually come up: what the program is, how each path works, how retirement accounts are counted, and what the credit and leverage rules are.
What is an asset-based mortgage?
It is a mortgage where the statements, not the pay stubs, make the case. Two paths run under the program: cover the loan outright with usable assets and document no income, or deplete the assets into a qualifying income and run the usual ratio test. A Richmond buyer is written on whichever path the balances support.
How does the asset qualifier path work?
The lender adds up the eligible accounts, credits each at its share, and compares the total with the loan. If the total equals or exceeds the loan, the Richmond file is read on assets alone: no employment verification, no tax returns, no income calculation. The leverage is a share of the price on a purchase and a lower share of the value on a refinance.
How does the asset depletion path work?
Picture the balance sheet spread evenly across a span of months: that monthly slice is the income the lender uses. For a Richmond household, the question is whether that slice, added to any documented income, carries the housing payment and the other debts within the ratio. The calculator on this page shows the slice beside the payment.
How are 401(k) and IRA balances counted, and why does 59½ matter?
A 401(k), a traditional or Roth IRA, and similar employer plans are read the same way: by the owner’s age on the asset qualifier path and at a flat haircut on the depletion path. Vested balances count; stock options and unvested restricted stock do not. A Richmond loan officer confirms each account’s treatment at the review.
What credit score does an asset-based mortgage need?
The published floor opens the asset qualifier path. On the depletion path a first-time investor needs a stronger score than an owner-occupant, and larger loans at higher leverage want more. A Richmond loan officer reads the report before the statements are counted, because credit decides the door.
How much can I borrow against the price or the value?
On the asset qualifier path a purchase reaches a share of the price and a refinance a lower share of the value, both shown in the snapshot. On the asset depletion path a purchase or rate-and-term refinance on a principal residence or second home reaches the same purchase share, a cash-out stops lower, and investment property, on the depletion path only, has its own lower purchase ceiling and the same cash-out ceiling.
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 Richmond buyer who gathers every statement page and the paperwork behind each large deposit before applying sets the pace.
How large can the loan be?
The ceilings differ by path because the paths prove ability to repay differently. A Richmond loan officer confirms the amount for the file after the usable total is calculated; the figures in the snapshot are the program’s limits, not an offer.
Do I need to show any income at all?
The asset qualifier path is built for the Richmond household with no income on paper: a retiree, a founder between ventures, a family living on a portfolio. The depletion path can stand alone on asset income or supplement earnings with it; when it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Can I take cash out?
A Richmond owner refinancing on assets plans a cash-out against the depletion path’s cash-out ceiling, which sits below the rate-and-term ceiling on every occupancy. The usable total is read before the proceeds, never after, because cash-out proceeds are excluded from the assets by rule.
Keep the portfolio invested and finance the Richmond home on it.
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 Richmond — 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: Berkeley · San Rafael · Vallejo · Novato · Oakland · Alameda · Walnut Creek · Daly City
Related programs: Bank Statement Loans · Jumbo Loans · Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans