The Quick Read: Only vested shares you own count, and they count as assets or, with enough history, as income. Unvested units do not. On a jumbo cash-out of your primary home, RSUs help the file in two ways: vested shares document reserves, and a qualifying vesting history can add to income. The cash-out proceeds, not the stock, fund the second-home down payment. Everything is subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
What Does “Counts” Mean for RSUs?
RSUs can play three different roles in a mortgage file: income, assets, and down-payment source. Borrowers mix these up, and the mix-up causes most of the problems.
Income is what you earn and can document will continue. Assets are what you own today. A down-payment source is the cash that actually goes to the second-home seller. A vested share sitting in a brokerage account is an asset. The paycheck-like stream from future vesting is income, and only if the lender can document it.
RSUs sit behind that, supporting reserves and the qualifying profile. They are not the cash that changes hands.
Which RSUs Qualify?
Vested, distributed, and verifiable is the test. Granted is not enough. Fannie Mae’s guide for stocks, bonds and mutual funds accepts vested holdings for down payment, closing costs and reserves when value and ownership can be verified. Non-vested stock options are not acceptable there. That page speaks to options, so for unvested RSUs the practical read is simple: you don’t own the shares yet, so they generally don’t count.
Jumbo loans sit above agency limits and follow each investor’s own guidelines. Agency rules are the closest published benchmark, and many jumbo guidelines borrow from them. They are not bound by them. Across the wholesale programs Lendmire places files with, how RSUs are treated, and whether volatile stock gets a haircut, varies by lane.
| RSU status | Counts as income? | Counts as assets? | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granted, unvested | No | No | You don’t own the shares yet |
| Vested, held in brokerage | Possibly, with history | Yes, if verified | Statement required |
| Vested and distributed, with history | Possibly | Yes | Public company, vesting schedule |
| Sign-on RSU bonus vesting over time | No (agency rule) | After vesting | Fannie excludes it as income |
| Private-company RSUs | Generally no | Only if value is verifiable | Public-trading test fails |
How Do Lenders Turn RSUs Into Income?
They average what actually vested over time instead of trusting the grant number. Under Fannie Mae’s RSU income rule, restricted stock must be vested and distributed without restrictions. The lender documents that the stock is publicly traded, the past and future vesting schedule, and a brokerage or bank statement showing prior distributions. For income paid in shares, the lender uses the 200-day moving average share price, which smooths volatility.
The steps look like this:
1. Confirm the employer’s stock is publicly traded.
2. Pull the vesting schedule and the history of vested, distributed awards.
3. Total what actually vested over the lookback period and convert shares to dollars at the averaged price.
4. Divide the total vested value by the number of months in the averaging period to get a monthly figure.
5. Add that figure to salary and other documented income, if the lender accepts it.
Different lenders can produce different monthly numbers from the same grant. A jumbo lane may follow Fannie Mae’s method, another agency’s method, or its own.
How Does the Jumbo Cash-Out Use RSUs?
The first loan is a cash-out refinance of the home you live in, and RSUs mostly show up in reserves and qualifying income. The new first mortgage is compared against your county’s conforming limit. A loan one dollar above it is a jumbo. The FHFA recalculates the limit yearly, and it differs by county.
The wholesale jumbo lanes Lendmire’s team works with reach loans up to $5,000,000 on the largest lanes. Leverage goes up to 90% on the headline lane, with a 660 decision score. Cash-out sits at lower leverage than purchase, and the largest lanes carry a cash cap. The fixed lanes use a 50% ratio ceiling. Reserves are counted in months of the full payment and rise with the loan amount. Above a lane’s threshold amount, two appraisals are required. You can see the structure on Lendmire’s jumbo cash-out refinance program page. All figures are subject to lender guidelines.
The appraisal on your primary home sets the equity. Maximum leverage applies to that value. For reference only, Fannie Mae’s eligibility matrix caps a conforming cash-out on a one-unit principal residence at 80%. Jumbo caps are set by each lane.
Here is where RSUs earn their place. Reserves are tested in months of payment, and vested shares with a current statement can document them. A borrower whose salary alone is tight may need qualifying RSU income to hit the ratio ceiling. If the lender won’t count it, the file is reviewed on base pay and other documented income.
How Does the Second-Home Purchase Count Them?
It’s a separate loan with its own occupancy rules, and it sees your new, larger primary payment. After the cash-out, your primary-home payment is higher. The second-home loan counts that payment, the new property’s payment, taxes and insurance, and tests reserves across both homes.
Occupancy decides leverage. Second-home purchases generally allow more leverage than second-home cash-outs, and the jumbo lanes set their own limits. Fannie’s matrix shows 90% for a one-unit second-home purchase as an agency benchmark. It is not a jumbo term.
Sequence matters. Doing the cash-out first means the proceeds are seasoned, documented funds by the time the purchase file is built. Running the two concurrently is possible in some files but puts both under the same scrutiny, and a change in one hits the other.
Can the Same RSUs Do Two Jobs?
Shares can support income or reserves, but the same value shouldn’t be counted twice. If a lender uses vesting history as income, the shares that already vested sit in your account as assets. Many underwriters will use the account for reserves and the history for income, since they are different measurements. Selling those shares to fund the down payment moves them out of reserves.
| Question | Income use | Asset use |
|---|---|---|
| What is measured? | Vested history over time | Value in the account today |
| Document | Schedule, paystubs, W-2s | Recent brokerage statement |
| Risk | Continuance, price swings | Price drop before closing |
| Overlap | Allowed if lender accepts | Shares sold are gone from reserves |
Cash from the cash-out does not automatically satisfy reserves. Lenders typically want reserves remaining after the down payment and closing costs, so proceeds spent on the second home don’t double as cushion.
Sell Shares or Borrow Against the Home?
Selling shares costs you market exposure and a tax event. Borrowing costs you a larger payment and less equity. Neither is free.
| Factor | Sell vested shares | Jumbo cash-out |
|---|---|---|
| Tax effect | Possible gain on sale | None from the loan itself |
| Market exposure | Reduced | Kept |
| Monthly budget | No new debt | Primary payment rises |
| Equity | Untouched | Lower after cash-out |
Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
The CFPB’s guide to using home equity notes that a cash-out can raise your payment, lengthen your term and change your loan terms, and that lenders typically want you to keep some equity. Funding a second property with home equity concentrates risk in one asset. Borrowers holding heavy employer stock often prefer borrowing so they don’t sell into a dip, but that only works if both payments hold up when the stock falls.
What Goes Wrong Mid-Process?
Stock drops, job changes and slipped vest dates are the usual breakers. Each one hits a different part of the file.
- Share price falls. Reserve value drops. If RSU income was counted, the averaged price helps but doesn’t erase a long slide.
- Job change. Vesting history usually resets with a new employer. Income you relied on can disappear from the file.
- Layoff or restructuring. Continuance becomes the question, and the lender may drop RSU income entirely.
- Vest date slips. Shares you planned to document aren’t in the account when the statement is pulled.
- Gap between loans. A job or balance change between the cash-out and the purchase can reopen the first file’s assumptions.
Run a simple stress test before committing: remove the RSU income entirely and ask whether both homes are still carryable on base pay. If the answer is no, the structure is leaning on variable pay. The loan rules also require verification of any income or assets a lender relies on, which is why a jumbo isn’t a no-doc loan. The Federal Reserve staff describe the ability-to-repay rule as prohibiting no-doc loans.
Document Checklist for Two Loans
One RSU pack, organized by loan, saves the most back-and-forth.
| Item | Cash-out (primary) | Second-home purchase |
|---|---|---|
| RSU agreement and vesting schedule | Yes | Yes |
| Brokerage statements | Reserves, income history | Reserves after down payment |
| Paystubs and W-2s | Yes | Yes |
| Employer verification | Yes | Updated |
| Appraisal | Primary home | Second home |
Update the pack if a vest occurs between loans. Stale statements are a common reason for a file going back for more.
Key Terms Defined
Vested: Shares you have earned and now own, free of the employer’s forfeiture conditions.
Distributed: Shares that have been delivered into your brokerage account.
Reserves: Liquid assets left after closing, measured in months of the full payment.
Cash-out refinance: A new, larger mortgage that pays off the old one and returns the difference as cash.
Jumbo loan: A mortgage above the county’s conforming limit, underwritten to the investor’s own guidelines.
200-day moving average: The averaged share price some rules use to convert shares to dollars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do unvested RSUs count toward the down payment?
No. You don’t own the shares yet, and agency rules don’t count them as income either. Only vested, verifiable shares can serve as assets.
Can I use RSUs for the second-home down payment on a jumbo cash-out?
Not directly. The cash-out proceeds from your primary home fund the down payment. Vested shares can support reserves and, with enough history, qualifying income, subject to the lane’s guidelines.
Do I need two years of vesting history?
Agency rules look for a documented history of vested, distributed awards, and the formulas differ between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A jumbo lane may set its own length, so confirm with the lender before relying on it.
Does a job change reset my RSU history?
Usually, yes. Lenders look for history with the current employer, so a new employer’s awards typically need time to count. Sign-on RSU bonuses that vest over time are not eligible as income under Fannie’s rule.
Do private-company RSUs count?
Generally not as income, since the agency test requires publicly traded stock. Value is hard to verify as an asset too.
Next Step
If you are weighing a cash-out refinance against keeping the loan you have, Lendmire can help you compare the programs and the equity each one reaches. Related reading: Lendmire’s piece Cash-Out Refinance vs HELOC for a Second-Home Down Payment and a piece Cash-Out Refinance to Buy a Second Home: Using Your Primary Residence’s Value for the Down Payment. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Lendmire arranges FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through wholesale lenders; every file is underwritten by the lender under the applicable program guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
For the program’s current guidelines, see jumbo loan programs.
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References
1. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-01
2. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-07
3. FHFA – 2026 Conforming Loan Limit Values
4. Fannie Mae Eligibility Matrix
5. CFPB Using Home Equity guide
This article is part of Lendmire’s Jumbo Loans series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: How to Size a Jumbo Cash-Out or a Second Lien for a Renovation · How to Sequence a Jumbo Cash-Out and Second Home With RSU Pay · How to Get a Jumbo Cash-Out on an Inherited Home After Probate
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Legal disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage that arranges financing through wholesale lender relationships. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or registered financial advisor. The discussion above is general informational content about real estate financing — it is not financial, legal, or tax advice, and readers should consult licensed professionals for guidance on their individual circumstances. Loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not represent a commitment to lend. Loan terms, rates, and qualification standards vary by borrower, property, and state, and are subject to change at any time. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.