The Quick Read: A founder who has sold a company does not get a single lending number, because several separate limits set the loan size and the sale check feeds only some of them. Income comes from eligible deposits after an expense ratio, while the sale proceeds mostly count as assets and reserves.
- Loan sizes run from $300,000 to $30,000,000 through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
- On a primary residence purchase, maximum leverage steps down as the loan amount rises. The ceiling is 90% at loan sizes up to $1,000,000 and 65% at loan sizes of $4,000,000 to $5,000,000, with files above $4,000,000 reviewed case by case.
- A sale payout is an asset, not recurring income, so it supports reserves and the down payment.
- If deposits have gone quiet after the sale, an asset path often fits better than a deposit path.
- Nothing here is a commitment to lend; every file is underwritten individually.
Founders usually arrive with a lot of wealth and an awkward paper trail. Traditional personal-income documentation shows write-offs, a sale year distorts everything, and the business that produced the deposits may no longer exist. This is how the lending number actually gets built, step by step, and where it breaks.
Key Terms Defined
Super jumbo loan: A mortgage large enough to sit above standard jumbo limits, where programs add tighter overlays and manual review.
Bank statement income: Qualifying income built from actual deposits over 12 or 24 months instead of tax-return net income.
Expense ratio: The share of business deposits removed as operating cost before the rest counts as income.
Asset allowance: A qualifying method that divides liquid assets by a set number of months to create notional monthly income.
Reserves: Verified liquid funds left after closing, measured in months of housing payments.
Cash-out proceeds: Money a borrower takes from a refinance, which cannot count as reserves at the largest sizes.
What Actually Sets the Number
Four independent limits set a founder’s loan size: qualifying income, the debt-to-income cap, verified assets and reserves, and the program’s own size and leverage ladder. Whichever binds first wins. Net worth alone never sets the figure.
| Limit | What it controls | Typical network reading |
|---|---|---|
| Income test | Monthly qualifying income | Deposits ÷ months, after expense ratio |
| Debt-to-income | Ratio with the new payment | Up to 50% |
| Reserves | Cushion after closing | 3, 6 or 9 months by size |
| Leverage ladder | Loan vs. value | Steps down as size rises |
| Credit | Which leverage cell opens | 660 floor, 700 above the super-jumbo line |
These are select wholesale-program guidelines, subject to full underwriting. Lendmire is a broker, so it compares several programs for the same founder. Two sit behind the large-balance files. A portfolio non-QM program carries files to $6,000,000. A bank portfolio program carries twelve-month-statement files to $30,000,000 on its own ladder, and it begins above $4,000,000 and overlaps the first program up to $6,000,000.
The credit floors differ by program: 660 on the portfolio program, 680 on the bank portfolio program, and 700 above the super-jumbo line on the portfolio program. The credit score a leverage band’s top cell needs is a separate thing from the floor. A lower score takes a lower cell in the same band.
How Underwriting Treats Your Deposits, Step by Step
Underwriting turns deposits into income in a fixed sequence. It picks a window, totals eligible deposits, removes an expense share on business accounts, divides by the months, and tests the result against the ratio cap. Each step has a trap for founders.
Step 1: The statement window. Programs use 12 or 24 consecutive months of personal or business statements. The bank portfolio program uses 12. A 12-month window that catches only a strong stretch can overstate income, while 24 months smooths seasonality. Transaction histories never replace consecutive statements.
Step 2: Eligible deposits. The reviewer strips transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds and one-time credits. Federal regulators require that lenders confirm the inflows they rely on are the borrower’s personal income, per the CFPB’s small entity compliance guide. That is why a large unexplained deposit gets pulled out of the average. One exception matters: transfers from your own business into your personal account count in full.
Step 3: The expense ratio. Personal statements run close to the raw average. Business deposits are gross revenue, so a share comes off. Fixed ratios in the network are 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 or a profit-and-loss method capped at 80% are alternatives. The business type and documentation set the ratio. The borrower does not choose it. Business statements also require at least 25% ownership. Alternative documentation changes the income paper, but the lender’s duty to verify what it relies on stays the same.
Step 4: The ratio test. Qualifying income feeds a debt-to-income test of up to 50% on these programs. The older 43% figure many founders quote came from the former QM definition, and it is not a cap here.
Step 5: Layer in the proceeds. Sale money is verified liquid assets. It funds the down payment, closing costs and reserves. It can also power an asset path, covered below.
Step 6: Size the loan. The leverage ladder and reserve rules cap the final figure.
Where the Sale Deposit Goes
A sale payout is treated as an asset, not as income. A single lump deposit is a one-time credit, so it does not raise the deposit average. It shows up on the other side of the file as down payment, closing funds and reserves.
| Deposit type | General treatment | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| Sale proceeds | Asset, not income | Closing statement, wire trail |
| Transfers from your own business | Count at 100% | Statements for both accounts |
| Consulting income after sale | Counts as ongoing deposits | Agreement and deposit history |
| Loan proceeds | Excluded | n/a |
| One-time windfalls | Excluded from average | Written source explanation |
Money still sitting inside a corporation generally does not count as personal assets until it is distributed with a documented trail to a personal account. The same goes for undistributed profit and unpaid future contracts.
Deposit Path or Asset Path?
If your deposits are still strong, the deposit path usually produces the larger supportable loan. Once they stop, the asset path fits better. The right choice depends on what your statements look like on the application date.
| Factor | Bank statement path | Asset path |
|---|---|---|
| Income source | Deposits after expense ratio | Liquid assets |
| Best fit when | Business or consulting deposits continue | Company sold, deposits quiet |
| Property use | Primary, second home, investment | Primary and second homes only |
| Key limit | Expense ratio and 50% DTI | Asset total and divisor |
Two asset methods exist through select wholesale programs. An asset allowance divides liquid assets by 36 months when the file’s debt-to-income before the asset income is at or below 60%, by 60 months when that pre-asset ratio is above 60%, and by 84 months for standalone use or any loan above $3,500,000. The 60% test only picks the divisor. The allowance is available for primary and second homes only, at 80% maximum leverage. Assets-only needs no debt-to-income test when U.S. liquid assets equal the loan plus closing costs plus sixty months of any net loss on other residential property.
Not everything counts. Retirement accounts count at 70% (80% at age 59.5 or older). Business funds, gifts, most trusts other than a revocable living trust, unvested stock and cryptocurrency never count. Nothing is actually spent. Asset depletion is a qualifying convention, not a withdrawal.
Agency products work differently, using the loan term as the divisor. Founders sometimes expect that math and are surprised by the network figures. Different programs, different rules.
The Leverage Ladder in Practice
Leverage steps down as the balance rises, and the bank portfolio program takes over above $4,000,000 on its own lower ladder. These are purchase ceilings on a primary residence, through select wholesale programs, subject to underwriting. The bands are loan amounts, not purchase prices, so multiply price by leverage first, then read the band for that loan.
| Loan size | Purchase ceiling | Program |
|---|---|---|
| $300K–$1M | 90% | Portfolio program |
| $1M–$1.5M | 85% | Portfolio program |
| $1.5M–$2M | 85% | Portfolio program |
| $2M–$2.5M | 80% | Portfolio program |
| $2.5M–$3M | 80% | Portfolio program |
| $3M–$3.5M | 75% | Portfolio program |
| $3.5M–$4M | 75% | Portfolio program, super-jumbo overlays |
| $4M–$5M, on review | 65% | Bank portfolio program |
| $5M–$6M, on review | 60% | Bank portfolio program |
| $6M–$10M, on review | 60% | Bank portfolio program |
| $10M–$20M, on review | 55% | Bank portfolio program |
| $20M–$30M, on review | 55% | Bank portfolio program |
The top cell in each band needs a particular score. It needs 680+ up to $1,000,000, 700+ from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, and 720+ from $1,500,000 to $3,500,000. From $3,500,000 to $4,000,000 it needs 760+, and the bank portfolio program bands from $4,000,000 up need 680+ on that program’s own floor. A lower score takes a lower cell inside the same band. Never read a ceiling above $1,000,000 as 90%. Everything above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission, so treat those figures as starting points, not answers.
Second homes and investment property run their own ladders. At $5,000,000 to $6,000,000, for example, an investment property purchase tops out at 55% on review at 680+ credit through the bank portfolio program, with a cash-out ceiling of 50%. Read each figure from the occupancy’s own ladder rather than subtracting from the primary number.
Above $3,500,000 on a primary residence, and above $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property, super-jumbo overlays apply: a 700 credit floor, a 0x30x24 housing history, 48-month seasoning on any credit event, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, no non-occupant co-borrowers, no rural property, and ten acres maximum.
A Founder Walked Through the Limits
Run the numbers on a founder who sold her company and wants a primary residence purchase with a $4,000,000 loan. These inputs are illustrative, not a quote.
- Leverage: a $4,000,000 loan falls in the $3.5M–$4M band, where the purchase ceiling is 75% through the portfolio program with super-jumbo overlays, and that top cell needs 760+ credit.
- Reserves: nine months applies above $1,500,000, and sale proceeds can satisfy it on a purchase.
- Income: if she still has consulting deposits, the deposit path counts them after the expense ratio. If deposits have stopped, the asset path takes over, and at this size the 84-month divisor applies.
- Debt-to-income: whichever path supplies the income, the ratio with the new housing payment and her other debts must stay within 50%. Asset income created by the divisor counts toward that test too.
- Review: a $4,000,000 loan sits right at the edge of the case-by-case zone, and any increase pushes the file into it, so expect extra scrutiny of the proceeds trail.
The key point: her net worth did not set the loan. Whichever of the four limits is weakest on her particular file did. In this walk-through, the leverage band and the 760+ credit cell come first, and the 50% debt-to-income test is the next check once the income path is chosen. A different founder, with more debt or thinner deposits, could hit the ratio test first.
Timing Is the Hidden Variable
Apply while the statement window still shows strong deposits and the deposit path stays available. Before the sale closes, statements reflect the operating business. During a consulting tail, you have ongoing income but a shrinking expense picture. After deposits go quiet, a deposit-based file weakens fast and the asset path becomes the practical route.
A founder planning a home purchase around a sale has a sequencing choice. Lock in documentation while the business is active, then bring the proceeds in as reserves. That order preserves both paths.
Cash-Out After the Sale
Cash-out rules matter once the proceeds are spent or tied up. Cash-out ceilings run below purchase ceilings: on a primary residence the best cash-out cell is 80% up to $1,500,000, then 75%, 70% and lower as the balance climbs. Above 60%, the portfolio program caps cash in hand at $1,500,000, and the bank portfolio program publishes no cap. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
Here is the catch at the top end. In the super-jumbo band, cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves. You cannot borrow your own cushion. The reserves must come from separate liquid assets, which is one more reason sale proceeds matter.
Interest-only structures exist but do not raise a cash-out ceiling. The portfolio program offers interest-only to 85% on purchase and rate-term files with a 700 floor, using a 40-year term with a 10-year interest-only period. The bank program offers it to 60%.
Where the General Rule Breaks
- Earn-outs and holdbacks. Deferred or contingent payments are not liquid until received. Undistributed or restricted funds typically do not count, though treatment varies by program.
- Stock consideration. Unvested or restricted stock never counts as an asset. Vested, liquid securities count at a discount.
- Entity-held cash. Funds inside a corporation do not count until distributed with a documented trail.
- Partial ownership. Under 25% of a business account’s ownership means those statements do not qualify.
- A rental purchase. A property you will rent can use a DSCR loan, where the property’s rent drives lender review instead of your deposits. Sub-1.00 coverage is available through select lenders in the network, with adjusted leverage and terms. The complete DSCR loans guide walks through it.
- A bank ARM instead. Some founders weigh a traditional bank adjustable-rate mortgage. That route typically relies on personal income documentation and conventional asset review, so it does not sidestep the liquidity rules above, and Lendmire, as a broker, does not offer it as a DSCR alternative.
Property type changes the ceiling too. Warrantable condos run to 85%, non-warrantable to 80%, and condotels 75% on purchase and 65% on cash-out (50% on the bank program). Two-to-four-unit properties run to 85%, second homes are one-unit only, and rural property stops at 80% on ten acres or less and never above $3,000,000. A Texas 50(a)(6) home-equity loan takes a 5-point LTV reduction and stops at $3,000,000 on the portfolio program.
Pre-Submission Checklist
1. Pull 12 or 24 consecutive statements for every account you want counted. 2. Document ownership of each business account at 25% or more. 3. Write a source explanation for every large deposit. 4. Gather the sale closing statement and the wire trail into a personal account. 5. Confirm which assets are liquid, and exclude unvested stock and business funds. 6. Get an accountant-provided expense ratio if one would beat the fixed ratios. 7. Count reserves, then check them against the 3, 6 or 9 month rule for your size.
Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; borrowers should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my unrealized company equity count toward the loan?
No. Equity that is not yet liquid is not an asset or income for qualifying. Once the sale closes and cash lands in your account, it counts as a verified asset. Vested, liquid securities count at a discount, and unvested stock never counts.
Do sale proceeds count as income?
No. A lump sum is a one-time credit, so it does not raise your deposit average. It counts instead toward down payment, closing costs and reserves. It can also support an asset allowance or an assets-only file, subject to lender guidelines.
Should I apply before or after the sale closes?
Before, if your deposits are strong and you want the deposit path available. After, you may lean on the asset path. Either way, applying while statements still show the operating business keeps more options open. Each file is underwritten individually.
Can reserves come from the sale money?
Yes, on a purchase, sale proceeds can serve as reserves. On a cash-out in the super-jumbo band, the cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves, so the cushion must come from other liquid assets. The requirement is 3, 6 or 9 months depending on loan size.
How much can I pull out in a cash-out refinance?
Proceeds are unlimited at or below 60% LTV. Files above $4,000,000 are reviewed case by case. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
Reach the team at 828-256-2183, or request a quote.
A founder’s strongest file is usually the one built before the statements go quiet, which is why the sequence of the sale, the application and the first post-sale deposits matters as much as the proceeds themselves.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan programs page.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states qualify on bank statements, a profit-and-loss statement, 1099s or liquid assets instead of traditional personal-income documentation, through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; program terms are set by the lender and its guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
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 Document a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan as a Founder or Realtor · Can a Founder Pledge Art or a Yacht on a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan? · How to Qualify for a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan in Florida
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.