The Quick Read: It depends on which of two paths you use and on how much of your portfolio counts after the program’s percentages: on the asset qualifier path eligible assets must cover the entire loan, up to $4,000,000, while on the asset depletion path usable assets divided by 60 months become income that must carry the payment. The depletion path covers loans from $125,000 to $3,500,000. Both are consumer mortgages placed through select lenders, subject to underwriting.
- Qualifier path: up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, with no employment or income documented.
- Depletion path: up to 80% on a second-home purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- Assets are always documented. Skipping income documentation never means skipping asset documentation.
- Your number is not the program ceiling. It is what is left after asset percentages, seasoning rules and the lender’s own review.
Which Path Fits an Indiana Second Home?
A second home is a good fit for either path. Both programs finance principal residences and second homes, and the depletion path also reaches investment property. You are qualified on one path at a time, never on a blend of the two.
The asset qualifier path suits a borrower whose eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, equal or exceed the whole loan. Nothing about employment or income is documented. The lender’s repayment-capacity review rests on the assets.
The asset depletion path suits a borrower who wants the assets to act as income. Usable assets are divided by 60 months. That monthly figure must carry the full housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test. Asset-derived income can also supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio.
Across the wholesale network Lendmire places files with, the choice usually comes down to one question. Can you hand the lender enough eligible assets to cover the entire loan? If yes, the qualifier path is cleaner. If the portfolio is large but not that large, the depletion path lets the assets carry the payment instead.
What Sets Your Borrowing Limit?
Your limit comes from six levers: usable assets, the path, leverage, existing debts, credit, and seasoning. The program ceiling is the outer boundary. Your statements decide where you land inside it.
| Lever | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Test | Usable assets ≥ whole loan | Assets ÷ 60 months, then DTI |
| Purchase leverage | Up to 80% | Up to 80% (second home) |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | 80% rate-and-term, 60% cash-out |
| Loan size | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Credit | 600 minimum | The lender’s matrix |
| Seasoning | 60 days, two statements | Statements 120+ days old |
All figures are ceilings and floors through select programs, subject to underwriting. They are not offers. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. Whether the qualifier path allows cash-out, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published, so plan around purchase and rate-and-term goals if you want predictability.
Which Assets Count, and How Much of Each?
Each account type counts at a set percentage of its balance, and the percentages differ by path. Mixing the two tables is the most common planning error.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | Securities 80% |
| Savings, money market | 100% | Cash accounts 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Private stock | Not listed | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 60% |
Accounts combine on both paths. Some assets are not eligible on the depletion path at all. These include 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.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, pledged or borrowed funds, and business accounts beyond your ownership share are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source of those funds.
Retirement money deserves a planning note. The qualifier path rewards age: a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% under 59½ and in full after. The depletion path haircuts retirement accounts to 70% regardless of age. An early retiree with most wealth in a 401(k) may find the qualifier path stronger, if the total clears the loan.
How Do You Calculate It? Two Worked Examples
Both examples are illustrative. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Qualifier path. Say the loan is $800,000. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%, or $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½, which counts at 90%, or $270,000. You hold $200,000 in savings, which counts at 100%, or $200,000. That adds up to $800,000 of usable assets, which covers the loan, so the file is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Notice what happened to the 401(k). Another $30,000 of balance went uncounted. Someone with the same gross portfolio, but more of it in retirement accounts, would fall short of the same loan.
Depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which counts at 80%, or $1,200,000. You also hold $300,000 in cash, which counts at 100%, or $300,000. Usable assets are $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
The depletion path therefore sizes your loan from the payment side. A larger existing mortgage on your primary home uses up income. That leaves less room for the new payment, so the maximum loan shrinks even though your assets did not.
Depletion also has asset floors. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They must never fall below $250,000 liquid when depletion is your only income source. When assets supplement documented income instead, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
What Happens to Down Payment and Reserves?
Down payment, closing costs and reserves all draw on the same pool. That is why the portfolio on your statement is not the portfolio that qualifies you. Money used for the purchase is gone from the balance the lender counts.
On the qualifier path, no reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. On the depletion path, no reserve months are published. Even so, the minimum-assets rules above work like a built-in reserve, because a large part of your portfolio has to stay in place.
Sequence matters. Plan the purchase so the assets you list as qualifying are the ones still in the account after you pay the down payment. A borrower who funds the purchase from one account and then is reviewed on the same account has counted the same dollars twice. Lenders catch this, because they review fresh statements.
Seasoning: Why Statement Dates Matter
Seasoning rules can disqualify money that looks eligible on paper. On the qualifier path, assets need 60 days of seasoning, and each qualifying account needs two months of statements. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days.
Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from the depletion seasoning rule. That matters for the reader this program fits best: the retiree, the business seller, or the household that just received a lump sum. The assets are documented on both paths. Dropping income documentation does not mean dropping documentation altogether.
Does Indiana Change the Math?
Indiana does not change the program figures. Leverage, haircuts and loan limits are the same in every state where Lendmire’s consumer lending is licensed, and Indiana is one of those 16 states. What Indiana changes is the housing payment you must carry, especially on the depletion path.
Property tax is the main input. Indiana caps tax bills as a share of gross assessed value, and the Indiana DLGF circuit breaker fact sheet reserves the lowest cap for homestead property, meaning an owner’s primary residence. A second home is not a homestead. The Greenwood citizen’s guide to property taxes lays out the tiers, including a higher cap for non-homestead residential property. A lake house therefore generally carries the higher cap, and it is wise to build the payment on that basis, not on the homestead assumption you may be used to on your main house.
One more local point is worth a look. Lake and dunes communities in Indiana can have association dues and their own rental rules. Dues are part of the housing payment the lender tests. Short-term rental rules can vary by city, county, HOA, and property type, so confirm local rules before relying on projected rental income. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
If You Plan to Rent the Place: When DSCR Is the Better Tool
An asset-based mortgage is a consumer loan for a home you will use. If you plan to buy mainly as a rental, the question changes. DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage.
For that case, the property’s rent against its full payment becomes the test, not your portfolio. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide covers how that works. Personal vacation use of a DSCR property conflicts with the program’s occupancy rules, so the two products do not overlap neatly.
There is a middle case. The depletion path also finances investment property, at up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. That is a lower ceiling than the 80% available for a second home. It exists for the borrower who wants assets, not rent, to carry the loan.
The agency definition of a second home shows why the label matters. Under the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, a second home is occupied by the borrower for part of the year, is a one-unit dwelling suitable for year-round use, and stays under the borrower’s exclusive control. That is the agency product’s definition, not this program’s. It is useful here as a test of honesty. If your plan does not look like that, tell the lender what it really looks like.
How Does It Compare With the Alternatives?
| Option | Reviewed on | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier path | Assets cover the whole loan | Large, liquid portfolio |
| Asset depletion path | Assets ÷ 60 months as income | Portfolio large, income light |
| Bank statement loan | Deposits as income | Self-employed with strong deposits |
| DSCR loan | Rent versus payment | Pure rental purchase |
| Conventional full-doc | Traditional personal-income documentation and DTI | Steady documented income |
Each of these is a different program with its own rules. A home equity line is also a different product, because it borrows against a property you already own, not against your portfolio. Asking how much a lender will lend against a second home you already own is a different question from the one here.
Paying cash is the other alternative. It is worth weighing if selling investments would be cheap and the proceeds are modest. Financing makes more sense when the portfolio is large, the assets are earning a return you want to keep, or selling would trigger costs you would rather avoid.
Common Mistakes
Most disappointments come from counting the wrong dollars. A few repeat often.
- Treating gross balances as usable assets. The percentages cut every account, and some assets do not count at all.
- Counting the down payment twice. Funds that leave the account to buy the house no longer qualify you.
- Mixing the two tables. A 90% retirement credit belongs to the qualifier path only. The depletion path uses 70%.
- Forgetting existing debts. On the depletion path, a large mortgage on your primary home reduces what the new payment can be.
- Assuming no income documentation means no paperwork. Assets are documented on both paths, with the statement and seasoning rules above.
- Reading ceilings as offers. The $4,000,000 and $3,500,000 limits are program maximums, not what any one borrower will receive.
Credit still matters. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix, and a first-time investor on that path needs 700. Housing history is reviewed at 0x30x12, with one 30-day late in the last twelve months considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible, and a housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path. Approval is never promised, and every file is underwritten individually.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: A program path where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must cover the entire loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion path: A program path that divides usable assets by 60 months to produce monthly qualifying income.
Usable assets: The share of each account’s balance that counts after the program’s percentages.
Seasoning: The length of time funds must sit in an account, shown by statements, before they count.
Debt-to-income ratio: Monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared with monthly qualifying income.
Loan-to-value: The loan amount as a percentage of the property’s value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an asset-based mortgage finance an Indiana lake house I will use myself?
Yes, through select programs, subject to underwriting. Both paths finance second homes, and the depletion path reaches up to 80% on a purchase. It is a consumer mortgage for a home you will occupy, so declare how you plan to use it.
Is the maximum loan really $4,000,000?
That is the ceiling on the qualifier path, and only when eligible assets cover the whole loan. The depletion path runs from $125,000 to $3,500,000. Most borrowers land below these limits, because percentages, reserves of cash kept in place, and other debts reduce what the lender will count.
Do my retirement accounts count?
Yes, at different rates by path. On the qualifier path, a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% under 59½ and 100% after that. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age. Seasoning and statement rules apply either way.
Does Indiana change how much I can borrow?
Not the program figures. Leverage, haircuts and loan ranges are the same in every state. Indiana affects the payment through property tax treatment, association dues and insurance, and those feed the depletion path’s debt-to-income test.
What if I want to rent the property most of the year?
Then DSCR is usually the better fit, because it qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. The depletion path also allows investment property, at lower leverage. Sub-1.00 coverage can be available through select lenders in the network, with adjusted leverage and terms.
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. Reach the team at 828-256-2183.
Indiana’s lake and dunes markets reward buyers who know their payment before they know their price, and on an asset-based file the statements set that number.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Indiana page presents the program for Indiana borrowers.
About Lendmire
As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states qualify on bank statements, a profit-and-loss statement, 1099s or liquid assets instead of tax returns, through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; program terms are set by the lender and its guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Indiana DLGF, Circuit Breaker Caps Fact Sheet
2. Greenwood, Indiana Citizen’s Guide to Property Taxes
3. Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Occupancy Types
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Savings Account vs Brokerage Account: Which Counts More on an Asset-Based Mortgage? · Can Equity in a Rental Property Help You Qualify for an Asset-Based Mortgage? · Does a Securities-Backed Line of Credit Hurt Your Asset-Based Mortgage Application?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Indiana
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.