The Quick Read: Only when the deposits are strong enough to replace traditional personal-income documentation as proof of income and the rest of the file clears too, because credit, reserves, down payment or equity, and the property are all still underwritten, and every loan above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission.
- Twelve or 24 months of bank statements can stand in for traditional personal-income documentation, but they never stand in for credit, reserves, or leverage limits.
- A $6,000,000 loan is the top of what the portfolio bank-statement program reaches through select wholesale programs, and it is reviewed case by case.
- Leverage on a primary residence at that size is typically 60% on a purchase and 55% on a cash-out, on review, subject to full underwriting.
- If the property is a rental, the deposits may not matter, because that loan is reviewed primarily on the property’s rent covering its payment, subject to lender guidelines.
What does “on deposits alone” really mean?
“Alone” is the word that trips people up. Deposits replace one thing: the tax-return proof of income. They do not replace the credit check, the appraisal, the cash reserves, or the down payment.
Picture a dentist who owns a busy practice. Her returns show modest taxable income because of depreciation, equipment purchases, and legitimate deductions. Her business account tells a different story. A bank-statement loan reads that account instead of the return.
Lendmire is a broker. It places these files with select wholesale lenders, which review and approve each one on its own terms. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
How does deposit-based qualification work?
The lender takes 12 or 24 consecutive months of statements and pulls out the deposits that count. It then applies an expense ratio and averages the result over the statement months. That monthly figure is your qualifying income.
Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, the portfolio non-QM program accepts 12 or 24 months. The bank portfolio program, which carries bigger files, uses 12. Statements must be consecutive and complete. A transaction history printed from your online banking does not substitute.
Scotsman Guide’s non-QM explainer describes the same setup. A self-employed borrower with no W-2 supplies 12 to 24 months of personal or business statements. The lender then applies a standard expense factor, with 50% as its example.
Which deposits count, and which come out?
Eligible deposits are real revenue from the business. Transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, refunds, gifts, and one-time windfalls come out. Large round-number cash deposits draw questions and often a letter of explanation.
The sequence is always the same. The lender strips ineligible items, applies the expense ratio and your ownership share, and then averages across the statement window.
Practices have a few quirks worth knowing:
- Insurance reimbursements and patient payments are ordinary revenue, so they typically count once they are clearly documented.
- Transfers between your entities are the usual trouble spot, because a lender may treat them as moving money rather than earning it.
- Commingled accounts, where personal and practice money share one account, push the lender toward the most conservative reading.
- Multi-location practices need statements for every account that holds the deposits you want counted.
Business statements or personal statements?
Run both, because the same practice can look different on each.
Business statements need at least 25% ownership. The lender applies an expense ratio, because the account pays the practice’s costs before you see a dollar. Across the network, the fixed ratios are:
| Business profile | Typical expense ratio |
|---|---|
| Service business, no employees | 20% |
| 1 to 5 employees | 40% |
| 6+ employees, or any product business | 50% |
| Accountant-provided ratio | Set by the letter |
A profit-and-loss method also exists, with its own cap of 80%. The lender sets the ratio, not you. A letter from your accountant can support a lower figure, but it does not guarantee one. Scotsman Guide notes the same idea, that a P&L from a third-party tax professional can be used.
Personal statements work differently. Transfers from your own business into your personal account count at 100% in the programs we place with. The expenses were paid before the money landed. An owner who pays herself a steady draw often reads better on personal statements. That is why a broker should model both before choosing.
How does a deposit figure become a loan size?
The chain runs in a fixed order. Eligible monthly deposits, less the expense ratio, times your ownership share, give qualifying income. That income must carry the new payment plus your other debts. Debt-to-income, meaning your monthly debts as a share of income, can run up to 50% through select wholesale programs.
Run it with percentages. Say a practice with more than five employees lands in the 50% bucket. Half of the average eligible deposits survive as income. A practice with one to five employees keeps 60%. That 10-point gap in the ratio can move the maximum payment a lot, which is why the employee count and the accountant’s letter matter.
Then the property terms apply. A $6,000,000 loan implies a large home, and the leverage ladder sets the equity you must bring. This is why the question is rarely “do my deposits cover it?” and more often “what binds first?”
What limits a $6M loan besides income?
Leverage, credit, and reserves usually bind before income does. The bank program’s size ladder is the clearest picture. On a primary-residence purchase, it runs 65% to $5,000,000, 60% to $10,000,000, and 55% to $30,000,000. Its ladder begins above $4,000,000 and overlaps the portfolio program up to $6,000,000.
Here is how the main limits stack up at the $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 band, through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting:
| Constraint | Typical position |
|---|---|
| Primary residence purchase | 60% LTV, on review |
| Primary residence cash-out | 55% LTV, on review |
| Second home or investment purchase | 55% LTV, on review |
| Credit score | 680 minimum, 700 above the super jumbo line |
| Reserves | 9 months, cash-out proceeds excluded |
Every figure above $4,000,000 is a ceiling reviewed case by case, never a flat “up to.” A 60% purchase means you bring roughly 40% in down payment or equity. That is a bigger hurdle than the deposit math for many borrowers.
Leverage also steps down as the loan grows. On a primary residence, the ladder gives up to 90% to $1,000,000, 85% to $2,000,000, and 80% to $3,000,000. It drops to 75% at the top credit tier to $4,000,000, and then it goes to case-by-case review. Second homes and investment property typically run about five points lower at each size.
Above $3,500,000 on a primary residence, and $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property, extra overlays apply:
- A 700 credit floor.
- A clean housing payment history over the last 24 months.
- 48 months of seasoning after any credit event.
- U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
- No non-occupant co-borrowers and no rural property, with a ten-acre maximum.
Reserves are the liquid cash left after closing. They run 3 months to $500,000, 6 months to $1,500,000, and 9 months above that. Each additional financed property adds 2 months, to a 12-month maximum, and first-time investors need 12. Cash-out proceeds cannot count toward reserves at this size. A practice owner with most of their wealth tied up in the practice can fail here even with perfect deposits.
Can deposits carry the file, or do you need assets too?
Deposits can carry it alone, but assets can carry it instead, or add to it. Two asset paths exist through select wholesale programs, and both apply to primary and second homes only.
| Path | How it qualifies you |
|---|---|
| Deposits only | Statements after expense ratio, DTI up to 50% |
| Asset allowance | Liquid assets divided by 36, 60, or 84 months |
| Assets only | Liquidity covers loan plus closing costs, no DTI |
The allowance divides liquid assets by 36 months when DTI is at or below 60%, and by 60 months when it is above. It divides by 84 months when assets stand alone or the loan is above $3,500,000. Maximum leverage on that path is 80%.
Assets-only needs U.S. liquid assets at least equal to the loan amount plus closing costs. It also adds sixty months of any net loss on other residential property you own. At a $6,000,000 loan, that is a high bar. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% once you are 59.5 or older. Business funds, gifts, most trusts, unvested stock, and cryptocurrency never count.
The practical read: a practice owner with strong deposits and thin personal liquidity should lean on deposits. An owner with deep personal liquidity and messy deposits should look at the asset paths. A strong file often combines them.
What changes if the loan is for a rental?
This is the exception that can make deposits irrelevant. 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. Federal rules treat business-purpose credit separately, which is why no personal income test is required on a pure rental loan.
A DSCR loan, short for debt service coverage ratio, qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Your practice deposits, your traditional personal-income documentation, and your personal DTI stop being the binding constraint. That is also why you cannot size a DSCR loan off practice deposits. The lender never looks at them.
Many owners use two tools. A bank-statement loan handles the personal residence or second home, and DSCR handles the rentals. Each file stands on its own documentation. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide explains how coverage is measured, and DSCR programs differ on leverage and terms. Select lenders in the network also offer programs below 1.00 coverage, but leverage and terms adjust.
You can also finance an investment property on bank statements. That path sits on the investment-property ladder, which is about five points lower than the primary-residence figures at each size. It is useful when the rent is thin but your deposits are strong.
Is Non-QM “no documentation”?
No. A bank-statement loan changes how income is proven, not whether it is checked. Federal ability-to-repay rules require a reasonable, good-faith determination that you can repay. They do not mandate one underwriting model, so lenders design their own ways to document income. Bank statements are one of them.
In practice, the wholesale lenders still pull credit, order an appraisal, verify reserves, and read every page of your statements. A file with sloppy statements gets a harder look, not an easier one.
How is this different from a physician loan?
Physician loans are built for employed doctors, often early in their careers. They are not designed for owners whose income runs through a practice entity. A $6,000,000 file for a practice owner belongs in the super jumbo bank-statement world.
It is also a residential loan. This article is about financing a home or an investment property, not the practice’s own real estate or an acquisition. Practice real estate and practice purchases run through commercial and business lending, with different documentation entirely.
Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WA. A practice owner outside those states should ask about scope before assuming a file can be placed.
Why do files at this size get declined?
The common reasons are not about deposits. Here is what a broker sees stall large files:
- Reserves: Wealth sits in the practice, and personal liquid assets are short of nine months.
- Down payment: Leverage at this size is lower than most buyers expect.
- Credit events: A late payment or past event inside the seasoning window triggers the overlay.
- Messy statements: Commingling, large unexplained deposits, or missing pages force the most conservative reading.
- Expense ratio: The lender sets 50% and the file only works at 30%.
Each has a fix. Build reserves in a personal account before applying. Bring a larger down payment, or ask for a different property price. Get an accountant’s letter that documents real expenses. Separate personal and practice accounts several months ahead, not the week before.
Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; investors should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction. Your CPA also matters for the expense-ratio letter, so loop them in early.
What to ask before you apply
A few questions separate a broker who knows this space from one who is guessing:
1. Which programs in your network will read my practice as a business with employees or as a product business?
2. Will you run both business and personal statements and show me the difference?
3. What does my leverage look like at my target price, and does it fall in the case-by-case band?
4. Do my reserves count after cash-out or down payment, and which assets are excluded?
5. Can an accountant’s letter change my expense ratio on this program?
Key Terms Defined
Bank-statement loan: A mortgage that is reviewed around deposits in your bank statements instead of traditional income documentation.
Expense ratio: The share of your deposits the lender treats as business costs before counting the rest as income.
Super jumbo: A very large mortgage above standard jumbo limits, here meaning files above $3,500,000 with extra overlays.
Reserves: Liquid cash left over after closing, measured in months of your new payment.
DSCR: Debt service coverage ratio, which compares a rental’s income to its payment.
Case-by-case review: A lender look at the whole file before submission, used on every loan above $4,000,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use personal accounts instead of business accounts?
Yes, and sometimes it is the better choice. Transfers from your own business into a personal account count at 100% through select wholesale programs. Business statements apply the expense ratio instead. Running both side by side shows which gives you higher qualifying income. Lender guidelines and your ownership share decide what is allowed.
Does an accountant’s letter lower my expense ratio?
It can support a lower ratio, but it does not guarantee one. The lender sets the final number. The letter helps most when your real costs sit well below the fixed buckets of 20%, 40%, or 50%. A practice with few employees and low overhead is the usual candidate.
Do I need assets in addition to deposits at $6,000,000?
You always need reserves, which run 9 months at this size, and the down payment or equity. Beyond that, assets are optional for the deposit path. They become the main qualifier on the asset allowance and assets-only paths, which apply to primary and second homes only.
Can I buy a rental with practice deposits?
Deposits are not what a DSCR loan reads. It qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. If you want to finance an investment property on your deposits instead, a bank-statement loan on the investment-property ladder is an option. Lendmire’s piece on how a franchise owner can get a mortgage on business deposits shows how the same method works for a different business type.
What if I own less than 100% of the practice?
Business statements need at least 25% ownership, and the lender applies your ownership share to the income. Personal statements are the other route, and a broker can model both.
Who this fits, and who it doesn’t
This route fits founders, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and attorneys whose conventional personal-income paperwork understates real cash flow. It works best when you have consistent deposits, clean statements, nine months of reserves, and meaningful equity or a large down payment.
It fits less well if most of your wealth is locked in the practice, your statements are commingled, or your credit has a recent event. All figures here are ceilings through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting. Programs change, and every file is reviewed individually.
If you are financing a high-balance primary residence, second home, or rental on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. You can reach the team at 828-256-2183.
A practice with a decade of honest deposits often has more borrowing power than its tax return admits, and the work is in proving it page by page.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a non-QM mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) arranging DSCR investor loans in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. DSCR eligibility is generally reviewed around property-level rental income rather than personal income, subject to lender and program guidelines, a fit for self-employed investors and LLC-owned portfolios. Lendmire was recognized as a Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Scotsman Guide: Rev Up the Engine for Non-QM Lending
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 a Super Jumbo Mortgage Works for K-1 Partners · How a Super Jumbo Mortgage Works for 1099 Earners · How a Super Jumbo Mortgage Works for Franchise Owners
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Disclosures. The information presented in this article is general market commentary, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) — not a direct lender or depository institution — and loan placement is subject to lender underwriting. Nothing in this content represents a commitment to lend. Loan terms, pricing, and program availability vary based on borrower qualifications, property characteristics, and state of subject property, and are subject to change at any time. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity requirements. Consumer access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.