The Quick Read: Usually a purchase in the neighborhood of your usable assets, not several times that: on the asset qualifier path your eligible assets must cover the entire loan, and the down payment, closing costs and any cushion come out of the same pool, so the real ceiling depends on which accounts you hold and which path fits. Assets, price and loan amount are three different numbers, and only the eligible, seasoned, documented portion of your balance counts toward any of them.
- Qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the whole loan, and no income is documented, subject to underwriting.
- Depletion path: usable assets are divided by 60 months into a monthly qualifying income, which then runs through a debt-to-income test.
- Leverage: up to 80% on a purchase on the qualifier path; on the depletion path 80% on a primary residence or second home and 65% on an investment property.
- Account mix matters: brokerage, savings and money market count at 100% on the qualifier path, while retirement balances count at 90% under age 59½.
- Not a no-documentation loan: the assets are documented, and every figure here is a ceiling or floor, not an offer.
Assets, Price and Loan Amount Are Three Different Numbers
A balance of $1 million does not buy a $1 million house, and it does not buy a $4 million house either. It sets how much of the purchase you can fund, how much of the balance a lender will count, and how much cushion stays behind after closing.
Think of it as three questions. How much of the portfolio is eligible? Which path does the lender use to turn that portfolio into a loan? And what is left in the accounts after the down payment and closing costs?
A retiree or a business seller reading “no income” often assumes the lender ignores everything. It doesn’t. Lenders in the wholesale network document the assets on both paths, review credit and housing history, and appraise the property. The income side of the file is what goes missing, not the paperwork.
Michigan borrowers get the same program figures as anyone else. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, and Michigan is one of them. The loans are placed through select lenders in its network under the asset-based mortgage program, and each file is underwritten on its own.
Path One: Assets Cover the Whole Loan
The asset qualifier path is the cleaner answer for someone with seven figures and no paycheck. 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.
Leverage on this path runs up to 80% on a purchase and up to 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loan amounts go up to $4,000,000, subject to underwriting. A $1 million borrower will not get near that ceiling. The assets will run out first.
Here is how the balances count on this path:
| Asset type | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% |
| Savings and money market | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA, under age 59½ | 90% |
| 401(k) and IRA, age 59½ or older | 100% |
Accounts combine. An $800,000 loan with $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) held under age 59½ (90% counts, so $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100% counts, so $200,000) shows $800,000 of usable assets. That is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting. The lender’s own calculation governs the real file.
Two details trip up files on this path. First, reserves: none are required at or below 75% loan-to-value, but a purchase at 80% sits above that line, so the lender sets reserves there. Second, the credit floor. The published minimum score is 600, and a housing history of 0x30x12 is the standard. One 30-day late in the last twelve months gets looked at case by case.
Path Two: Assets Become Monthly Income
The asset depletion path works differently. Eligible assets, after haircuts, are divided by 60 months to produce a monthly qualifying income. That income has to carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Take $1,500,000 in securities (80% counts, so $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100% counts, so $300,000). That is $1,500,000 usable, and divided by 60 months it becomes $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test, subject to underwriting.
Haircuts on this path are heavier than on the qualifier path:
| Asset type | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Securities | 80% |
| Private stock | 75% |
| Retirement accounts (any age) | 70% |
| Real-estate equity | 60% |
Leverage also differs by occupancy. On a principal residence or second home, the depletion path goes up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Loan amounts run from $125,000 to $3,500,000 through select programs.
There is a minimum-assets rule. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They can never be below $250,000 liquid when depletion is the only income source. A borrower with $1,000,000 in qualified assets meets that test at any loan size.
Credit follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix, not a second published floor. A first-time investor on this path needs a 700. A housing event needs four years of seasoning, and multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
Which Path Fits Which Borrower?
A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. Mixing the tables is a common mistake in how these loans get explained. This comparison keeps them apart.
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| Income documented | None | Derived from assets |
| Test | Assets cover the loan | Debt-to-income |
| Purchase leverage (home) | Up to 80% | Up to 80% |
| Investment property | Not published | Up to 65% |
| Loan range | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
The qualifier path suits someone whose balance is mostly brokerage, savings and money market, and who wants a loan well below the total. The depletion path suits someone with a larger portfolio, a bigger target loan, or a plan to buy an investment property. It also suits someone who wants the asset-derived income to supplement a small documented income, which the program allows up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When assets supplement documented income, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Across the wholesale network, the strongest files on either path are the ones where one path clearly fits before the application goes in. The weakest are the ones where the borrower assumes the lender will pick whichever path produces the larger number.
What Does a Million Dollars Look Like by Account Mix?
The same balance produces different loan capacity depending on what sits inside it. Two borrowers with identical net worth can end up with very different results.
Picture a borrower with $1,000,000 split evenly between brokerage and a traditional IRA, age 52. On the qualifier path, brokerage counts fully and the IRA counts at 90%, so usable assets land below the headline number. On the depletion path, the brokerage account is securities at 80% and the IRA is retirement at 70%, so the haircut is heavier still.
Now picture a household that sold a business and holds the proceeds in savings and CDs. Both accounts count at 100% on either path. The sale proceeds are also excused from the depletion path’s 120-day statement-age rule. Same net worth, noticeably more capacity.
Other asset classes are not published as eligible on either path. That covers cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, pledged or borrowed funds, and business accounts beyond your ownership share. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender. Foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options and non-vested restricted stock units are not eligible on the depletion path at all.
Also plan for the double-counting problem. The same dollar cannot serve as the qualifying asset, the down payment and the reserve cushion at once. Before you pick a target price, decide what balance you want left in the accounts after closing.
Seasoning and Statements: Where Files Actually Stall
Most delays in these files are paperwork gaps, not credit or leverage problems. The rules are specific.
On the qualifier path, funds need 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. A transfer that landed last month does not qualify yet. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning, though the source is still reviewed.
Here are the usual failure points:
1. Moved money. A large deposit into a new account without a paper trail back to the source gets pulled out of the usable total.
2. Stale statements. One account with a missing page or an expired statement drops the whole account from the count.
3. Account titling. Joint accounts, trusts and business accounts need ownership documented, and a business account counts only for your ownership share.
4. Pledged assets. A securities-backed credit line or borrowed funds do not count as your own.
5. Wrong path. A borrower asking for an investment property on the qualifier path finds out the investment-property figures are not published there.
The assets are documented on both paths. No income documentation never means no documentation.
Buying a Rental With No Income: The DSCR Route
If the house is a rental, the conversation changes. 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. Qualification runs primarily on property-level rental income covering the housing payment, subject to lender guidelines. Credit and liquid funds still matter.
That is a different test from either asset path. Rent is divided by the full monthly obligation, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA dues. Your $1 million shows up in cash to close and reserves, not in the loan size. Select lenders in the network will also review properties below 1.00 coverage, though leverage and terms adjust when the ratio is thin.
Down payment is where investors usually want specifics. On a DSCR purchase, the down payment, closing costs and reserves all come out of your liquid funds, so a larger down payment shrinks the loan and the payment but also shrinks the cushion you keep. The same dollar cannot serve both jobs. Exact down payment and reserve requirements vary by lender and property, and a loan officer can price them against your statements.
For a no-job borrower buying a home to live in, DSCR is not the tool. Consumer loans carry a different standard, and the CFPB’s ability-to-repay compliance guide notes that stated-income loans can no longer be originated under the consumer rule. A lender has to verify the information it relies on. For an owner-occupant, that verification is the asset documentation described above.
Which is the stronger play for a rental buyer with a portfolio, DSCR or asset depletion at 65%? It is closer to a toss-up than most borrowers expect. Depletion converts your assets into income and ties approval to your debts. DSCR ties approval to the building’s rent and leaves your portfolio untouched. Rent-heavy small multifamily often fits the second better, while a thin-rent single-family fits neither well.
What Does a Million Dollars Mean for Michigan Specifically?
Michigan prices are lower than many states, which stretches usable assets further. Redfin shows a Michigan median sale price of $293,956 in the most recent month it reports, up 5.4% year over year. Zillow puts the typical home value lower, at $269,972, because it measures typical value across all homes rather than recent sales. Local submarkets sit well above or below either figure, so check the county before sizing a target price.
Cash, Mortgage or Hybrid?
A mortgage against a seven-figure balance can look odd. Why borrow at all? Because paying cash drains the liquidity that supports the rest of your life, and a retiree on a portfolio often wants that portfolio left intact.
The tradeoffs are plain. Paying cash removes the loan but leaves less in reserve. A full-leverage mortgage keeps liquidity high but puts a payment on a household with no paycheck. A hybrid, with a larger down payment and a smaller loan, lowers the payment while keeping some cushion. On the depletion path, a lower loan also lowers the debt-to-income load your derived income must carry.
Pulling money out of a retirement account to fund the purchase also shrinks the balance that qualifies you, since the withdrawn dollars leave the account the lender is counting. The proceeds then sit in a new account that has to season before it counts.
One more planning point. On the qualifier path, the assets that qualify you are the same assets you will want to keep. A file that qualifies only by counting every last dollar leaves nothing for repairs, insurance gaps or a vacancy. Build the plan so the file clears with room to spare.
Who This Fits, and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This structure fits retirees living on a portfolio, sellers of a business, recipients of an inheritance or settlement, early-retired professionals, and households whose balances are large and documented income is small.
It fits poorly for someone whose wealth sits in illiquid holdings, crypto or a closely held business with no seasoned cash. It also fits poorly for a borrower who earns traditional employment income and can document it normally. A conventional or full-documentation jumbo file may be the simpler route there, under those programs’ own rules. The bank statement program is for borrowers who document income through deposits, and it is a different product from either asset path.
If the goal is a rental purchase and the property rents well, DSCR is usually the cleaner fit than depletion.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets must cover the entire loan and no income is documented.
Asset depletion: a path where usable assets are divided by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income.
Haircut: the share of an account’s balance a lender does not count, such as 30% off a retirement account on the depletion path.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in an account before they count toward qualifying.
Debt-to-income ratio: monthly debts, including the new housing payment, divided by monthly qualifying income.
DSCR: the ratio of a rental property’s income to its full monthly housing obligation, used on investor loans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I qualify for a mortgage in Michigan with $1 million and no job at all?
Yes, through select programs, subject to underwriting. On the qualifier path your eligible assets must cover the entire loan, and no employment or income is documented. On the depletion path your assets are converted into monthly income and run through a debt-to-income test. Credit, seasoning and the appraisal still apply on both.
Does the whole $1 million count?
Rarely. Brokerage, savings, money market and CDs count at 100% on the qualifier path, and retirement balances count at 90% under age 59½. On the depletion path securities count at 80% and retirement accounts at 70%. Crypto, collectibles and borrowed funds are not published as eligible on either path.
Is this a no-doc loan?
No. Statements are required for every qualifying account: two months on the qualifier path, and statements at least 120 days old plus one within 45 days on the depletion path. Credit is reviewed and the property is appraised. What goes missing is the income documentation, not the file.
Can I use this to buy a rental property?
Through the depletion path, yes, up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out, subject to underwriting. A first-time investor on that path needs a 700. Many rental buyers find DSCR a better fit, since it qualifies primarily on property-level rental income rather than the borrower’s own income.
Will my down payment come out of the same $1 million?
Plan on it. The same dollar cannot be counted as qualifying asset, down payment and reserve at once, so decide what balance you want left after closing before choosing a price. The lender’s own calculation governs how it treats cash to close.
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.
A Michigan buyer holding seven figures will usually find that the account mix and the seasoning dates decide the purchase price more than the headline balance does.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Michigan page presents the program for Michigan borrowers.
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 traditional personal-income documentation understates their income, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
Get Started
Ready to find the right loan for you?
In about 30 seconds you can review financing options available for your home or investment property. No commitment required.
Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. CFPB: Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Small Entity Compliance Guide
2. Redfin: Michigan Housing Market
3. Zillow: Michigan Home Values
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 Much Does a Retiring Physician Need in Assets to Qualify for a Mortgage? · How Much of Mutual Funds Counts Toward Asset Depletion Income? · Can You Buy a Michigan Rental Property on Asset Depletion Income?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Michigan
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
Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.