How Much Do You Need in Assets for an Asset Depletion Loan?

The Quick Read: It depends, because no single minimum applies to every program. Most lenders set the floor as a multiple of the loan amount or a flat dollar figure, and they measure it after your down payment, closing costs and reserves come out. In practice, that usually means a six-figure to low seven-figure portfolio.

• Asset depletion is a qualifying method: the lender turns your eligible balances into monthly income on paper, and you never have to sell anything.
• Cash counts in full. Brokerage and retirement balances are discounted before the math starts.
• Across the wholesale network, the months-based divisor swings the result as much as the balance does.
• On a primary residence, asset-depletion qualifying runs up to 80% LTV, subject to lender guidelines.
• Some programs waive the asset floor when asset income only supplements other documented income.

Every file is underwritten individually, and nothing here is a commitment to lend. The sections below show how to estimate your own number.

What “Assets Needed” Actually Means

The number you need is not your net worth, and it is not the balance on your statements. It is the amount left after the lender discounts each account and subtracts the money the deal itself will consume.

Think of it in three stages. The gap between the first and third is where most borrowers get surprised.

Only the usable balance goes into the formula. A borrower with a large statement total can land well below a program floor once the third stage is done.

How the Formula Turns Assets Into Income

The formula is simple: usable assets divided by a number of months equals monthly qualifying income. That number of months is the divisor, meaning the period over which the lender spreads your eligible pool.

Here is the sequence most programs in our wholesale network follow:

1. Inventory the accounts. Eligible accounts are typically checking, savings, money market, CDs, brokerage and vested retirement accounts.

2. Apply the discount for each asset type. A discount is the percentage a lender trims from an account because its value can swing or carries withdrawal costs. Cash is counted at full value.

3. Subtract the money for the deal. Down payment, closing costs and required reserves come out before any division.

4. Divide by the program divisor. The result is monthly income that exists only in the underwriting.

5. Run debt-to-income. Debt-to-income, or DTI, compares your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, against that qualifying income.

6. Verify with statements. Seasoning and sourcing rules vary by program.

The divisor deserves attention. The programs we place files with commonly use divisors from the mid-double digits to a couple of years beyond that. For a supplemental file with a modest DTI, 36 months is common. A 60-month divisor is common when DTI runs higher, and 84 months is common when the assets must carry the file alone or the loan is very large. Lender sheets change, so treat these as typical ranges.

The effect is easy to see in ratios. Spread the same pool over 60 months instead of 84, and monthly income rises by 40%. Spread it over 36 months, and income is about 2.3 times the 84-month figure. Put another way, the pool you need at 36 months is only about 43% of the pool you need at 84.

Agency-style asset depletion uses far longer divisors and produces much less income from the same assets. It is a useful contrast, but those rules do not govern the alt-doc programs discussed here.

Why Minimums Differ From Program to Program

You will see several kinds of minimum, and they test different things.

The reason is underwriting logic. A lender relying on assets alone wants proof that the pool could plausibly carry the payment for a long stretch. A multiple of the loan makes that proportional. A flat floor makes it easy to screen. Some lenders also waive the floor entirely when your asset income only adds to other documented income, because job or business income is already carrying part of the load.

Because of that, the same borrower can clear one program and miss another. Our wholesale network lets a broker compare several sheets at once. A single lender’s page cannot do that.

Market-wide, these minimums tend to cluster from the mid-six figures to around seven figures for typical purchases. Treat that as a rough scale and not a quote, since individual programs vary widely.

Work Backward From the Home You Want

Most borrowers start from the home and ask what balance they need. This method answers that question without guessing at dollar figures.

1. Pick a price and leverage. Asset-depletion qualifying on a primary residence runs up to 80% LTV, subject to lender guidelines. LTV, or loan-to-value, is the loan as a percentage of the price. Stronger files earn the top of the range.

2. Set aside the deal money. The remaining percentage is your down payment. Add closing costs and reserves, which commonly run around six months of the housing payment.

3. Estimate the full monthly housing payment. Use the site’s illustrative calculator for a rough estimate. Include taxes, insurance and any HOA dues.

4. Find the income you need. Add your other monthly debts to the housing payment. Divide by the program’s maximum DTI to get the required qualifying income.

5. Multiply by the divisor. Required monthly income times the divisor gives the usable pool you need.

6. Gross it up. Add back the discount on brokerage and retirement balances. Then add the deal money from step 2 to reach the statement balance you need.

If the result looks high at an 84-month divisor, rerun step 5 at 60 or 36. That is not gaming the system, because the divisor depends on whether the assets supplement other income and where your DTI lands. Some programs also use a different test, requiring post-closing assets to cover the loan, reserves and several years of other debt payments.

Loan sizes on these programs run from roughly $125,000 to $3,500,000. Very large loans often push you toward the longest divisors.

What Counts and What Does Not

Cash and cash equivalents count in full. Brokerage and retirement accounts count after a discount, and the discount varies by lender and by account type.

Retirement accounts carry extra conditions. Some programs want you to be the sole owner with penalty-free access. Being under 59½ often triggers a deeper discount.

Business accounts and real estate equity are often excluded. So is the home you are buying, which matters because a lender can rely on assets other than the dwelling securing the loan. If you hold income-producing assets, a lender may strip the income they already generate from the pool so it is not counted twice.

Total net worth is therefore the wrong yardstick. A portfolio heavy in home equity and a business can look wealthy and still fall short.

Seasoning, Sourcing and Statements

Assets are documented with account statements. Lenders typically want to see that the money has been in the account for a period, which is called seasoning, meaning the waiting period before funds count as yours. Large recent deposits may need a paper trail.

Seasoning length is program-specific, so confirm it before you move funds. Shifting money between accounts the month you apply can create sourcing questions that are easy to avoid. Federal rules also expect a lender to verify the assets it relies on through reliable third-party records, as Cornell Law School’s text of the ability-to-repay rule spells out.

Three Borrowers, Three Different Numbers

A retiree with most wealth in retirement accounts will see the discount hit hardest. Age and access terms matter more than the headline balance.

A self-employed borrower is often better served by blending methods. Documented deposits can supplement asset income, which may bring the divisor down to its shorter end. Another path is 12 months of bank statements, where income comes from deposit averages with lender expense factors. Compare both.

An investor with strong savings but thin property cash flow may find the balance sheet is the better qualifier. The catch comes after the first purchase. The funds are counted, not spent, but money needed for the down payment, closing and reserves leaves the pool, so each additional property shrinks what is left for the next one.

Can You Combine Assets With Other Income?

Sometimes. Some programs require asset depletion to be the sole income source. Others let it supplement salary, pension, Social Security or business income, and some waive the asset floor in that case.

Supplemental treatment can be worth a great deal. It often means a shorter divisor, so the same balance produces more income. If you have any documented income at all, ask which version of the program applies.

What If You Are Short?

Falling a little short is common, and there are several ways to close the gap.

• Lower the purchase price or increase the down payment percentage, which shrinks the loan the pool must support.
• Add a co-borrower whose assets or income are documented.
• Combine asset income with other documented income.
• Consolidate or season accounts so more of your money is eligible.
• Compare programs, since floors, divisors and discounts differ from one lender to the next.
• Consider a different documentation path, such as bank statements, if your deposits tell a stronger story.

Where Asset Depletion Sits for Investors

For a pure rental purchase, DSCR is usually the default. It qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Asset depletion is the personal-income alternative, as Scotsman Guide describes it, turning idle brokerage and retirement balances into attributed income for asset-rich households.

That fits an investor whose property cash flow is thin but whose balance sheet is large. For the full picture of how DSCR works, see our complete DSCR loans guide.

Occupancy changes the rules, and it changes what leverage is available. On an owner-occupied home, asset-depletion qualifying runs up to 80% LTV on a primary residence. On an investment property, cash-out tops out around 75% LTV, while purchase leverage on alt-doc documentation varies by lender. Investor-focused leverage guidance belongs on the DSCR side.

Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before relying on any deduction.

If trust holdings are part of your balance sheet, Lendmire’s piece How to Use Trust Assets to Qualify on an Asset Depletion Mortgage covers that angle. Borrowers who live on stock compensation may also want Lendmire’s comparison of RSU income versus asset depletion.

The Rules Behind the Numbers

Lenders on owner-occupied files must make a reasonable, good-faith determination that you can repay, as the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule requires. That determination can rest on income, on assets other than the property itself, or both. This is why a balance-sheet method is permitted at all.

Disclosure rules follow occupancy. An owner-occupied purchase is a consumer mortgage, and TRID disclosures apply. A loan on a non-owner-occupied rental, including a short-term rental, is business-purpose and exempt from TRID. Whether a particular loan is consumer or business-purpose depends on the facts and the lender’s determination.

Common Misconceptions

You have to liquidate the assets. No. Depletion is a qualifying formula, not a withdrawal schedule or a pledge.

Net worth is the number that counts. No. Discounts and the deal-money subtraction shrink it first, and business accounts and home equity are often excluded.

Asset depletion is a DSCR loan. No. DSCR looks at the property’s rent, and asset depletion looks at your balance sheet.

Every lender divides by 360. No. That is the agency-style approach. Alt-doc programs use far shorter divisors, so the same pool produces very different income.

Non-QM means weak borrowers. No. Scotsman Guide reports non-QM at about 5% of originations, up from about 3% a few years earlier, and an average borrower credit score of 776 in its reporting on who drives non-QM lending. Every figure here varies by lender and program: guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.

Key Terms Defined

Asset depletion: A qualifying method that turns eligible savings and investments into notional monthly income, without requiring you to sell them.

Divisor: The number of months the lender spreads your usable pool across to calculate monthly income.

Discount: The percentage a lender trims from brokerage or retirement balances because their value can change or carry withdrawal costs.

Reserves: Money left in accounts after closing, commonly around six months of the housing payment.

DTI: Debt-to-income ratio, which compares monthly debts to qualifying income.

Seasoning: The period funds must sit in an account before a lender counts them.

LTV: Loan-to-value, the loan amount as a percentage of the property’s price or value.

Next Step

If you hold a large portfolio and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset depletion loan options based on your balances, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Consumer mortgage programs are available in 16 states, with qualification on documented income under the applicable program, subject to lender guidelines.

For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s self-employed mortgage programs page.

About Lendmire

A non-QM mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire arranges DSCR financing for real estate investors in 41 markets, 40 states plus Washington, D.C. Because those deals are underwritten primarily on property cash flow rather than personal income documentation, the structure suits self-employed buyers and entity-owned portfolios. Lendmire places loans through wholesale investor lenders; it is not a direct lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.

References

1. Cornell Law School, 12 CFR 1026.43

2. Scotsman Guide

3. CFPB, 12 CFR 1026.43 (ability-to-repay)