The Quick Read: Yes, a 1099 travel nurse can often use this kind of line, because select wholesale lenders read a window of deposits, typically 12 to 24 months, instead of tax returns, but only if you own a property with enough equity, meet the program’s credit floor, and hold the property in a form the program accepts. Three things decide the outcome.
- Equity comes first. The line is secured by a property you already own, and the allowed combined loan-to-value (CLTV) depends on whether it is your primary home, a second home, or a rental.
- Deposits become income. The underwriter totals eligible deposits and applies an expense factor, so clean, consistent deposits matter more than your tax return.
- Credit and debt still count. Bank statement documentation is not a shortcut around credit, debt-to-income, or property review.
- A rental purchase is a different tool. If you want to buy or cash out a rental, a DSCR loan is reviewed on the property’s rent instead.
What Is a Bank Statement HELOC, Really?
A bank statement HELOC is a home equity line of credit where your income is documented through bank deposits instead of tax returns or W-2s. It is a documentation method laid over an ordinary line. It is not a separate type of loan.
How large a line the equity supports.
An equity line is sized by combined loan-to-value, occupancy, and credit — not by rental coverage. Switch the occupancy or the credit band and the ceiling moves with it.
Investment-property lines require a 700 minimum credit score; second-home lines start at a 640 minimum and primary-residence lines at 600, and the combined-LTV ceiling steps down as the credit band drops on primary-residence and second-home lines and holds on investment-property lines; the line cap steps down on primary-residence lines and holds at every tier on investment-property and second-home lines.
A debt-to-income ratio above 45% requires 680+ credit. Profiles under 640 are limited to single-family homes. At least 75% of the approved line is drawn at closing. Ceilings, floors, and caps update from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source.
Line estimate
Illustrative estimate only — not a quote, Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. The rate is an editable assumption; equity-line pricing is variable through both the draw and repayment periods and never converts to fixed. Occupancy and credit drive the ceiling together: an investment property tops out at 70% combined LTV (minimum credit 700, line cap $500,000); a second home tops out at 90% combined LTV (minimum credit 640, line cap $500,000), with the ceiling stepping down as the credit band drops (the cap holds at every tier); a primary residence tops out at 90% combined LTV (minimum credit 600), and its $750,000 maximum line is available only at 75% combined LTV or below with a 700-or-better credit profile (720 on the longer-runway program) and a full appraisal. Lines above $500,000 require a full appraisal. Credit, debt-to-income, property type, and full underwriting review all affect the final line.
Lendmire is a mortgage broker, not a lender. It places these files with select wholesale lenders, and each lender sets its own rules. Everything below is a range from those guidelines, subject to lender guidelines and full file review. None of it is a commitment to lend.
A home equity line works like a credit card secured by your property. You get a limit. You draw from it. During the draw period you pay interest only, and then the balance converts to a fully amortizing repayment period.
For a self-employed borrower, the hard part is proving income. A 1099 nurse often writes off a lot of business costs. That lowers taxable income on the return even when real cash flow is strong. Bank statement underwriting reads the deposits, which is why it suits contractors.
Why a 1099 Travel Nurse Fits the Product
You are self-employed in the eyes of a lender. That is the borrower this documentation exists for. Your pay arrives as gross deposits from one or more staffing agencies. Your return then subtracts housing, travel, and licensing costs.
Here is how that plays out in two common cases.
| Factor | 1099 contractor | W-2 agency nurse |
|---|---|---|
| Income proof | Bank statements, 1099s, or CPA P&L | Pay stubs and W-2s |
| Tax return needed | Often not on a statement file | Typically yes or W-2 history |
| Stipends | Part of gross deposits | Often excluded if untaxed |
| Product fit | Bank statement path applies | Standard documentation applies |
Many travel nurses are not true 1099 workers. If an agency withholds taxes from your pay, you are a W-2 employee. Then the standard documentation path applies, and the bank statement route is not built for you. Check your pay stub and your year-end form before you shop.
Tax-free stipends are another dividing line. Travelnursing.org notes that non-taxed stipends are not reflected in annual income. That is why a W-2 traveler with a large stipend share often looks smaller on paper than the real pay.
On a 1099, the stipend is just part of the contract rate. It lands in your account as a deposit. So the split between taxable wages and tax-free stipends mostly disappears in a deposit analysis. The expense factor then does the work that your write-offs would have done.
How Lenders Turn Deposits Into Qualifying Income
The underwriter totals the eligible deposits over the statement window, removes what is not income, applies an expense factor, and divides by the number of months. The result is your qualifying monthly income. That figure then goes against your debts.
The steps run like this:
1. Pick the statement window. Lenders commonly review 12 to 24 months, per Scotsman Guide, a non-QM trade publication.
2. Strip out non-income items. Transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, and refunds generally come out.
3. Apply an expense factor. The lender’s program sets it, not you. A 50% factor appears in that same article as an illustration, not a rule.
4. Consider a CPA-prepared P&L. A profit-and-loss statement from a third-party tax professional can sometimes replace the factor.
5. Run debts against income. On this network, debt-to-income (DTI), meaning your monthly debts divided by your monthly income, may reach 50% at most. Credit profiles from 600 to 679 are held to 45%, so anything above 45% needs a score of at least 680.
6. Review credit, equity, and the property. All of this still applies.
The line is qualified on the interest-only payment calculated on the maximum draw. That is a stricter test than the amount you plan to use. Plan for it.
A Worked Example With Made-Up Units
This example is illustrative only. It uses units, not dollars, and the 50% factor is a stand-in for whatever a lender’s program applies.
- Eligible-looking deposits over the window: 100 units.
- Transfers and one-time items removed: 10 units.
- Remaining deposits: 90 units.
- Expense factor of 50%: 45 units counted as income.
So a nurse who deposited 100 units may be underwritten on 45. Your actual figure depends on the program and the file. This is why a clean account matters.
Stipends, Reimbursements, and Transfers on Your Statements
Each type of deposit tends to be treated differently. Lenders ask you to explain what they cannot identify. This table shows the usual pattern, though each lender decides.
| Deposit type | Likely treatment |
|---|---|
| Agency pay (gross contract rate) | Counted, then expense factor applied |
| Per diem or housing stipend in 1099 pay | Part of agency pay; counted the same way |
| Expense reimbursements | Often excluded; may need explanation |
| Transfers from your savings | Removed |
| Loan proceeds or tax refunds | Removed |
| Large one-off deposits | Usually require a written explanation |
Gaps between contracts are another concern. A few weeks without a deposit is normal in your work. A lender wants to see a steady pattern over the full window. If you moved between agencies and states, a short letter listing each assignment can help, along with the matching deposits.
Keep one account as the home for your pay. Commingled accounts invite more questions.
Does Your Tax Home Matter to the Lender?
Mostly for your taxes, but it touches the loan in one way. The IRS treats a temporary assignment as one realistically expected to last one year or less. An indefinite assignment makes the work location your new tax home. That determines whether your stipends are taxable.
A lender does not rule on your tax home. But a property you own and keep as your permanent address is the natural collateral. How you occupy it matters a great deal for the line you can get.
Which Property Can You Borrow Against?
The answer depends on how the property is used. A traveling nurse might own a primary home, a second home, or a rental. These are three different tables. Do not apply one occupancy’s numbers to another.
| Occupancy | Minimum credit | Top CLTV | Max line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary residence | 600 | 90% at 720+ (to $500,000) | $500,000 at 90% CLTV; $750,000 at 75% CLTV, 700+ (720 on the longer-runway program) |
| Second home | 640 | 90% at 720+ (to $500,000) | $500,000 |
| Investment property | 700 | 70% (700+) | $500,000 |
Read the 90% carefully. It exists only at a 720-or-better credit profile, and only on primary residences and second homes. Lower credit tiers step down. For example, a primary residence at 700 or better reaches 75% CLTV on lines up to $750,000, or 85% on lines up to $500,000. At 640 and above, a primary residence reaches 80%.
On a rental, the ceiling is 70% CLTV, no matter how strong your credit is. Combined loan-to-value (CLTV) adds your existing first mortgage to the new line, then divides by the property value. A large first mortgage uses up much of that room.
Market surveys and non-QM trade articles sometimes describe higher CLTV figures for equity lines. Those describe the broader market. The figures in the table are the ones that apply to this network.
Structure and Draw Rules
These lines can sit in first or second lien position. Primary and second-home lines offer two draw structures: a 3-year interest-only draw with a 17-year fully amortizing repayment, or a 5-year draw with a 25-year repayment. Investment lines use the 5-year draw and 25-year repayment only. Tennessee shortens both structures.
At least 75% of the line is drawn at closing. That surprises many borrowers. If you want a large line that sits unused, this is not that product. Once the draw period ends, the balance moves into the repayment period. Pricing floats through both periods and never converts to a fixed rate.
Property Types and Title
Single-family homes, 2-4 unit properties, PUDs, townhomes, and condos, including non-warrantable condos, are eligible. Manufactured homes, co-ops, condotels, log homes, commercial and mixed-use property, and agricultural zoning are not eligible.
Title must sit with you personally or in a revocable living trust. An LLC cannot hold title on these lines. If your rental is already deeded to an LLC, you would need a vesting change first. Or you would look at a DSCR cash-out refinance instead.
Valuation is usually automated for lines up to $500,000. Lines above that amount are limited to primary residences and require a full appraisal.
A borrower can hold up to three of these lines, and owning more than 15 financed properties makes you ineligible. These lines are also offered only in Lendmire’s 16 full-service states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WA.
What Lenders Check Besides Your Deposits
“Bank statement” does not mean no review. Lenders review your file on documented income under the applicable program, subject to lender guidelines. They also review:
- Credit. The program floor is 600, and a primary residence uses the credit profile of the primary wage earner. The report can be no more than 90 days old at closing.
- Debt. Auto loans, student loans, and your other mortgages all count in your DTI.
- Derogatory history. A bankruptcy needs 4 years of seasoning from discharge or dismissal. Foreclosure history varies by program and occupancy.
- Self-employment history. Some programs expect a minimum time in the same line of work. A nurse who just moved from W-2 to 1099 should ask the broker how a lender will count prior agency work.
A federal ability-to-repay rule also matters here, but less than you might expect. The CFPB’s Regulation Z section covers closed-end mortgages and carves out home equity lines. So each lender sets its own documentation standard for a line. That flexibility is why alternative-documentation lines exist at all. Lenders do still weigh your ability to repay, in their own way.
When a HELOC Is Not the Right Tool
A line fits a nurse who wants to tap equity and keep a good first mortgage in place. It fits less well if any of these apply:
- You want to buy or cash out a rental and need more than the 70% investment ceiling.
- The property is held in an LLC.
- Your credit sits below the occupancy floor in the table.
- Your income is strong on deposits, but you have heavy existing debts.
For rentals, a DSCR loan is the cleaner path. DSCR means debt service coverage ratio, which compares the property’s rent to its full monthly payment. A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines, so your personal deposits matter less. For a nurse with lumpy contract income, that is a real advantage. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide covers the mechanics. Its DSCR programs run in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C.
Here is how typical DSCR terms look across the network, again subject to lender guidelines:
- Purchase: most files land at 75% to 80% LTV, which means 20% to 25% down. Select programs reach 85% LTV with roughly a 700-plus score.
- Cash-out refinance: tops out around 75% LTV, with about 6 months of seasoning commonly expected.
- Coverage: 1.00 is where many select programs start. A separate select-lender path takes coverage below 1.00, with leverage and terms adjusted.
- Credit: a 620 floor exists in parts of the network. Most programs want around 660, and 700-plus opens the strongest leverage tiers.
- Loan size: up to $3,000,000 on standard programs (smaller balances available through select lenders).
One caution. Clearing 1.00 coverage is not the same as positive cash flow. DSCR compares rent to principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any association dues. Repairs, vacancy, management, and utilities sit outside the calculation.
A Two-Step Strategy
Many investors combine the tools. The nurse uses a line on a primary residence, within the primary-residence tiers above, to source a down payment. Then the nurse buys the rental with a DSCR loan. Lendmire’s piece How to Use a Bank Statement HELOC as Down Payment on a Ten-House DSCR Package walks through that idea at scale. Treat this as a strategy to discuss, not a promise that any file will work.
Your Pre-Application Checklist
Gather these before you talk to a broker:
1. Twelve to 24 months of statements for the account that receives your pay. 2. Your agency contracts or assignment letters, showing dates and rates. 3. A short written explanation for any large one-time deposit. 4. Your 1099 forms, and your pay stub if an agency withholds anything. 5. A list of monthly debts, including your current mortgage. 6. Your deed, to confirm who holds title. 7. A recent estimate of property value. 8. A note on how you use the property: primary, second home, or rental.
Move personal spending that is not part of your work out of the pay account when you can. Do not make large transfers in the weeks before you apply. The fewer deposits that need explaining, the cleaner the file reads.
Key Terms Defined
Bank statement HELOC: a home equity line where deposits, not tax returns, document your income.
CLTV: combined loan-to-value, which adds your existing mortgage and the new line, then divides by the property value.
Expense factor: the percentage of deposits a lender treats as business costs before counting income.
1099 contractor: a worker paid gross by a client, who handles taxes personally.
DSCR: a ratio that compares a rental’s income to its full monthly payment.
Tax home: the area where your main place of work is, or your regular home if you have no main place of work.
What to Do Next
Start with three questions. Do you own the property in your own name or a revocable trust? What is its occupancy: primary, second home, or rental? And how many months of clean deposits do you have?
A broker who shops several wholesale lenders can match your answers to a program. The right fit depends on your property, credit, equity, and documentation. If you are considering a home equity line and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare HELOC options based on the property, the equity available, credit profile, combined leverage, and your goals. The site’s calculator gives an illustrative estimate only.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held, so speak with a qualified attorney or CPA about your own situation before relying on any deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an LLC or a business bank account as a 1099 nurse?
Not necessarily. Many programs accept personal accounts, since your 1099 pay lands there. The key is a consistent deposit pattern that the underwriter can trace. If you do run a business account, expect the lender to ask how it is used. Note that an LLC cannot hold title to the property on these lines.
What if my income is a mix of W-2 and 1099 work?
It depends on the lender’s program. Some lenders document the two streams separately: W-2 pay through stubs and 1099 pay through statements. A broker can ask the lender how mixed income is treated before you apply. Keep both sets of deposits clearly labeled.
Can I borrow against a rental property I own?
Yes, in the states served, subject to lender guidelines. Investment-property lines require at least a 700 credit profile. They top out at 70% CLTV and $500,000, with the 5-year draw and 25-year repayment structure.
Is a bank statement HELOC more expensive than a standard line?
Pricing generally reflects the added documentation work, and it varies by lender, credit, and leverage. Lendmire does not quote pricing in articles. A broker comparing several wholesale lenders can show you the terms for your own file.
What if I just switched from W-2 to 1099 work?
Some programs expect a minimum time self-employed in the same field. Moving from agency W-2 to 1099 contracts in the same nursing line may help show continuity, but each lender decides. Ask the broker before you apply, and keep contracts that show your work history.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker. Home equity lines of credit — on a primary residence, a second home or an investment property — are arranged through wholesale lenders in Lendmire’s 16 full-service states, and every line is underwritten by the lender under its program guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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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. Travelnursing.org, Travel Nurse Taxes Guide
2. Scotsman Guide, Rev Up the Engine for Non-QM Lending
4. CFPB Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.43
This article is part of Lendmire’s bank statement HELOC program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How Much Can You Borrow on a Bank Statement HELOC for Investors With Rentals? · How Much Can You Borrow on a Bank Statement HELOC to Invest in Stocks?
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.