The Quick Read: A household living off its portfolio can still buy or refinance a home. Lenders in Lendmire’s network qualify these files on assets instead of paychecks, so no traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification are needed. Every file is still fully underwritten, and the assets are documented with statements.
- Two paths exist. On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets cover the whole loan. On the asset depletion path, your assets are converted into monthly qualifying income.
- You are on one path at a time. The two sets of figures never blend.
- Retirement accounts count differently by path. Age 59½ matters on the qualifier path.
- Leverage and eligibility are set subject to underwriting. Everything here describes ceilings and floors through select programs, not offers.
- Virginia borrowers use the same figures. Consumer mortgage lending through Lendmire’s network covers Virginia.
What a Mortgage Without Working Actually Means
It means you qualify on what you own instead of what you earn. An FIRE household (financial independence, retire early) usually holds a large portfolio and draws little taxable income. A tax return makes that household look weak, while the balance sheet looks strong.
Mutual of Omaha describes the common FIRE target as about 25 times annual expenses, supported by a 4% withdrawal rule. Households that hit that number often have no reason to hold a job. Standard underwriting asks for the job anyway.
This approach fits several kinds of borrowers:
- Early retirees living on a portfolio.
- Sellers of a business.
- Recipients of an inheritance or settlement.
- Professionals who stepped away from a salary.
The thread is cash-heavy and income-light. Lendmire arranges these loans through select lenders. It is a mortgage broker, so it places the file and the lender decides.
The Two Paths, Side by Side
Across Lendmire’s wholesale network, asset-based files fall into two structures. The asset qualifier path asks one question: do your eligible assets equal or exceed the entire loan? The asset depletion path asks a different one: can your assets, turned into monthly income, carry the housing payment and your other debts?
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program covers both. Here is how they compare, subject to underwriting.
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| Core test | Usable assets ≥ whole loan | Assets ÷ 60 months = income, then DTI |
| Income documented | None | Derived from assets |
| Purchase leverage | Up to 80% | Up to 80% primary or second home; 65% investment |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term; 60% cash-out on primary or second; 65% rate-and-term and 60% cash-out on investment |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Credit | 600 minimum | Lender’s matrix |
| Statements | 60 days seasoning, two months per account | 120-day-old statement plus one within 45 days |
DTI means debt-to-income ratio: your monthly debts divided by your monthly income. The qualifier path documents no income, so no DTI is run. The lender’s review rests on the assets.
On the depletion path, cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. The qualifier-path cash-out terms are set by the lender and are not published, so ask for them file by file.
A FIRE Household Run Through Both Paths
Picture a household buying a primary residence with an $800,000 loan on the asset qualifier path. The couple holds $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%. They hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½, which counts at 90%, or $270,000. They also hold $200,000 in savings, which counts at 100%.
Add it up: $800,000 of usable assets against an $800,000 loan. The file is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Now run a different household on the depletion path. It holds $1,500,000 in securities, which count at 80%, or $1,200,000. It also holds $300,000 in cash, which counts at 100%. That is $1,500,000 of usable assets. Divided by 60 months, it produces $25,000 of monthly qualifying income.
That income then carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test. The lender’s own calculation governs. These figures are illustrative.
Two practical points follow. First, money you use for the down payment and closing costs leaves your accounts. Run your numbers on the balance you expect to hold after closing, not the balance on today’s statement. Second, you do not have to sell your portfolio to show it. The assets are documented where they sit, which is a real advantage for a household that wants to stay invested.
Which Assets Count, and How Much
The credit percentages differ by path, so name the path whenever you quote a figure. Here is the asset table for each.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | Securities 80% |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | Cash accounts 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA | 90% under 59½; 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Private stock | Not published | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
Some assets do not count on the depletion path at all. These are 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.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles are not published as eligible on either path. Neither are business accounts beyond your ownership share or pledged and borrowed funds. The documented route is to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source. Plan that conversion well ahead of your application.
Why a Paycheck Is Not the Test
Federal lending rules ask whether you can repay, not whether you have a job. The CFPB’s compliance guide lists your current or reasonably expected income or assets as one of the factors a lender weighs. The word is or. Assets can carry a file when wages do not exist.
That explains why both paths are legitimate. The qualifier path rests on assets that cover the loan outright. The depletion path turns assets into income for the standard DTI test.
A rental purchase works differently. Rental financing is business-purpose financing, and the Federal Register records that the regulator treats investment-purpose loans as business-purpose loans. Those loans are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage, and they are usually underwritten on the property’s rent covering its payment. Read on for where the asset-based path touches investment property.
Retirement Accounts You Cannot Touch Yet
This is where early retirees get surprised. Under age 59½, the qualifier path counts your 401(k) and IRA at 90%. At 59½ or older, it counts at 100%. The depletion path counts retirement balances at 70% at any age.
A lender counting a retirement account does not mean you are withdrawing from it. Qualification looks at the balance, and you can usually leave the money where it is. Withdrawing is a separate decision with its own costs.
Early withdrawals normally carry a penalty. Fidelity explains the common exception, a plan of substantially equal periodic payments. That plan must run at least five years or until 59½, whichever is longer, and stopping it early triggers penalties. Selling assets to raise cash can break that schedule. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before drawing from retirement accounts.
The practical lesson for an FIRE household is to avoid raiding retirement accounts for the down payment. Taxable brokerage and savings usually serve better. They count at full value on the qualifier path and avoid early-withdrawal questions altogether.
What You Still Document
Documented assets are the whole point. This is not a paperwork-free loan, and a lender who reads a thin file will not approve it.
Expect to provide the following:
- A credit report and authorization.
- Statements for every account you use as qualifying assets.
- An appraisal of the property.
- The source of any large recent deposit.
On the qualifier path, each qualifying account needs 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements. On the depletion path, the lender wants statements at least 120 days old at application plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning, though the lender still reviews the source.
Credit still matters. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700.
Housing history is typically reviewed at 0x30x12, meaning no 30-day late in the last twelve months. One late payment in that window is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible, and a housing event needs four years of seasoning on the depletion path.
Special Situations and Where the Rule Bends
Minimum assets on the depletion path. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When assets are your only income source, liquid assets can never fall below $250,000.
A mixed household. Say one spouse draws a pension and the other lives on investments. Asset-derived income can supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Spouses and joint accounts. Which balances count depends on whose name is on the account and who is on the loan. The lender sets that rule file by file, so sort out ownership before you apply.
Rental and investment property. The depletion path can finance investment property, which is business-purpose. Leverage there is lower: up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and up to 60% on a cash-out refinance. The qualifier path covers a principal residence or second home. If your plan is a pure rental purchase, rent-based DSCR financing is often the cleaner fit, and the asset route is the alternative.
Equity in other real estate. It counts at 60% on the depletion path. The qualifier path does not publish it as eligible.
Market drops before closing. Lenders value accounts as of the statement date. A sharp decline in your portfolio before closing shrinks the usable balance. Mutual of Omaha notes the 4% rule is a planning guide, and the same caution applies here. Leave a cushion above the minimum.
Virginia Borrowers
The program figures do not change by state. A Virginia borrower sees the same ceilings and floors as anyone else in the network’s licensed states. Consumer mortgage lending through Lendmire is licensed in Virginia and fifteen other states.
Loan size is the Virginia-specific wrinkle. Higher-priced areas of Northern Virginia can push loans past what many lenders will take. The qualifier path reaches $4,000,000 and the depletion path reaches $3,500,000, subject to underwriting. Because this is a consumer mortgage on your home, the standard consumer loan disclosures apply.
Mistakes and Tradeoffs
The first mistake is mixing paths. A household has to qualify on one path at a time, and quoting the qualifier percentage on a depletion file leads to wrong math.
The second is spending the very assets that qualify you. Moving a large sum to cover a down payment can drop you below the usable-asset line. Funds also need to season, so late moves into new accounts can stall a file.
The third is forgetting sequence-of-returns risk. A crash early in retirement hurts a withdrawal plan, and it also trims the balance a lender will count. Leaving a margin protects both.
The fourth is treating an asset-based loan as a way around thinking about cash flow. A mortgage payment still has to fit your annual spending. Test the payment against your own withdrawal plan, not just the lender’s test.
The Step-by-Step Order
1. Decide the use: a primary residence, a second home or an investment property.
2. Add up eligible balances by account type and apply the right path’s percentages.
3. Check seasoning: 60 days on the qualifier path, statement dates on the depletion path.
4. Move any crypto or metals into a regulated cash balance well ahead of time.
5. Compare both paths on your numbers, then submit statements and a credit authorization.
6. Expect the lender to review sources and run its own calculation.
Key Terms Defined
FIRE: Financial independence, retire early. A household that has saved enough to live off its portfolio.
Asset qualifier path: A structure where eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan, with no income documented.
Asset depletion path: A structure where eligible assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income for the DTI test.
Seasoning: The length of time funds must sit in your accounts before a lender counts them.
Haircut: The share of an asset’s balance a lender discounts, so only a portion counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sell my investments to qualify?
No. The lender counts balances as documented on your statements, and you do not have to liquidate to qualify. Selling can still be useful if you are moving assets into a cash account, or if you need cash for the down payment. That decision belongs to you, and the tax effects vary.
Can I use my 401(k) if I am under 59½?
Yes, subject to underwriting. On the qualifier path it counts at 90% under 59½ and 100% after. On the depletion path it counts at 70% at any age. Qualifying on a balance is not the same as withdrawing it.
Does this loan need traditional personal-income documentation or pay stubs?
No traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs or employment verification are needed. The loan is still fully underwritten, with statements, credit and an appraisal. The qualifier path documents no income, and the depletion path derives income from assets.
Can I refinance this way?
Yes, through select programs. The qualifier path allows up to 75% on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. The depletion path allows up to 80% on a rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out of those properties. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path.
Does crypto count as an asset?
Not directly. Cryptocurrency is not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting it to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source.
Next Step
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. You can reach the team at 828-256-2183. Programs change, and every file is underwritten individually.
A portfolio that took years to build deserves a loan structure that counts it at the right percentage.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Virginia page presents the program for Virginia borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging bank statement and other alternative-documentation mortgages — P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based paths — through a wholesale lending network. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
Investors who want the broader program framework can review how DSCR loans work.
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References
1. Mutual of Omaha: FIRE Movement
2. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
3. Federal Register: Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How Founders Who Pay Themselves Little Get a Mortgage · Can a Virginia Retiree Get a Mortgage on Savings and Investments Alone? · How to Refinance a Mortgage After Retiring With No W-2 Income
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Virginia
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
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.