The Quick Read: It depends on which of two paths you qualify on, and the loan is always the lower of two ceilings: a leverage cap and what your assets can support. On the asset qualifier path, you can borrow up to $4,000,000 if your eligible assets cover the whole loan. On the asset depletion path, loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000, limited by the income your assets convert into.
- Asset qualifier path: up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, for a second home, with eligible assets equal to or above the entire loan.
- Asset depletion path: up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance, for a second home, with assets converted to monthly income.
- Rented homes change the answer: a property you rent out may be treated as an investment property, which lowers leverage or moves you to a different loan type.
- Everything is subject to underwriting: these are ceilings and floors across select programs, not offers.
Which Path Fits You?
Pick the qualifier path if your eligible assets can cover the entire loan on their own. Pick the depletion path if you need your portfolio to act as income. You qualify on one path at a time, and the figures never blend. Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, this is the first fork in every asset-based file.
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| How you qualify | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets become monthly income |
| Income documented | None | Derived from assets |
| Second-home leverage | 80% purchase, 75% refinance | 80% purchase or rate-and-term, 60% cash-out |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Investment property | Not eligible | 65% purchase, 60% cash-out |
The reader this fits is cash-heavy and income-light. Think of a retiree living on a portfolio, someone who just sold a business, or a household that received an inheritance or settlement. Your balances are large. Your documented paycheck is not. Lendmire is a broker, so it arranges these loans through select lenders. The lender decides.
How the Asset Qualifier Path Sizes the Loan
On this path, your usable assets after the credit percentages must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No employment or income is documented. The size of your loan is, in plain terms, the size of your countable assets, capped by leverage and the program maximum.
Here is what counts, as a share of the balance, through select programs:
- Brokerage, certificates of deposit, money market and savings: 100%.
- 401(k) and IRA balances: 90% if you are under age 59½, 100% at 59½ or older.
- Accounts combine, so you can stack them.
Run the sanctioned example. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (counts at 100%, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90%, so $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100%, so $200,000). That is $800,000 of usable assets. The file is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Notice what the math does to the retirement account. Three hundred thousand of balance counts as two hundred seventy thousand. Wait until 59½ and the same account counts in full. Age changes borrowing power here.
The leverage cap still applies on top. At 80% on a purchase, you need a down payment of at least 20% of the lower of price or appraised value. At 75% on a refinance, the equity cushion is larger. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path is set by the lender.
Reserves are simple on this path. None are required at or below 75% loan-to-value, and above that the lender sets them. Credit needs a 600 minimum score.
How the Asset Depletion Path Sizes the Loan
On this path, your assets are haircut, added up, and divided by 60 months. The result is a monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the new housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Haircuts, as a share of the balance that counts:
- Cash accounts and certificates of deposit: 100%.
- Securities: 80%.
- Private stock: 75%.
- Retirement accounts: 70% at any age.
- Real-estate equity: 60%.
The sanctioned example: $1,500,000 in securities counts at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Add $300,000 in cash at 100%. That is $1,500,000 usable. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income.
That is where most articles stop. The real answer to how much you can borrow comes next. That $25,000 has to cover the full housing payment on the new loan, plus every other monthly debt you carry. The lender’s own calculation governs, and the pool shrinks if any of those assets are used as your down payment. Lendmire does not publish payment figures, because they depend on terms the lender sets.
Two floors apply. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset depletion is your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 liquid. If asset-derived income only supplements documented income, it can do so up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Credit follows the lender’s matrix for score and loan amount. A first-time investor on this path needs a 700 score.
The Leverage Ceiling Versus Your Personal Ceiling
Think of two gates. The first is the leverage gate: the maximum percentage of value the program will lend. The second is the capacity gate: what your assets support. You get the lower of the two.
A buyer with a very large portfolio hits the leverage gate first. Eighty percent on a purchase means a down payment is always required, however rich you are. A buyer with a smaller portfolio hits the capacity gate first. The loan may sit well below the leverage cap because the assets do not stretch further.
Leverage also uses the lower of purchase price or appraised value on a purchase. If the appraisal comes in above price, you do not borrow against the extra. If it comes in below, the loan shrinks to match.
The program ceilings are not your number. A $4,000,000 qualifier ceiling means nothing if your usable assets total a fraction of it. It is a maximum, not a promise.
What Counts, What Doesn’t
Anything not on the lists above is not published as counting. That matters for people holding cryptocurrency, precious metals or collectibles. They are not published as eligible on either path.
The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender reviews the source of those funds. Pledged or borrowed funds do not count. Business accounts count only to the extent of your ownership share.
On the depletion path, these are not eligible at all: custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, non-vested restricted stock units and funds from non-regulated financial companies. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets either.
Seasoning is the waiting period assets must sit before they count. The qualifier path wants 60 days and two months of statements for each qualifying account. The depletion path wants statements at least 120 days old plus the most recent one within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning on the depletion path.
Every dollar of asset is documented.
Colorado Second Homes: Where the Number Gets Tested
In a resort market, the leverage gate usually binds first. Mountain cabins and ski condos often price into jumbo territory, and the qualifier path reaches $4,000,000. Beyond that ceiling, you are not looking at this program. Condos add questions about association dues and project eligibility, which the lender reviews at underwriting.
A common trap is the word “second.” A personal-use second home is one you keep for yourself. Rent it to guests or tenants and lenders may treat it as an investment property. That is a different loan. On the depletion path, investment property drops to 65% on a purchase and 60% on a cash-out. The qualifier path does not cover investment property at all.
Do not declare personal use when you plan to rent. That is a misrepresentation risk, and it can sink a file.
If rental income is the plan, the loan type that qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines, is DSCR. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide explains how that works and when it fits better.
Short-term rental rules can vary by city, county, HOA, and property type, so investors should confirm local rules before relying on projected rental income. In Summit County, for example, the county’s license application page says unincorporated properties renting for under 30 consecutive days need a license. A local real estate resource notes that licenses may not transfer to a buyer on sale. A seller’s rental history can disappear at closing.
One practical point: mountain towns run on seasons. Rent projections built from peak months overstate a full year. That is another reason to keep the asset-based file clean and personal-use.
What Shrinks Your Number
Most borrowers who come in below their expectation hit one of these.
- Haircuts. The balance on your statement is not the balance that counts. A securities-heavy portfolio on the depletion path loses 20% on those holdings before the divide-by-60 step.
- Retirement account treatment. On the depletion path, retirement counts at 70% at any age. On the qualifier path, it counts at 90% before 59½.
- Double counting. Money you wire as a down payment leaves the pool. You cannot also count it as qualifying income. Run the numbers both ways: before the down payment, and after.
- Existing debts. On the depletion path, a mortgage on your primary home sits in the debt-to-income test next to the new payment. The qualifier path runs no income test, but the lender’s ability-to-repay review still rests on your assets.
- Concentrated holdings. Private stock counts at 75%, and anything stuck in an ineligible bucket counts at zero.
- Reserves tied up elsewhere. On the qualifier path, reserves are set by the lender above 75% loan-to-value. Assets already counted toward the loan cannot do double duty.
A housing event also matters. The depletion path needs 4 years of seasoning after one, and multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the standard, and one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case.
How Does This Compare to Other Routes?
The comparison below describes each product’s own rules, not this program’s.
| Route | How it qualifies | Fit for a second home |
|---|---|---|
| Full-doc jumbo | Traditional personal-income documentation and pay documents | Strong if income is documented |
| Bank statement | Business deposits as income | For self-employed borrowers |
| HELOC | Equity in another property | Can fund a down payment |
| Bridge loan | Collateral, short term | A different product entirely |
| DSCR | Property rental income | Rental-focused, business purpose |
The term “asset-based” is slippery. Some pages use it for short-term, collateral-driven bridge loans. That is not this. In this program, your portfolio is verified, not pledged or surrendered. You keep your holdings.
Choose by how you actually earn. If you document income on traditional personal-income documentation, full-doc jumbo is worth pricing. If you are a business owner with deposits, bank statement fits. If your wealth sits in a portfolio and your income is thin, asset-based lines up with your situation.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before relying on any deduction.
Key Terms Defined
Loan-to-value (LTV): the loan amount divided by the lower of purchase price or appraised value.
Seasoning: the time assets must sit in your accounts before a lender counts them.
Haircut: the share of an asset’s balance the lender does not count.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, divided by your monthly qualifying income.
Rate-and-term refinance: a refinance that changes the loan’s terms without taking cash out.
Cash-out refinance: a refinance that replaces your loan with a larger one and pays you the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I borrow if I have no employment income?
Yes, through select programs. The asset qualifier path documents no employment or income, and the asset depletion path derives income from your portfolio. In both cases, your assets are fully documented, and credit, property and seasoning rules still apply, subject to underwriting.
Do retirement accounts count?
They do, at a reduced percentage. On the asset qualifier path, 401(k) and IRA balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the asset depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age.
What is the maximum loan on a Colorado second home?
The ceiling is $4,000,000 on the asset qualifier path and $3,500,000 on the asset depletion path. Your own maximum is lower. It is the smaller of the leverage cap and what your usable assets support, through select programs.
Can I rent the home out?
Renting can change how the lender classifies the property. A rented second home may be treated as an investment property, which the qualifier path does not cover and the depletion path caps at 65% on a purchase. Discuss your plans up front. If rental income is the goal, a DSCR loan may fit better.
Does a bigger appraisal increase my loan?
No. On a purchase, leverage is based on the lower of price or appraised value. A high appraisal does not raise the loan. A low one lowers it.
Where to Go From Here
Add up your accounts by type. Apply the percentages for the path you are considering. Then check the result against the leverage cap on your purchase price. The smaller number is your realistic ceiling.
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Call 828-256-2183 or request a quote.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs page.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Colorado page presents the program for Colorado borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending partners for borrowers whose tax returns understate their income, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Summit County CO – STR License Application
2. Summit real estate resource page
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Asset Qualifier Mortgage vs Bank Statement Mortgage · Is an Asset-Based Mortgage Reported to Credit Bureaus Like Any Other Mortgage? · How Jumbo Loan Asset Depletion Rules Work for a Second Home
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Colorado
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.