The Quick Read: You qualify on 12 or 24 months of deposits instead of traditional personal-income documentation, then clear a separate review of the building itself. Two approvals run side by side: one for you, one for the tower. Through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, a strong file can reach high leverage on smaller loans, with the ceiling stepping down as the loan grows.
- Your deposits become income after an expense ratio, then the lender checks credit, debt-to-income (DTI), and reserves.
- The tower is reviewed separately. A “non-warrantable” label is about the building, not about you.
- Rentals are a different path. A pure rental usually runs on DSCR instead, and HOA dues count against that ratio.
- Loans above $4,000,000 are reviewed case by case before submission.
- Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
This article is for founders, physicians, attorneys, and investors whose traditional personal-income documentation understates what they earn. Lendmire is a broker that shops these files across a wholesale network. It does not lend. For the wider picture on investor financing, see the complete DSCR loans guide.
Key Terms Defined
Bank statement loan: A mortgage that is reviewed around 12 to 24 months of actual deposits instead of traditional personal-income documentation. Scotsman Guide describes non-QM bank-statement programs as reflecting cash flow rather than taxable income.
Non-QM: A loan that falls outside standard agency rules and cannot be bought by the government-sponsored enterprises.
Warrantable condo: A project that meets agency standards for things like owner-occupancy mix and commercial space.
Non-warrantable condo: A project that fails one or more of those standards. The label belongs to the building.
Expense ratio: The share of business deposits the lender subtracts to estimate real profit.
DSCR: Debt service coverage ratio. Monthly rent divided by the full monthly housing obligation: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association dues.
Reserves: Liquid funds you hold after closing, counted in months of the housing payment.
Why Tax Returns Understate What You Earn
Legal deductions shrink taxable income. Depreciation, payroll, contractor costs, and equipment all lower the number on your return. Your bank account tells a different story. Deposits show what actually came in.
That gap is why this loan exists. It is alternative documentation, not no documentation. The lender still pulls credit, reviews debts, screens deposits, and verifies assets. The file is reviewed on documented income under the applicable program, subject to lender guidelines.
How Underwriting Treats Your Statements, Step by Step
Here is how the borrower side works across most programs in the network.
1. Choose the occupancy. Primary home, second home, or investment property. Each has its own leverage ladder.
2. Collect consecutive statements. Twelve or 24 months, personal, business, or both. Transaction histories do not substitute. The bank portfolio program uses 12.
3. Total the eligible deposits. The underwriter strips out transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, and one-off credits.
4. Apply the expense ratio. For business accounts, the lender subtracts a share of deposits. Fixed ratios run 20% for a service business with no employees, 40% for one to five employees, and 50% for six or more employees or any product business. An accountant-provided ratio can replace those.
5. Divide by the months reviewed. The result is your monthly qualifying income.
6. Test the rest. Credit, DTI up to 50%, and reserves all have to fit.
Two details matter. Business statements need at least 25% ownership. And transfers from your own business into your personal account count at 100%, because the expense ratio was effectively already absorbed. Many borrowers miss that second point, and it is the cleanest way to document income that runs through an LLC.
A directional example
Say you own a consulting firm with no employees, and your business account shows steady deposits. The lender applies the 20% service-business ratio and divides what remains across the statement months. Now say the same account also had a one-time loan deposit and several transfers from your savings. Those come out first. Your qualifying income is lower than the raw deposit total, which is why the clean-up step matters more than most borrowers expect.
The Building Gets Its Own Review
The tower is underwritten as a separate question. A lender reviews the project’s budget, reserves, litigation, owner-occupancy mix, commercial-space share, insurance, and any special assessments. Your income cannot fix a building problem.
High-rises trip these tests more often than low-rise projects, because many have retail podiums, heavy investor ownership, or hotel-style rental programs. Scotsman Guide notes that agency rules disallow timeshare communities, require that at least half of units be owner-occupied, and limit single-owner concentration and commercial space. A luxury tower can fail on one of those and still be a fine building.
Across the network, condo project type caps the leverage, through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting:
| Property type | Project-type ceiling |
|---|---|
| Warrantable condo | Up to 85% |
| Non-warrantable condo | Up to 80% |
| Condotel, purchase | 75% |
| Condotel, cash-out | 65% (50% on the bank program) |
These are the project-type ceilings. They sit on top of the size-based ladder in the next section, and the lower of the two governs. That is why a warrantable condo tops out at 85% here even though a smaller primary-residence house purchase can reach 90%. Your loan size, occupancy, and credit tier set the actual number.
What to request early
Ask the property manager for the HOA questionnaire, the current budget, the reserve study, the master insurance certificate, and any litigation disclosure. Do this before you go under contract. Project problems found late can stall an otherwise strong borrower file.
What Leverage Looks Like as the Loan Grows
Leverage steps down as the loan gets bigger. On a primary residence purchase, through select wholesale programs and subject to full underwriting:
- Up to $1,000,000: 90%, with a 680 credit score.
- Up to $2,000,000: 85%.
- Up to $3,000,000: 80%.
- Up to $4,000,000: 75% at the top credit tier.
- Above $4,000,000: reviewed case by case. The bank portfolio program’s own ladder starts there, at 65% to $5,000,000 on review, then 60% to $10,000,000 and 55% to $30,000,000. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
Second homes and investment property run about five points lower at every size. Nothing above $1,000,000 reaches 90%. Cash-out is lower still: 80% on a primary residence up to $1,500,000 in loan size, tapering as the balance rises.
Loan sizes run from $300,000 to $30,000,000 across two wholesale programs. A portfolio non-QM program carries files to $6,000,000. A bank portfolio program carries twelve-month-statement files up to $30,000,000.
Pricing and available terms vary by lender, borrower profile, property type, and full underwriting review. Above the super-jumbo line, the floor is 700. Reserves run 3 months to $500,000, 6 months to $1,500,000, and 9 months above that. First-time investors typically need 12.
Interest-only structures exist. On the portfolio program, they reach 85% LTV on purchase and rate-term files with a 700 credit floor. On the bank program, interest-only tops out at 60% LTV. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Other Ways to Document the Same Deal
Deposits are not the only path. If your statements are messy, a few alternatives exist.
Profit-and-loss method. A P&L prepared by an accountant, capped at 80%. Scotsman Guide lists CPA-prepared profit-and-loss statements as a route when bank statements are complicated.
Asset allowance. The lender divides your liquid assets by 36, 60, or 84 months and adds that to income. It applies to primary and second homes, at 80% maximum. The 84-month version also covers any loan above $3,500,000.
Assets-only. No DTI at all. Your U.S. liquid assets must equal the loan plus closing costs plus sixty months of any net loss on other residential property. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% at age 59.5 and older. Business funds, gifts, crypto, and unvested stock never count.
Founders with irregular income, athletes with lumpy contracts, and investors with large portfolios tend to land on one of these.
Bank Statements or DSCR: Pick by Purpose
A bank statement loan and a DSCR loan are different products. One reviews your deposits and DTI. The other reviews the property’s rent against its monthly obligation. A DSCR loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
If you plan to live in the unit, use bank statements. If you plan to rent it out and do not want personal income reviewed, DSCR is usually the better fit. The catch with a tower: HOA dues go straight into the ratio, and high-rise dues are often large. A unit that looks strong on rent alone can thin out fast once dues are counted.
| Factor | Bank statement loan | DSCR loan |
|---|---|---|
| What is reviewed | Your deposits | The property’s rent |
| Typical use | Primary or second home | Rental property |
| HOA dues | Part of DTI | Part of the ratio |
| Personal DTI | Yes, up to 50% | Not the focus |
Some programs in the network review ratios below 1.00 through select lenders, but leverage and terms adjust when they do.
Business-purpose investor loans are reviewed differently from standard owner-occupied mortgages. That distinction has limits. The Federal Register’s publication of the CFPB ability-to-repay rule treats investment-purpose loans as business-purpose. If you expect to occupy the unit, though, it is a consumer loan, and the bank statement route applies.
Where the Rule Breaks
The building fails review. Active structural or critical-repair problems are hard for any lender to finance until they are resolved. This is where strong borrowers get stuck.
Safety laws add paperwork. Florida offers a state-specific example. Thornton Tomasetti explains that its SB 4-D requires milestone structural inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies for condo buildings three stories or taller. Treat that as an illustration of a broader trend, not a national rule. Building conditions and insurance vary by market.
The unit is non-warrantable. That is workable. Across the network, non-warrantable condos run to 80% LTV on the property-type ladder. A few lenders can quote both scenarios, so a unit that comes back warrantable can be repriced.
Super-jumbo overlays kick in. Above $3,500,000 on a primary residence, and above $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property, the overlays tighten. They include a 700 credit floor, a 0x30x24 housing history, 48-month seasoning on any credit event, U.S. citizens or permanent residents only, no non-occupant co-borrowers, and no rural property. Cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves.
You buy through an entity. Loans to LLCs are possible subject to program terms, but the product available can change. Raise it before you write an offer.
Pattern from comparable files: the borrower is rarely what delays a tower purchase. The building package is. Borrowers who ask for the questionnaire, budget, and insurance certificate before contract tend to learn about a problem while they can still walk away.
Preparing Your Statements
Clean statements make for an easier read of your income, though the lender sets every outcome.
- Keep accounts separate. Commingled personal and business deposits force the underwriter to sort them.
- Document big deposits. A large one-off credit needs a source.
- Explain irregular months. A short letter helps with seasonal or contract-driven income.
- Provide every page. Statements must be consecutive. Missing months cost you.
- Skip the shortcuts. Transaction histories are not accepted in place of statements.
Investors are a big part of this market. Scotsman Guide reports that investors bought 29% to 32% of U.S. home sales in the first half of 2025, and more than 85% of investors own fewer than five properties.
Is This Route Right for You?
It fits you if you are self-employed or own a business, your returns understate income, and you want to buy a unit you will occupy. It also fits if you have large liquid assets and irregular income.
It probably does not fit a W-2 borrower with clean documentation. Standard financing is simpler. It also does not fit a pure rental purchase where DSCR is the cleaner tool. For a related angle on towers, see Lendmire’s complete guide to financing a high-rise condo with bank statements, and for the luxury end of the market, Lendmire’s piece How to Finance a Luxury Condo With Bank Statements.
Consumer mortgage lending for these files is licensed in 16 states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WA.
If you are financing a high-balance property on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Call 828-256-2183.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use bank statements to buy a unit in a high-rise?
Yes, if the building also passes review. Your statements qualify you, and the project is checked separately. A non-warrantable tower is still workable through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
Do I need business or personal statements?
Either works, or both. Business statements need at least 25% ownership and take an expense ratio. Transfers from your business into a personal account count at 100%, which often makes personal statements simpler.
Is a bank statement loan the same as no documentation?
No. It is fully documented with alternative income evidence. The lender still reviews credit, debts, assets, and deposits.
What if the building is declined?
You have three paths: a different structure, a different program, or a different building. A non-warrantable label alone is not a decline. Active structural problems are harder, and you may need to wait until they are resolved.
Does a large loan change the rules?
Yes. Leverage steps down with size, and everything above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission. Overlays tighten above $3,500,000 on a primary residence. Credit floors and reserves rise too.
Self-employed borrowers can compare both super jumbo programs on Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a non-QM mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) arranging DSCR investor loans in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C., through wholesale and investor-lending channels. DSCR loans are evaluated by the lender on rental income rather than personal income, subject to lender guidelines — a fit for LLC-owned portfolios, self-employed investors, and operators scaling beyond conventional loan caps.
Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025.
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References
1. Scotsman Guide – One out of 20 mortgages are non-QM
2. Scotsman Guide – To the Rescue with the Right Loan at the Right Time
3. Scotsman Guide – Helping borrowers fit the boxes
4. Federal Register – CFPB ATR/QM final rule
5. Thornton Tomasetti – Florida Building Safety Law
6. Scotsman Guide – Investors anchor housing market as non-QM loans surge
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Finance a Gated Community Home With Bank Statements · How Actors Qualify for a Jumbo Mortgage With Bank Statements · How to Finance a Mountain Home With Bank Statements
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
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.