The Quick Read: Not directly, because unexercised stock options are not an eligible asset on the asset depletion path, so they add nothing to your qualifying assets and nothing to your proceeds; the cash you can take is set by the home’s value, the program’s cash-out leverage, and your existing payoff.
- The cash-out formula is appraised value times the allowed leverage, minus your current payoff and closing costs.
- On the asset depletion path, cash-out leverage is 60% on a principal residence, a second home or an investment property, subject to underwriting.
- Options and non-vested restricted stock units are not eligible assets on the depletion path. Privately held company stock is not eligible on either path.
- Exercised shares that are vested, held in a brokerage account and documented can count, at 80% on the depletion path.
- Taking the maximum is a choice, not a requirement, and you can borrow less than the ceiling allows.
Two Paths, and Why Options Fit Neither Until They Convert
Asset-based mortgages come in two forms, and a borrower is qualified on one path at a time. The programs below are placed through select lenders in Lendmire’s wholesale network, and every file is underwritten individually.
The asset qualifier path covers the whole loan with eligible assets. You document no employment or income. The lender reviews your assets instead.
The asset depletion path turns eligible assets into monthly income. The lender divides usable assets by 60 months, and that income then runs through the debt-to-income test alongside the new payment and your other debts.
Neither path gives credit for an option you could exercise someday. An option is a right to buy shares later, not a balance in an account. The lender can’t verify a balance that doesn’t exist.
Many readers hear “asset-based” and think of rental loans. Business-purpose rental financing is DSCR, which is a different program that is reviewed on the rent a property earns. This article covers the consumer-style asset-based program, where your portfolio is the asset. The depletion path can also finance an investment property.
Key Terms Defined
Cash-out refinance: a new, larger loan that pays off your current mortgage and hands you the difference in cash.
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan.
Asset depletion: a path that divides usable assets by 60 months to create a qualifying monthly income.
Haircut: the part of an asset’s balance that does not count. If securities count at 80%, the haircut is 20%.
Seasoning: the time money must sit in an account, with statements to prove it, before a lender will count it.
Vested: shares you now own outright and can sell, as opposed to shares or options still subject to a waiting schedule.
How Much Cash Comes Out? The Formula
The formula is short. Appraised value times the cash-out leverage gives the maximum new loan. Subtract your current payoff, including any second lien. Subtract closing costs. What remains is your check.
On the depletion path, cash-out leverage is 60% of value. That applies to a principal residence, a second home or an investment property, subject to underwriting. By comparison, a purchase or rate-and-term refinance reaches 80% for a principal residence or second home, and 65% for an investment property. Cash-out gets the lowest ceiling on purpose.
On the qualifier path, the lender sets whether cash-out proceeds are allowed and at what leverage, and that figure is not published. Ask for it before you build a plan around it.
Here is the formula using percentages instead of dollars. Say a home appraises at its full value and your payoff equals 40% of that value. At 60% cash-out leverage, about 20 points of value are available before costs. If your payoff is 55% of value, only about 5 points remain. If your payoff is 60% or more, nothing comes out, because the new loan can’t exceed the ceiling. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Your stock options never appear in that formula. Value, leverage and payoff decide the size of the check. Your assets decide whether you qualify for the loan at all.
Where Your Options Actually Matter: Qualifying
Options matter only after they turn into something the lender can document. The table shows how each form of equity compensation is treated.
| Holding | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Unexercised stock options | Not an eligible account | Not eligible |
| Non-vested RSUs | Not an eligible account | Not eligible |
| Vested public shares in brokerage | Counts at 100% | Counts at 80% |
| Cash, savings, CDs, money market | Counts at 100% | Cash and CDs at 100% |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½ or older | Counts at 70% |
The depletion path also excludes deferred compensation, custodial accounts, escrow accounts and foreign funds. Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route for those holdings is to convert them into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account.
Privately held stock
A founder or early employee at a closely held company has one route, since those shares are not eligible on either path. Sell or convert the shares, then document the proceeds as cash. Vested public securities and retirement accounts count at their percentages. Cash from a sale or buyout can qualify once it is documented, and on the depletion path sale-of-business funds are excused from the 120-day statement rule.
A Worked Example: From Options to Qualifying Assets
Take a tech employee whose wealth is mostly options. The numbers below are illustrative, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
Suppose the employee exercises options and sells shares, and $300,000 lands in a cash account. The employee also holds $1,500,000 in vested public securities. On the depletion path, the securities count at 80%, or $1,200,000. The cash counts at 100%, or $300,000. Usable assets come to $1,500,000.
Divide by 60 months. That produces $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
The same borrower could ask a different question on the qualifier path. There, eligible assets must cover the full loan. A borrower with an $800,000 loan could count $330,000 in brokerage accounts at 100%, $270,000 from a $300,000 401(k) under age 59½ at 90%, and $200,000 in savings at 100%. That totals $800,000 of usable assets, so the file is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Both paths need statements. This is not a loan without paperwork. You skip traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs and employment verification, but every account is documented and every file is fully underwritten.
Cash-Out Proceeds Can’t Qualify You
The check you receive at closing never counts as a qualifying asset. This rule applies to the depletion path, and it matters for planning. Borrowers sometimes hope to use the cash they pull out to meet the asset test for the same loan. That loop is closed.
Your qualifying assets must already be in place, documented and seasoned, before the new loan is sized. Money you borrow does not substitute for money you own. Funds that are pledged or borrowed are not published as eligible on either path.
Timing: Exercise, Sell, Then Season
Seasoning sets the order of operations. On the qualifier path, funds need 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days.
So an exercise-and-sell plan has to start well ahead of the application, long enough for the account to meet whichever rule applies to your path. Exercise, decide what to hold, sell what you need as cash, then let the account sit. The statements have to show it.
Exercising is also a taxable event whose treatment depends on the option type, as IRS Topic 427 explains. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional before you decide how much to sell.
Credit is the other gate. The qualifier path has a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix, and a first-time investor on that path needs a 700 score. Every figure here is a program parameter, subject to underwriting, not an offer.
Investment Property Gets Its Own Rules
An investment property on the depletion path takes a 65% ceiling on purchase or rate-and-term and 60% on cash-out. The depletion path also allows loans from $125,000 to $3,500,000. The qualifier path reaches $4,000,000.
Depletion also has asset minimums. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They can never fall below $250,000 in liquid assets when asset depletion is your only income source. Because a cash-out enlarges the loan, it raises the 1.25 test too.
A cash-out on a rental is business-purpose financing. Under the federal ability-to-repay rule, investment-purpose loans are treated as business-purpose loans, as the Federal Register notice describes. Lenders look closely at what you will do with the cash.
Decision Table: Which Situation Are You In?
| Your situation | What counts | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Options only, not exercised | Nothing | Exercise and sell, then season |
| Vested public shares held | 100% or 80% by path | Document with statements |
| Shares sold, cash seasoned | 100% as cash | Apply with cash statements |
| Private company stock | Nothing | Sell, then document cash |
Large option wealth does not guarantee a large check. Lenders review a thin-equity home the same way as any other, and the 60% ceiling still applies.
Mistakes That Shrink the Check
Borrowers often trip on the same few errors.
- Counting options as assets. Lenders count balances, not rights to buy.
- Using the cash-out to qualify. Proceeds never count toward the asset test.
- Skipping seasoning. Money that moved last week has no statement history.
- Taking the ceiling. A bigger loan raises the payment that your income or assets must carry. Borrow what you need.
- Mixing paths. The qualifier and depletion tables do not blend, so name the path before you run any figure.
If you are still choosing a program, read Lendmire’s piece Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program With Stock Options as Your Main Asset.
Alternatives Worth a Look
A cash-out resets your whole balance, so compare it with the other ways to raise cash. A home equity line leaves your first mortgage alone. A rate-and-term refinance does not pull cash and can carry higher leverage. Selling shares directly gives you cash without touching the home, though it can trigger a taxable gain. Each of these follows its own program’s rules, not this program’s.
The asset-based mortgage program fits a reader with large balances and limited documented income, such as a retiree, a seller of a business or a household living off a portfolio. Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs are placed through select lenders, with consumer lending licensed in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can unexercised stock options count toward my qualifying assets?
No. Unexercised options are not an eligible asset on the depletion path, and they are not an eligible account on the qualifier path. They become useful once you exercise them and the resulting shares are vested and documented in a brokerage account. Sold shares count as cash after seasoning.
Do vested RSUs count?
Yes, once the shares have vested and sit in a brokerage account. They count at 100% on the qualifier path and at 80% as securities on the depletion path. Non-vested RSUs are not eligible on the depletion path.
Can I count my cash-out proceeds as assets for the same loan?
No. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. Your assets must already be documented and seasoned before the loan is sized. Borrowed or pledged funds are not published as eligible on either path.
What if my wealth is in private company stock?
Privately held company stock is not an eligible asset on either path. The route is a sale or buyout converted to a seasoned cash balance. On the depletion path, sale-of-business funds are excused from the 120-day statement rule. Vested public securities and retirement accounts can still count at their percentages.
How much cash can I take from an investment property?
On the depletion path, cash-out on an investment property goes up to 60% leverage, subject to underwriting. Your payoff, closing costs and the minimum-asset rules come out of that ceiling. If your payoff is already at or above 60% of value, no cash comes out. Final terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
For how equity extraction works on an investment property, see Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage brokerage serving self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending channels; Lendmire brokers the financing and the lender underwrites each application. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
Get Started
Ready to find the right loan for you?
See your offer in seconds. No credit pull, no obligation.
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. IRS Topic 427, Stock options
2. 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: Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance vs Bank Statement Cash-Out Refinance for Retirees · Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Requirements on a Primary Home
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
Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.