The Quick Read: Usually yes, if you hold enough seasoned, documented assets, because an asset-based mortgage is reviewed against balances instead of a paycheck, through select programs and subject to underwriting. Your assets are fully documented either way, and only the employment and income paperwork drops away.
- On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets must cover the entire loan amount, and no employment or income is documented.
- On the asset depletion path, usable assets are divided by 60 months to create a qualifying income that must carry the housing payment and your other debts.
- You are qualified on one path at a time, never a blend of the two.
- Credit still matters, and seasoning rules decide which dollars count.
- The figures are the same for a Florida borrower as anywhere else the program is offered.
Who Is This Really For?
This program fits people who have large balances and little documented income. Think of a retiree living off a portfolio, someone who just sold a business, or a household that received an inheritance or a legal settlement. It also fits early-retired professionals and anyone whose traditional personal-income documentation shows far less income than their bank statements suggest.
The lender is not asking whether you have a job. It is asking whether your assets can stand behind the loan. If the answer is yes, a job is just one way to prove repayment, and your balances are another.
Lendmire is a broker. It arranges these loans through select lenders in its network and does not lend or underwrite them. Its consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, Florida among them, and Florida borrowers get the same program figures as anyone else.
What Does “No Job” Mean to a Lender?
“No job” is not one situation, and lenders treat the versions differently. What they care about is where your money sits and how long it has been there, not why you stopped working.
| Your situation | How an asset-based file reads it | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Retired, living on a portfolio | Strong fit, since balances are the story | Retirement accounts count at reduced or age-based percentages |
| Recently laid off | Fits if savings are large and seasoned | Severance deposited last week is not seasoned |
| Sold a business | Fits, and sale proceeds get special seasoning treatment on one path | Proceeds must sit in a regulated account |
| Inheritance or settlement | Fits, with the same seasoning relief on the depletion path | Documentation of the source |
| Spouse works, you do not | Usually better run as a joint income file | Asset programs are an alternative, not a requirement |
If you are employed part-time or have some documented income, the depletion path can supplement it. Asset-derived income may add to your documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived when it supplements.
How Does an Asset-Based Mortgage Work?
Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, asset-based programs come in two structures. The difference is whether your assets cover the whole loan or become monthly income.
The asset qualifier path. Your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No employment or income is documented. The lender’s ability-to-repay review rests on the assets.
The asset depletion path. Your eligible assets, after haircuts, are divided by 60 months to produce a monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Many borrowers assume the first path is always better because it skips income. It often is for someone with a very large balance and a modest loan. The depletion path suits borrowers who are asset-rich but not quite rich enough to cover the whole loan, or who want to buy an investment property, which the qualifier path does not cover.
| Feature | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| What qualifies you | Assets cover the entire loan | Assets divided by 60 months become income |
| Employment or income documented | None | Derived income only, or supplemental to documented income |
| Purchase leverage | Up to 80% | Up to 80% (primary or second home); 65% (investment property) |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term and 60% cash-out (primary or second home); 65% and 60% (investment property) |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
Those figures are ceilings, subject to underwriting, not offers. Cash-out leverage on the qualifier path is set by the lender and is not published, so there is no figure to quote.
The Math, Step by Step
Run your own numbers before you call anyone. The arithmetic is simple, and the lender’s own calculation governs the final answer.
Qualifier path example. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%, so $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) and you are under age 59½, which counts at 90%, so $270,000. You also hold $200,000 in savings at 100%, so $200,000. Your usable assets total $800,000, which matches the loan. You would qualify on assets alone, subject to underwriting, credit, and the other conditions below.
Depletion path example. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which count at 80%, so $1,200,000. You also hold $300,000 in cash at 100%, so $300,000. 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 your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Two practical notes. First, money you plan to use for the down payment and closing costs comes out of the pool before it can count toward qualifying, so you cannot count the same dollar twice. Second, cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path.
Which Assets Count?
The percentage assigned to each account type is the single biggest lever in your file. Here is the treatment on each path, through select programs and subject to underwriting.
| Asset type | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities | 100% | 80% |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA | 90% under 59½; 100% at 59½ or older | 70% at any age |
| Private stock | Not published | 75% |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
On the qualifier path, accounts combine. On the depletion path, several categories are not eligible: 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.
What about cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, or borrowed and pledged funds? Neither path publishes them as eligible. The documented route is to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, and the lender will review the source of those funds. Do not expect them to count at any percentage.
Seasoning, Statements, and Credit
Seasoning is the length of time money has to sit in your account before the lender counts it. It is a common reason an otherwise strong asset file stalls.
- Qualifier path: 60 days of seasoning, and two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Depletion path: 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.
Credit still counts. On the qualifier path the published floor is 600. On the depletion path, the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix applies, and a first-time investor on that path needs 700. Housing history is expected to be 0x30x12, meaning no 30-day lates in the last twelve months, though one is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible, and a housing event needs four years of seasoning on the depletion path.
The depletion path also carries minimum assets. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When depletion is your only income source, they must also be at least $250,000 in liquid funds.
On reserves, the qualifier path requires none at or below 75% loan-to-value, and above that the lender sets them. The depletion path has no published reserve months.
This is a consumer mortgage, so standard consumer disclosures apply. It is not a no-doc loan. Your assets are verified line by line, and only the employment and income paperwork is absent.
What About Florida?
The program does not change for a Florida borrower. What changes is the property. Condos and homes in associations bring dues and association reviews into the payment, and insurance on Florida coastal property can be a meaningful line in your housing cost. Under the depletion path, those costs run through the debt-to-income test. Under the qualifier path, they matter less to the math, but the lender will still review the property.
Second-home buyers and seasonal residents are eligible on both paths, since the program covers principal residences and second homes. Foreign funds are not eligible on the depletion path, so non-U.S. buyers should expect extra scrutiny of where their money sits.
Buying a Rental With No Job
If the property is a pure rental, the route is different. Investment property is eligible on the depletion path only, at 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out. Many investors with no job do better with a DSCR loan, which qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation Z text says a creditor must determine in each case whether a loan is primarily for a business purpose. Legal commentary at Lexology adds that a business-purpose label does not make a loan exempt from compliance. Owner-occupied homes do not belong in that program.
You still need credit, cash, and a property that rents well enough. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through how that route works. If you are weighing it against an asset file, the practical question is whether the home is your residence or an investment.
Asset-Based vs. Similar Loans
| Loan type | What it is reviewed around | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Asset-based mortgage | Assets covering the loan, or assets converted to income | Cash-heavy, income-light buyers of a home |
| DSCR loan | Property rent covering the payment | Investors buying rentals |
| Bank statement loan | Deposits as documented income | Self-employed borrowers with steady deposits |
| HELOC or bridge loan | Existing equity or a pending sale | Short-term gaps, not a long-term purchase |
A bank statement loan is for borrowers who document income through deposits. An asset file is for those whose deposits are not the story. For borrowers with very large portfolios, Lendmire’s piece on how super jumbo underwriting treats asset-rich borrowers with no current job covers the larger-loan side.
Risks, Tradeoffs, and Reasons Files Stall
Asset-based programs are a tool, not a bargain. They are priced and structured as specialty loans, so compare the full terms against a conventional loan if you have retirement income, Social Security, or a pension that a conventional lender could count. That route may cost less when it works.
Files tend to stall for a few predictable reasons:
- Unseasoned deposits. A transfer made last month fails the seasoning test on either path.
- Double-counted money. The same dollars cannot be both down payment and qualifying assets.
- Ineligible accounts. Cash on hand, foreign funds, and unvested stock do not count on the depletion path.
- Borrowed or pledged funds. Neither path counts them.
- Retirement withdrawals. Retirement accounts count at reduced percentages, and the haircut can push you below the threshold.
- Credit surprises. The score floor and housing history still apply.
Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
A Quick Readiness Checklist
Before applying, ask yourself:
1. Is the home a residence or second home (either path), or an investment property (depletion path only)?
2. Do my eligible assets, after the percentages above, cover the whole loan, or can they produce enough income when divided by 60?
3. Have the balances sat in my own accounts long enough for the path I am using?
4. Do I have statements ready for every qualifying account?
5. Does my credit meet the score and housing-history requirements?
6. Have I removed down payment and closing money from the pool first?
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets cover the entire loan and no employment or income is documented.
Asset depletion: a path where usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying monthly income.
Seasoning: the time funds must sit in your account before a lender counts them.
Haircut: the percentage of an account’s balance a lender refuses to count, such as 20% off securities.
Debt-to-income ratio: your monthly debts divided by your monthly income, used on the depletion path.
DSCR: the ratio of a rental property’s income to its payment, used for investment property loans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I quit my job right before applying?
On the qualifier path no employment is documented, so leaving a job does not itself disqualify you. The funds still need to be seasoned for 60 days with two months of statements. On the depletion path, an employer change matters less than the age of your statements. Every file is underwritten individually.
Do retirement accounts count?
Yes, at reduced percentages. On the qualifier path, 401(k) and IRA balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path they count at 70% at any age. You do not have to withdraw the money to have it counted.
Can I combine asset income with a part-time paycheck?
On the depletion path, yes. Asset-derived income may supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived when it supplements. You are still qualified on one path at a time.
Does this work for a rental property?
Only on the depletion path, at lower leverage than a primary residence. Many investors with no job do better with a DSCR loan, which qualifies primarily on the property’s rental income. Eligibility depends on the lender, the property, and your file.
Is this the same as a no-income, no-job loan?
No. Your assets, credit, and statements are documented and reviewed. What drops away is employment and income paperwork. The programs are placed through select lenders and are never a promise of approval.
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. Call 828-256-2183 or request a quote.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs page.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending partners for borrowers whose tax returns understate their income, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
2. Lexology – Beware of “Business Purpose”
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Is an Asset Qualifier Mortgage Harder to Get Than an Asset Depletion Loan? · Can Equity in a Rental Property Help You Qualify for an Asset-Based Mortgage? · Asset Qualifier Mortgage vs Bank Statement Mortgage
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Florida
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.