The Quick Read: It depends on which of two asset-based paths fits you: on one, your eligible assets must cover the entire loan, and on the other, they must produce enough monthly qualifying income to carry the payment. Both are subject to underwriting. The figures below are ceilings and floors, never offers.
- Asset qualifier path: eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan amount. No employment or income is documented.
- Asset depletion path: usable assets are divided by 60 months into qualifying income. That income must carry the housing payment and your other debts.
- Assets are always documented. “No income documentation” never means “no documentation.”
- Leverage differs by path. Check the right path before you read any number.
- A rental is a different animal. Investment property usually moves to a DSCR loan, where rent drives lender review.
What Does “Without Income” Actually Mean for a Retiree?
It means no paycheck is used to qualify. The lender looks at what you own instead. If you have no documented income, you have two ways to use assets, and they work differently.
On the first path, assets cover the loan outright. On the second, the lender turns assets into a notional monthly income. Nothing is sold or drained. The formula is only a qualifying convention, and your portfolio stays invested.
A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. You never blend them. A retiree with Social Security or a pension still can use these paths. Documented income can supplement the asset-derived income, which helps on the depletion path (more on that below).
Age alone is not the barrier. Being 72 with a large brokerage account is a stronger file than being 45 with a thin one.
Path One: When Your Assets Cover the Whole Loan
On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. That is the whole test. Through select programs, loans run up to $4,000,000, subject to underwriting.
Leverage on this path goes up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loan-to-value (LTV) is the loan amount as a share of the home’s value.
Here is how much of each balance counts:
| Asset on the qualifier path | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Money market | 100% |
| Savings | 100% |
| 401(k) or IRA, under age 59½ | 90% |
| 401(k) or IRA, age 59½ or older | 100% |
Accounts combine. Run the numbers on an $800,000 loan. Say you hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (counts at 100%, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (counts at 90%, so $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100%, so $200,000). Together that is $800,000 of usable assets, and the loan is reviewed on assets alone. The lender’s own calculation governs, and this is illustration only.
Notice what the 401(k) did. It held $300,000 but counted $270,000. At 59½ it would count in full. That age line matters for early retirees.
The credit floor is a 600 score, and housing history is reviewed at 0x30x12. One 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Reserves are not required at or below 75% LTV. Above that, the lender sets them. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Seasoning is the waiting period an asset must sit in your account before it counts. Here it is 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account.
Path Two: When Your Assets Become Income
On the asset depletion path, the lender adds up usable assets and divides by 60 months. The result is monthly qualifying income. That income then runs through the debt-to-income (DTI) test, which compares your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, to your income.
Practitioners describe the same basic steps: total the accounts the lender will count, subtract funds committed to the purchase, then divide the remainder, as one practitioner explainer on asset depletion lays out. The divisor varies by program. The network figure here is 60 months.
Haircuts are discounts applied to each asset type. On this path:
| Asset on the depletion path | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Securities | 80% |
| Private stock | 75% |
| Retirement accounts (any age) | 70% |
| Real-estate equity | 60% |
Take $1,500,000 in securities (80%, so $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100%, so $300,000). That is $1,500,000 usable. Divided by 60 months, it produces $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must then carry the housing payment and your other debts through the DTI test.
Notice the retirement discount here is 70% at any age. Turning 59½ does not change it on this path. That is the opposite of the qualifier path, and it is why the path choice matters.
Not eligible on this path: 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.
How Much Do You Need? The Honest Range
There is no single number. Here is the reverse math, step by step.
On the qualifier path, the target is simple. Usable assets must be at least 1.0x the loan. Raw balances need to be higher when part of your money sits in a retirement account under 59½. All-cash holdings need 1.00x the loan. An all-retirement portfolio under 59½ needs about 1.11x, because only 90% counts.
On the depletion path, three things set the pile:
1. The size of the loan and your other monthly debts.
2. The haircuts on each account type.
3. The program minimums.
Qualified assets must reach at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They must never fall below $250,000 liquid when asset depletion is your only income source. Loans range from $125,000 to $3,500,000 on this path, subject to underwriting.
Leverage on the depletion path is lower than on the qualifier path when you cash out. For a principal residence or second home, it goes up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
The practical read: most California retirees buying a coastal home land in loan sizes where the $1,000,000 minimum is the one that bites. The qualifier path asks for assets equal to the loan itself. Depletion asks for less total assets but needs the derived income to carry the payment. For a large loan with a modest portfolio, depletion often works better. For a large portfolio and a modest loan, the qualifier path is cleaner.
Supplementing is the exception. If you have documented income, such as Social Security or a pension, asset-derived income can add to it up to a 45% DTI ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived. That can change the picture a lot.
Which Assets Count (and the Ones That Do Not)
Cash and brokerage statements are the cleanest. Retirement accounts count, at a discount. Real-estate equity counts only on the depletion path, at 60%, and only for property other than the home you are financing.
Several things trip up retirees:
- Sale proceeds from a California home. They count once they are liquid, documented funds sitting in an account, subject to the lender’s review of the source.
- Crypto, precious metals, collectibles. These are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
- Pledged or borrowed funds. Same answer. They are not published as eligible.
- Business accounts. Only your ownership share is a possible fit, and only after lender review.
- Trusts and joint accounts. Many programs look at whether the borrower has verified access and liquidity. A spouse’s accounts depend on who is on the loan and who owns the funds. Lenders review ownership, so bring the paperwork.
Statements are the proof. The depletion path wants statements 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 that age requirement.
Why Lenders Can Lean on Assets Alone
Asset-based qualification is lawful and well established. Under the federal ability-to-repay rules, the CFPB compliance guide says a lender must consider your current or reasonably expected income or assets, excluding the value of the dwelling that secures the loan. That last clause is the reason your home’s own equity cannot be the asset behind that same home’s loan.
A compliance-law review of non-QM loans explains the practical result. A non-QM lender may base its repayment decision on verified assets alone, but it still has to consider DTI or residual income. That tension is why the two paths exist. One verifies assets against the loan. The other converts them into income and runs the DTI.
What Changes in California
California changes the size of the loan more than the rules. The program figures do not shift by state. The prices do.
Many California purchases, especially on the coast, land in jumbo territory, meaning larger-than-standard loans. That pushes you toward the top of the loan-size ranges above. Bigger loans also mean bigger asset minimums on both paths.
Carrying costs are the other piece. Budget for taxes and insurance, which vary by county, and for maintenance. Those costs do not shrink when your income does. A file that is reviewed on paper can still strain a retiree’s monthly cash flow if the home is stretched.
Consumer mortgage lending through Lendmire is licensed in 16 states, and California is one of them. Lendmire is a broker. It places files with select lenders in its wholesale network, and those lenders underwrite and approve.
Mortgage, All Cash, or Both?
Many retirees ask a fair question. If the assets are there, why borrow? The answer is liquidity. Paying cash uses the money. A loan keeps it invested.
| Option | Upside | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| All cash | No loan, no payment | Portfolio shrinks, less liquidity |
| Asset qualifier loan | Keeps money invested | Assets must equal the loan |
| Asset depletion loan | Needs less total assets | Payment must fit the DTI test |
| Hybrid (large down payment) | Smaller loan, more cushion | Less liquidity than a loan alone |
Withdrawing from a retirement account to fund a purchase has its own cost. Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; borrowers should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
The stronger play for many retirees might be the hybrid: put down a meaningful share and borrow the rest. But an investor-minded retiree with a large taxable portfolio could argue for full leverage and keeping the portfolio working. This one is a genuine toss-up, and the answer depends on your health, your spending, and how much cash you want in reserve.
The Stress Test Nobody Runs
Qualifying is a snapshot. Living in the home is a movie.
Run three tests before you commit:
1. Market drop. If your securities fall sharply, does the plan still work? The lender checks balances at one moment. Your budget has to survive all of them.
2. Healthcare shock. A big medical year can pull cash out fast. Keep liquid cash outside what you counted.
3. Payment against spending. Compare the housing payment to what you actually spend, not to the qualifying income. The derived income is a convention, not a paycheck.
Across the files Lendmire places, the retirees who do best leave a cushion that the lender never counted. The loan does not require it. Common sense does.
Buying a Rental Instead? Different Rules
Everything above assumes you will live in the home or use it as a second home. If you are buying a rental, the financing usually moves to a DSCR loan. DSCR stands for debt service coverage ratio. It asks whether the rent covers the property’s monthly payment.
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. A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your personal income is not the test.
Your assets still matter, though. They fund the down payment, closing costs, and reserves. For the full picture, see Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide. Programs below 1.00 coverage are available through select lenders in the network, but LTV and terms adjust.
A retiree who wants to live in the home cannot use DSCR. A retiree who wants a rental can, and might use asset depletion for a residence and DSCR for the rental in the same plan. If the rental sits on the depletion path, investment property goes up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. A first-time investor on that path needs a 700 score.
For retirees weighing how a bank statement program turns holdings into usable income, see Lendmire’s piece How a Bank Statement Lender Turns Assets Into Income for a Retiree.
What Can Still Derail the File
A big portfolio does not guarantee approval. These are the usual stumbling blocks:
- Recent deposits you cannot trace. Moved or unexplained funds raise questions. Keep the paper trail.
- Seasoning gaps. Money that just landed in the account may not count yet.
- Credit. The qualifier path has a 600 floor. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix.
- Housing event. A past foreclosure or short sale needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
- Existing debts. They eat into derived income on the depletion path.
- Appraisal. The home still has to appraise.
- Ineligible accounts. Foreign funds and stock options are common surprises.
Next Step
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. You can reach the team at 828-256-2183. Every file is underwritten individually, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: a qualification method where eligible assets must cover the entire loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion path: a qualification method that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: the discount a lender applies to an asset, so only part of its balance counts.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in your account before they count.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new payment, compared to your income.
Loan-to-value (LTV): the loan amount as a share of the home’s value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy with Social Security only?
Often yes, if it is paired with assets. Social Security can count as documented income, and asset-derived income can supplement it up to a 45% DTI ratio. Subject to underwriting.
Do I have to sell my IRA or 401(k)?
No. Nothing is sold or drained to qualify. On the qualifier path, retirement balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, they count at 70% at any age.
Does my age affect how my accounts count?
Only on the qualifier path. Retirement balances count at 90% under 59½ and 100% after. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% regardless of age.
What if most of my wealth is in my house?
That makes this harder. The home securing the loan cannot count as an asset for that same loan. Equity in other real estate counts at 60% on the depletion path. Sale proceeds count once they are liquid, documented funds in an account.
Can I use this for a second home?
Yes, on both paths. Second homes follow the same leverage as principal residences. Investment property is only available on the depletion path, at lower leverage.
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. Statementsready asset depletion explainer
2. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
3. CFS Review, “CFPB Addresses Non-QMs Under ATR Rule”
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Dividend Income vs Asset Depletion for a Second Home Jumbo Loan · How an Assets-Only Mortgage Works · How Much of a 457 Plan Counts Toward Asset Depletion Income?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in California
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.