The Quick Read: It depends on the path: on the asset qualifier path you typically provide two months of statements for each qualifying account plus 60 days of seasoning, while on the asset depletion path the lender wants statements at least 120 days old plus one dated within 45 days, through select programs and subject to underwriting.
- Asset qualifier path: two months of statements per account, with funds seasoned 60 days.
- Asset depletion path: one older statement (at least 120 days old) and one recent statement (within 45 days of application).
- Every account you use needs its own statements. Every page counts, including pages that look blank.
- Asset-based is not bank-statement income. Asset files read balances. Bank-statement income files read a year or two of deposits.
- New Mexico does not change the figures. The program rules are the same for a New Mexico borrower, subject to underwriting.
What “Asset-Based” Means Here
Asset-based means the lender reviews your file on what you own, not on a paycheck. Two separate paths sit under that label. You are qualified on one path at a time, and the statement rules differ by path.
On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No employment or income is documented. On the asset depletion path, your usable assets are divided by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Both paths document the assets. Skipping income paperwork never means skipping paperwork. The lender reads every statement.
Many websites use “asset-based mortgage” to mean a bank-statement loan. That is a different product. A bank-statement program is built for borrowers who document income with deposits, so it reads a long run of monthly deposits. Asset-based files read balances and how long the money has been in place.
How Many Months on Each Path?
Here is the side-by-side. These are typical guidelines through select programs in Lendmire’s wholesale network, and every file is underwritten individually.
| Factor | Asset Qualifier Path | Asset Depletion Path |
|---|---|---|
| What assets do | Cover the whole loan | Convert to monthly income |
| Statements | Two months per account | Older one plus a recent one |
| Age and seasoning | 60 days seasoned | 120+ days old; latest within 45 days |
| Credit floor | 600 minimum | The lender’s matrix |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
Read the rows as a pair. The qualifier path asks for a short run of consecutive statements. The depletion path asks you to show the money was there well before you applied, then confirm it is still there.
The depletion path has an exception. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from the 120-day statement-age test. That helps borrowers whose money arrived recently for a good reason. The lender still reviews the paper trail.
Programs outside our network vary. One investor-education blog says statement requests for each account commonly run one to two cycles, depending on the program. That is a market-wide observation. For the network programs described here, the figures are two months on the qualifier path and the 120-day plus 45-day pair on the depletion path.
Why Does the Qualifier Path Need Only Two Months?
Because the qualifier path is a balance test, not an income test. The lender is asking one question: is the money real, titled to you, and settled in place? Two statements per account answer that. The 60-day seasoning rule supports it by showing the funds did not just arrive.
Seasoning is the waiting period that proves money has been in the account and was not recently moved in. Statement count and seasoning are separate tests. You can pass one and fail the other.
Here is an illustrative shape. Say you want an $800,000 loan on a principal residence or second home. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, $300,000 in a 401(k) and you are under 59½, and $200,000 in savings. Brokerage counts at 100%, so that is $330,000. The 401(k) counts at 90% under 59½, so that is $270,000. Savings counts at 100%, so that is $200,000. Total usable assets come to $800,000, which meets the loan amount, and the file is reviewed on assets alone. You would supply two months of statements for each of those three accounts.
The lender’s own calculation governs. This is illustration only.
Why Does the Depletion Path Look Different?
The depletion path asks you to prove two things: that the assets existed for a meaningful stretch, and that they are still there. That is why one statement must be at least 120 days old and another must be dated within 45 days of application.
Run the numbers on a household living on a portfolio. Take $1,500,000 in securities, which count at 80%, or $1,200,000. Add $300,000 in cash at 100%. Usable assets are $1,500,000. Divide by 60 months and you get $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
The depletion path also has minimums. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When the assets are your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid assets. If asset income only supplements documented income, it can be used up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Which asset types count differs on the depletion path:
- Cash accounts and certificates of deposit: 100%.
- Securities: 80%.
- Private stock: 75%.
- Retirement accounts: 70% at any age.
- Real-estate equity: 60%.
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 are not eligible. Every one of those percentages and exclusions is subject to underwriting.
Which Accounts Need Statements?
Every account you count needs statements. Accounts that sit outside the count do not. A short example: if your $800,000 qualifier file uses a brokerage account, a 401(k) and savings, all three need two months of statements. A checking account you do not use for qualifying does not.
Here is what each account type looks like on the qualifier path. Brokerage, certificates of deposit, money market and savings count at 100%. Retirement accounts count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine.
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. The lender then reviews the source of that cash. Plan that conversion early, because the seasoning clock starts after the money lands.
Do the Statements Have to Be Complete?
Yes. Send every page of every statement, including pages that say they are blank or intentionally left empty. A missing page is one of the most common reasons an underwriter asks for a re-send.
Practical statement rules from files across our wholesale network:
1. Consecutive months. Two months means the two most recent consecutive statement periods, not two you pick.
2. Same name. The account should be titled to you, or to you jointly with a borrower on the loan.
3. Full pages. All pages, not a screenshot of the balance.
4. Bank switches. If you changed institutions, provide statements from both for the periods in question, and expect a question about the transfer.
5. Recent moves of money. Moving funds between your own accounts is fine, but the lender wants a transfer record that ties the two sides together.
The strictest overlays we see want the transfer paper trail even for ordinary moves. Others only ask when the amount stands out against your average balance.
What About Large Deposits and Moving Money?
Large or unusual deposits trigger a sourcing request. The lender wants a sale document, a transfer record or another paper trail showing where the money came from. Unexplained money can fall out of the usable total.
Keep these habits during a file:
- Leave seasoned money where it is. Moving it resets the clock in some cases.
- Do not pour new cash into an account to pad a balance. Unseasoned funds can fail the 60-day test.
- Keep records for sale-of-business, inheritance or settlement money. Those funds are excused from the 120-day statement-age test on the depletion path, not from review.
Why Do Lenders Ask for Statements at All?
Because a lender has to verify what it relies on. Under the federal ability-to-repay rule, a lender may base its repayment decision on income, on assets, or on both. The CFPB’s compliance guide lists bank and investment account statements as acceptable records.
Notice what neither source sets: a number of months. The rule requires reliable proof, and the program fills in the month count. That is why the answer changes between a qualifier file and a depletion file, and why a New Mexico address does not alter it.
What Changes for a New Mexico Borrower?
The program figures do not change by state. New Mexico is one of the 16 states where Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed, and a New Mexico file uses the same statement rules and percentages described above, subject to underwriting.
What changes is your situation. The reader this fits best is cash-heavy and income-light: a retiree, someone who sold a business, an heir, a person who received a settlement, or an early-retired professional living off a portfolio. For those borrowers the main New Mexico question is practical. Are your balances spread across accounts at different institutions, and are they all titled the way the lender needs? Answer that before you apply.
Property type matters more than state. The asset qualifier path covers principal residences and second homes. Investment property is available only on the asset depletion path, at up to 65% loan-to-value on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. On a principal residence or second home on the depletion path, leverage reaches 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out.
Rental Property? Statements Play a Different Role
If you are buying a pure rental, the usual route is not asset-based at all. 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.
DSCR loans qualify primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your statements still matter, but for a different job: showing funds to close and reserves. Some select lenders in the network will look at sub-1.00 coverage, but leverage and terms adjust. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through that route.
So the choice looks like this. If the property is a home you will live in, asset-based fits a portfolio-rich borrower. If the property is a rental, compare the depletion path against DSCR. The depletion path is a consumer loan that runs on your assets. DSCR runs on the property. The stronger play for many investors is DSCR, though a borrower with a large portfolio and thin rental coverage may find the depletion path worth pricing. The numbers decide.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: a path where eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the whole loan amount, with no income documented.
Asset depletion: a path that divides usable assets by 60 months to create a monthly qualifying income.
Seasoning: the period funds must sit in your account before they count.
Statement cycle: one monthly (or quarterly) statement period for an account.
Haircut: the share of an asset’s balance the lender will not count, such as the 20% off securities on the depletion path.
Debt-to-income: your monthly debts divided by your qualifying income.
Your Prep Checklist
Start gathering before you apply. A clean stack of paper saves back-and-forth.
1. List every account you might count, with its institution and how it is titled. 2. Pull the two most recent consecutive statements for each, every page. 3. For the depletion path, locate one statement at least 120 days old. 4. Note any deposit that is large relative to the account, and find its paper trail. 5. Check your credit, since the qualifier path starts at 600 and a first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700. 6. Do not move money you do not have to move.
Lendmire’s article How Many Months of Reserves Does an Asset Qualifier Mortgage Require? covers what to hold back after the loan funds. On the qualifier path, no reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value, and above that the lender sets them. The depletion path has no published reserve months.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an asset-based mortgage the same as a bank-statement loan?
No. An asset-based mortgage reads balances and seasoning to qualify you on what you own. A bank-statement loan reads a year or two of deposits to calculate income. The statement count is different because the question is different.
Do the statements have to be consecutive?
Yes, on the qualifier path the two months should be the two most recent consecutive periods for each account. On the depletion path you provide an older statement and a recent one. Send every page of each.
Can I use a business account?
Business accounts are only considered up to your ownership share, and other business-funded holdings are not published as eligible. If the money matters to your file, the documented route is moving it to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender reviews the source.
What if I changed banks recently?
Provide statements from both institutions for the relevant periods. Expect the underwriter to ask for the transfer record linking them. Moves between your own accounts are usually fine when documented.
Do I still need to document income?
On the qualifier path, no employment or income is documented, but the assets are fully documented. On the depletion path, the assets produce the qualifying income, and any supplemental income you document is combined with it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. Everything is subject to underwriting and program terms.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in New Mexico page presents the program for New Mexico 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 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
1. 4Homes, Asset Depletion Loans for Investors
2. CFPB, Regulation Z § 1026.43
3. CFPB, Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rule Compliance Guide
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 a Margin Balance Is Treated on an Asset Depletion Mortgage · How Long Should Money Sit in an Account Before an Asset-Based Mortgage Application? · Does a Securities-Backed Line of Credit Hurt Your Asset-Based Mortgage Application?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in New Mexico
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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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.