The Quick Read: The best program depends on your assets, your leverage need and how much cash you want out. Asset depletion is an underwriting method, not a loan product. It turns documented savings and investments into qualifying monthly income, so a borrower with big balances and little paycheck income can be tested for a jumbo cash-out. Whether a given lender applies it to cash-out is decided lender by lender, and everything is subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
What Does “Best” Mean for This Loan?
The best program is the one whose rules fit your file. No single program wins for every borrower. Across the wholesale programs we place files with, five questions decide fit:
- Does the lane allow asset-based income on a cash-out, or only on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance?
- How much leverage does cash-out get compared with a purchase?
- Is there a cash cap on the amount you can take out?
- How many months of reserves are required, and do they count against the assets that create your income?
- Does your property type (primary home, second home, non-warrantable condo) fit the lane?
Jumbo cash-out estimate
Enter the value, the balance, and the cash wanted; choose the occupancy and the structure; the lanes, the payment, and the reserves follow.
Editable benchmark: 7.24% as of October 29, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a jumbo cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $2,000,000 home value in the jumbo range, a $1,000,000 current balance, a principal residence on a thirty-year fixed structure at the current Freddie Mac conforming benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated at typical national rates. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conforming benchmark, a market reference and not a jumbo cash-out refinance quote; a jumbo loan is priced by the lender at lock. The lanes shown are the wholesale cash-out lanes behind this page as of the snapshot date; the calculator reads each lane’s leverage, loan maximum by occupancy, cash-in-hand cap, and reserves as the lane table states them, and a Lendmire loan officer confirms the lane on the file. The cash available is the loan the lane allows less the balances paid off, before closing costs, which are not included; on most lanes a jumbo cash-out begins one dollar above the conforming limit for the county, and two lanes start at a stated dollar floor instead. The HELOC line is the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling applied to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
A broker earns its keep on these questions. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It compares the wholesale lanes against your file and matches the scenario to a program. The lenders that write this kind of loan differ on every point above.
What Is Asset Depletion Income?
Asset depletion converts a pool of assets into monthly income for qualifying. The lender totals eligible assets, applies its own discounts, subtracts what the loan itself consumes, and divides the rest over a set number of months. The result sits next to your debts in the ratio test.
You do not have to sell anything. The method counts the assets as support for the payment. The lender still expects those assets to remain in place.
Asset depletion is not a federal program. The federal repayment-capacity rule only requires lenders to document your income, assets, employment, credit history and expenses. It leaves the formula to each investor.
Key Terms Defined
Jumbo loan: A mortgage that starts one dollar above the county’s conforming limit, which FHFA sets each year.
Cash-out refinance: A new first mortgage that pays off the old one and hands you the extra equity as cash.
Asset depletion: A way to count eligible assets as monthly income when you qualify.
Haircut: A discount a lender applies to an asset’s value because the balance can rise and fall or may be hard to reach.
Divisor: The number of months the net assets are spread across to produce monthly income.
Reserves: Months of the full housing payment you must hold in liquid funds after closing.
Ratio ceiling: The highest share of monthly income that debts, including the new payment, may take.
How Is the Loan Underwritten, Step by Step?
The deal works through six steps, and each can end the deal.
1. Confirm the loan is jumbo. Compare the new balance with your county’s limit. The limit changes yearly, so check it fresh.
2. Inventory the assets. Brokerage, retirement and cash accounts are valued differently. Home equity does not count as an asset here.
3. Apply discounts and subtract uses. Money needed for reserves, or spent at closing, cannot also create income. This double-counting is a common reason a file shrinks on paper.
4. Build the income and run the ratio. Net assets divided by the lender’s months gives monthly income. The full payment, taxes, insurance, HOA and your other debts go against it.
5. Order the appraisal. Cash-out leverage is lower than purchase leverage, and larger loans can call for two appraisals.
6. Disclose and close. You receive a Loan Estimate, then a Closing Disclosure. A refinance of your primary home generally carries a three-day right to cancel.
Documentation drives the outcome. Lenders need recent statements showing who owns each account and what it holds. Missing or stale statements are a classic defect on these files. Reliable third-party records are not optional, even when tax returns show little income.
Where Do Agency Rules Fit?
Fannie Mae has its own narrow asset rule, but it is not a jumbo tool. Its guidance on employment-related assets asks for individually owned assets and recent account statements, and it limits which assets count. Ordinary checking and savings often do not qualify unless they came from an eligible source, such as severance or a lump-sum retirement distribution.
Conforming and high-balance loans fall within agency loan limits, and jumbo means a loan amount above those limits. So most asset-based jumbo cash-outs run on non-agency wholesale programs, which write their own rules.
What Do the Wholesale Jumbo Lanes Allow?
The lanes we work with share a common envelope. Subject to lender guidelines:
| Feature | What the lanes show |
|---|---|
| Decision score | 660 on the headline lane |
| Leverage | Up to 90% LTV; several lanes reach 89.99% CLTV, the rest stop at 80% |
| Loan size | Up to $5,000,000 on the largest lanes |
| Ratio ceiling | 50% on fixed structures; lower ceilings apply to adjustable and interest-only structures |
| Structures | Fixed, adjustable, interest-only |
Cash-out gets lower leverage than purchase, and the largest lanes put a cash cap on the amount you can take. Reserves are counted in months of the full payment and rise with the loan amount. Two appraisals apply above a lane’s threshold amount. Two lanes accept non-warrantable condominiums. Primary, second-home and investment occupancy carry lane-specific leverage, so occupancy decides how much equity you can reach. Lendmire’s jumbo cash-out refinance program page lays out the lane basics.
These figures are the outer envelope, not a promise. Which lane accepts asset-based income on a cash-out is a file-by-file question, and some lanes simply do not allow it. That is the main reason to ask a broker before you apply.
Why Is Cash-Out Treated More Tightly?
A cash-out removes equity, which is the lender’s cushion. It also raises the balance and the payment. Lenders respond with tighter leverage, tighter reserves and sometimes a cash cap. When income is built from assets instead of paychecks, they pay extra attention to what remains after closing.
Do Cash-Out Proceeds Help You Qualify?
No. Money you take out of the house is not an existing asset on the day of application. And if you spend it, it cannot support the income that qualified you.
Plan around this. Count only assets that will still be there after closing, net of reserves and cash to close. If you plan to spend the proceeds, qualify as if they will be gone. A CFPB research review also found that cash-out borrowers tend to have lower credit scores and incomes than other refinance borrowers, a reminder that these loans carry real risk.
Where Does the General Rule Break?
Four edge cases trip people up.
- Retirement accounts. Lenders may discount them for access limits or value swings. Treatment varies by lane.
- Recently moved money. Funds from a business sale, inheritance or settlement can be questioned on source and seasoning.
- Second homes and investment occupancy. Leverage drops. This article is about a home you live in, so occupancy beyond that is a one-line point: occupancy sets the leverage.
- Trusts and joint ownership. Ownership has to be documented, and assets held in a trust can face extra review.
Which Borrower Profiles Fit?
The retiree. Large portfolio, modest pension. Asset depletion can substitute for the missing paycheck.
The business seller. Cash from a sale is parked in an account. Expect questions on source and seasoning.
The founder between ventures. Income is lumpy, assets are large. This borrower tends to fit better than a pure income lane, but the ratio test still applies.
The borrower with strong paychecks. If documented income already clears the ratio, a standard jumbo may be simpler. Asset depletion adds work. Use it only when income alone falls short, or to supplement it.
Why Do Files With Big Assets Still Fail?
Mostly for ordinary reasons:
- The same assets were counted for income and reserves.
- Statements were incomplete or in someone else’s name.
- Home equity was treated as a liquid asset.
- The lane did not allow cash-out on asset-based income.
- Total debt after the new loan topped the lane’s ratio ceiling.
- Cash-out requested exceeded the cap or leverage limit.
What Should You Do Before Applying?
Gather twelve months of statements for every account you plan to count. Confirm each account’s owner. Decide how much cash you actually need, then work backward to reserves and what remains. Keep a clean record of any large deposit. Ask your broker which lanes accept asset-based income on cash-out before pulling credit.
Also weigh the cost of the loan against alternatives. A cash-out is a brand-new first mortgage with full closing costs, and it can stretch the time to pay off the home. A CFPB guide suggests considering options with lower up-front costs, such as a home equity line, and it warns that your home is the collateral. Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use asset depletion on a jumbo cash-out refinance?
Sometimes. Some wholesale lanes allow it and some do not, so it is decided lane by lane. A broker can screen your file against several lanes before you apply, subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
Do I have to sell my investments?
No. The lender counts eligible assets as income for qualifying. You are expected to keep them in place, along with any required reserves.
Does home equity count as an asset?
No. The equity you are borrowing against is not a qualifying asset. The lender wants accounts it can document, such as brokerage, retirement or cash holdings.
Is there a federal 43% ratio cap?
No. The older qualified-mortgage test used 43%, but a later rule change replaced it with a pricing test while still requiring lenders to consider debt-to-income or residual income. Wholesale jumbo lanes set their own ceilings, up to 50% on the fixed lanes in our network.
How much can I borrow?
It depends on the lane, your credit, occupancy and the appraisal. The largest lanes reach $5,000,000, with leverage up to 90% LTV and several lanes reaching 89.99% CLTV, and some lanes cap the cash you can take. Leverage and reserves vary by lender and program, and the final terms follow the full file review.
If you are weighing a cash-out refinance against keeping the loan you have, Lendmire can help you compare the programs and the equity each one reaches.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans 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.
For the program’s current guidelines, see jumbo loan programs.
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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: What Is the Ability to Repay Rule
2. FHFA – 2026 conforming loan limit news release
3. CFPB – Your home loan toolkit
4. CFPB – A look at cash-out refinance mortgages and their borrowers
5. CFPB – Using home equity guide
6. Consumer Finance Monitor – CFPB finalizes ATR/QM
This article is part of Lendmire’s jumbo cash-out refinance program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Best Jumbo Cash-Out Refinance Program on a Jumbo Loan With a 7/1 ARM Structure · Jumbo Cash-Out Refinance Lenders With Asset Depletion Income · Best Jumbo Cash-Out Refinance Program Without Restarting 30 Years
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
- North Carolina Real Estate Broker · License# 343312 · Verify on NCREC
- North Carolina Insurance Producer · License# 19053198 · Property, Casualty, Life, Health · Verify on NAIC SBS
- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.