The Quick Read: Yes, through select programs and subject to underwriting. On the asset depletion path, loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000, and cash-out is capped at 60% loan-to-value. That path turns your documented assets into monthly qualifying income. The other path, asset qualifier, reaches $4,000,000, but cash-out terms there are set by the lender and not published.
- Seven-figure loans are possible, but cash-out leverage is lower than a purchase.
- Each file is reviewed on one path at a time, never a blend of the two.
- Cash-out proceeds from the new loan never count as qualifying assets.
- Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path.
- You skip traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs and employment verification. You do not skip documentation: your statements are the file.
What Actually Changes Above $1 Million?
Above $1 million, nothing flips on like a switch. Three things get tighter at once: the asset minimums you must show, the leverage you can take on a cash-out, and the scrutiny on the appraisal and on where your money came from.
The $1 million mark matters mostly as a label. The Federal Housing Finance Agency sets the baseline conforming loan limit for a one-unit home at $832,750, with a high-cost ceiling of $1,249,125. Most seven-figure loans are therefore jumbo. Jumbo only means “above the agency limit.” Asset-based mortgages sit outside the agency box anyway. Scotsman Guide describes this kind of non-QM lending as loans that the government-backed agencies can’t buy.
Here is how the two paths compare at the top of the range. All figures are typical ceilings and floors through select programs, subject to underwriting.
| Factor | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Loan range | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | 60% cash-out, owner-occupied or second home |
| Investment property | Not available | 60% cash-out |
| Income test | None documented | Debt-to-income test |
| Cash-out terms | Set by the lender, not published | 60% cap; proceeds never count as assets |
The lender’s own calculation governs every number here.
What Are the Two Ways Assets Qualify You?
Assets can qualify you in one of two ways. They can cover the entire loan, or they can be converted into monthly income. You are underwritten on one path at a time.
Asset qualifier path. Your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the whole loan amount. No employment or income is documented. A borrower with a large brokerage account and plenty of savings often fits here. This path allows up to 80% leverage on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, on a principal residence or second home.
Asset depletion path. The lender adds up your usable assets and divides by 60 months. The result is a qualifying monthly income. That income then carries the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. This path also reaches investment property, where the loan is business-purpose.
Which one fits? If your assets are larger than the loan, look at the qualifier path first. If the assets are big but not big enough to cover the loan, depletion usually fits better. Depletion is also the path with published cash-out leverage. Many large-balance cash-out borrowers end up here for that reason.
Which Assets Count, and at What Value?
Liquid, documented, regulated accounts count. Everything else is converted to cash first. The percentages differ by path, so keep the two tables separate in your head.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | 80% (securities) |
| Savings, money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% after | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not counted | 60% |
Some assets do not count on the depletion path at all. They 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.
Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. That is the rule. A founder or shareholder qualifies through documented liquid assets instead, such as seasoned proceeds from a sale or buyout, cash, public securities and retirement accounts at their percentages above.
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 to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source of that money.
How Much Cash Can You Actually Take Out?
Less than the headline leverage of a purchase. On the depletion path, a cash-out refinance tops out at 60% loan-to-value. The same file could reach 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance of a principal residence or second home. On an investment property, the figures are 65% for a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% for a cash-out.
Model the lower number. A home worth twice as much does not hand you twice the proceeds in a straight line. The cash you receive is the new loan minus your payoff and closing costs.
One more rule trips up people who plan ahead. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. You cannot pull money out and then count it toward the same loan.
Run the depletion math once, using round numbers. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. Securities count at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Cash counts at 100%, which is $300,000. That makes $1,500,000 usable. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must carry your housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test. This is illustrative, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
Minimum assets matter at this size. The depletion path requires qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. On a seven-figure loan, the $1,000,000 side of that test applies. When depletion is your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid assets. If asset income only supplements documented income, the minimum-assets rule is waived. Combined, the debt-to-income ratio can run up to 45%.
What About Credit, Seasoning and Statements?
Credit sets how much room you have. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix of score and loan amount. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs a 700 score.
Housing history is checked too. The standard is 0x30x12. One 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. On the depletion path, a housing event such as a foreclosure needs four years of seasoning.
Seasoning is the waiting period your money must sit in an account before it counts. The rules differ by path:
- Qualifier path: 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Depletion path: Statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent one within 45 days.
- Exceptions on the depletion path: Funds from a business sale, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
Reserves are simple on the qualifier path. None are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. The depletion path has no published reserve months.
Most programs we place files with want to see where large balances came from. A big deposit with no paper trail is the fastest way to stall a file. Across our wholesale network, the cleanest files lead with statements and a clear source for any recent jump in a balance.
How Does the Approval Path Work?
It runs the same way on most files. Each step builds on the one before it.
1. Pick the path. Compare your total eligible assets to the loan you want. Decide whether assets cover the loan or become income.
2. Pull statements. Gather every account that will count. Check that each meets the seasoning rule for your path.
3. Convert what doesn’t count. Move crypto, metals, private company proceeds or pledged funds into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account.
4. Run credit and housing history. Know your score and your last twelve months of housing payments before you apply.
5. Order the appraisal. It sets the value that caps your loan. On a larger balance, expect extra scrutiny on the value and the comparables.
6. Go through underwriting. Every file is fully underwritten. The lender reviews assets, credit, the property, title and insurance.
A broker’s job in this process is to match the file to a lender whose rules fit it. Programs and overlays differ, and a few lenders in the network will accept a file the strictest ones won’t.
Why Do Large Asset-Based Cash-Outs Get Declined?
Most declines come from a handful of causes. Here they are with the usual fix.
- The assets are real, but illiquid. A founder’s wealth sits in private company shares, which are not eligible. Fix: document a sale or buyout and let the proceeds season in cash.
- The cash-out ask is too big. The borrower expected the purchase-style leverage. Fix: model the 60% depletion cash-out ceiling or take a smaller loan.
- Statements are too young. An account was opened or funded recently. Fix: wait out the seasoning period for your path, or check whether an exception applies.
- Income comes up short on depletion. The derived income cannot carry the payment and debts. Fix: supplement with documented income, add eligible assets, or lower the loan amount.
- Proceeds were counted twice. The plan relied on the cash-out itself to qualify. Fix: it never counts, so plan around it.
- Credit or housing history. A late payment, a recent housing event or a thin score trips the matrix. Fix: check the file before applying.
Is This the Right Tool for You?
It fits when your balances are large and your documented income is not. That describes retirees, people who sold a business, inheritance or settlement recipients, early-retired professionals and households living off a portfolio. Other tools solve other problems. Here is how they compare:
| Option | Reviewed on | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Asset-based mortgage | Documented assets | Large balances, thin income |
| Bank statement loan | Deposits as income | Self-employed with steady deposits |
| DSCR loan | Rental income of the property | Investors buying or refinancing rentals |
| Full-doc jumbo | Tax returns and pay stubs | Borrowers with strong documented income |
| HELOC | Equity in your current home | Smaller draws against an existing loan |
Each of those programs follows its own rules. The comparison shows where they differ, not what this program does.
If a rental is the property and its own rent can carry the loan, that points toward business-purpose rental financing instead. In that case, assets don’t drive the file.
For the full program overview, Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs page lays out both paths.
Three Quick Scenarios
These are composites, not real clients. They show how the same product fits different profiles.
The business seller. A founder sells a company and holds the proceeds in cash. The depletion path excuses sale-of-business funds from the 120-day statement rule. The cash counts at 100%, and the file can run as depletion with a cash-out request that stays inside 60%.
The retiree with a portfolio. A retired investor over 59½ holds brokerage accounts, savings and an IRA. On the qualifier path, the IRA counts at 100%. If the total covers the loan, no income is documented at all.
The founder with private shares. Most of this borrower’s wealth is in privately held stock, which is not an eligible asset on either path. The route is liquid assets: a documented sale of shares, seasoned in cash, plus any public securities and retirement accounts at their percentages.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: The way of qualifying where eligible assets must equal or exceed the whole loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion path: The way of qualifying where usable assets are divided by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Cash-out refinance: A new loan that pays off the old one and hands you the difference in cash, less closing costs.
Seasoning: The time money must sit in an account before a lender counts it.
Loan-to-value (LTV): The loan amount as a percentage of the property’s appraised value.
Debt-to-income (DTI): Your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared to your qualifying income.
Non-QM: A mortgage outside the standard qualified-mortgage and agency box, underwritten to its own program guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use retirement accounts to qualify for a seven-figure cash-out?
Yes, on both paths, but they count differently. On the qualifier path, a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% if you’re under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age. You do not have to withdraw the money.
Does asset-based mean no documentation?
No. It means no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification. Your assets are documented with statements, and every file is fully underwritten. The lender also reviews credit, the property, title and insurance.
Can I take cash out on an investment property?
Yes, on the asset depletion path, up to 60% on a cash-out refinance. The qualifier path covers a principal residence or second home. Investment property loans are business-purpose, and eligibility remains subject to underwriting.
Can the cash I pull out count toward my reserves or assets?
No. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. The money has to come from accounts you already hold and that meet the seasoning rules for your path.
Is the program available everywhere?
No. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Programs change, and Lendmire arranges the loan as a broker through select lenders in its network.
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. This is not a commitment to lend, and every figure above is subject to lender guidelines and underwriting.
Seven figures is reachable on assets alone, but only by matching your balances to the path that treats them best.
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.
Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in 2026.
Investors weighing their equity options can start with Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
Get Started
Ready to find the right loan for you?
See your offer in seconds. No credit pull, no obligation.
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. FHFA: Conforming Loan Limit Values announcement
2. Scotsman Guide: Alternative lending offers new pools for lenders to wade in
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-Based Cash-Out Refinance Requirements With No Income Other Than Assets · Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program for a Retiree Living on Investments · Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Requirements With No Income Verification
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
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.