The Quick Read: You qualify on your assets, or on documented retirement income, instead of a paycheck. Through select programs, your savings and investments either cover the whole loan or convert into monthly qualifying income. Lenders still document those assets and review your credit and the property, subject to underwriting.
- Asset qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan, and no income is documented.
- Asset depletion path: usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly income for the debt-to-income test.
- Leverage differs by path. On a primary residence refinance, the qualifier path goes up to 75% and the depletion path up to 80% for rate-and-term.
- Your home and your rentals are different loans. A DSCR loan, which qualifies a rental on its own rent, never fits the home you live in.
Does Retirement Block a Refinance on Your Own Home?
Retirement does not block a refinance. A lender needs a documented reason to believe you can repay, and a W-2 is only one way to show that. Retirement income, investment income and a large asset base all count, depending on the program.
Many retirees assume the paycheck is the only door in. It is just the most common one. If you live on a portfolio, your balances are often large and your taxable income is small, which is exactly the profile asset-based programs were built for.
Most programs in Lendmire’s network start with one question: do the assets cover the loan outright, or do they need to become income? That answer picks your path. You use one path at a time, never a blend of the two.
A refinance on your own North Carolina home is a consumer mortgage. The program figures below do not change by state. State facts such as local insurance and property taxes affect your budget, but they never alter the program rules.
Two Paths: Assets Cover the Loan, or Assets Become Income
The asset qualifier path asks whether your eligible assets equal or exceed the whole loan. The asset depletion path asks whether your assets, after haircuts, produce enough monthly income to carry the payment. Which one fits depends on how much cash you hold relative to the loan.
| Factor | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Assets are used as | Cover the entire loan | Divided by 60 months into income |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term |
| Cash-out leverage | Set by lender | Up to 60% |
| Loan size | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Credit | 600 minimum | The lender’s matrix |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% after | 70% at any age |
The leverage figures above are for a principal residence or second home. A rate-and-term refinance means you change the loan’s terms without taking cash out. These figures are ceilings, not offers, and everything is subject to underwriting through select programs.
On the qualifier path, the lender sets whether cash-out proceeds are allowed and at what leverage. That figure is not published, so plan on a rate-and-term refinance there.
How the Asset Qualifier Path Works
The qualifier path counts a percentage of each balance, adds the results, and compares the total to the loan. If the total equals or exceeds the loan, you qualify on assets alone. No employment or income is documented.
Brokerage accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts and savings count at 100%. A 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% if you are under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine.
Here is an illustrative example, and the lender’s own calculation always governs. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90% counts, so $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100%, so $200,000). Your usable assets total $800,000, which matches the loan, so you would qualify on assets alone.
Two practical points apply. Reserves are not required at or below 75% loan-to-value, which is the loan amount as a share of the home’s value. Above that level, the lender sets them. Credit still matters, with a 600 minimum score on this path.
How Asset Depletion Works
Asset depletion converts your usable assets into a monthly qualifying income. You add up the eligible balances after haircuts and divide by 60 months. That income must then carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test, which compares monthly debts to monthly income.
The haircuts are steeper than on the qualifier path. Cash accounts and certificates of deposit count at 100%. Securities count at 80%, private stock at 75%, retirement accounts at 70% at any age, and real-estate equity at 60%.
An illustrative example, again subject to the lender’s own calculation: say you hold $1,500,000 in securities (80% counts, so $1,200,000) and $300,000 in cash (100%, so $300,000). That is $1,500,000 usable. Divided by 60 months, it produces $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That figure then carries the housing payment and other debts.
This path has minimums. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset depletion is your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 in liquid assets.
If you also have documented income, such as a pension or Social Security, asset-derived income can supplement it up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Leverage on this path is up to 80% on a rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance for a principal residence or second home. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
What Counts, What Does Not
Cash, certificates of deposit, securities and retirement accounts count on the depletion path, and the qualifier path adds brokerage, money market and savings accounts. Several common holdings do not count at all. Those include custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options and unvested restricted stock units.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, borrowed funds and business accounts beyond your ownership share are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is to convert them into a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews where the money came from.
Seasoning is the time funds must sit in an account before a lender counts them. On the qualifier path, that is 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus one recent statement within 45 days. Money from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement is excused from that seasoning.
On the depletion path, a first-time investor needs a 700 score. Housing history is generally 0x30x12, though one 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. A housing event such as a foreclosure needs 4 years of seasoning.
Step by Step: What Happens to Your File
1. Name the loan’s purpose. Decide whether this is your own home or a rental, and whether you want rate-and-term or cash-out. That choice sets the program and the leverage.
2. Pick the path. If your eligible assets cover the loan, the qualifier path is cleaner. If they do not, the depletion path may fit, provided you meet the minimums.
3. Gather statements. Pull every qualifying account, and check that the seasoning period is met before you apply.
4. Run credit and the property. The lender reviews your score, your housing history, and an appraisal of the home.
5. Lender review. Underwriters confirm the assets and their source. Since this is a consumer mortgage, the usual consumer disclosures apply.
In North Carolina, an attorney handles the closing. On coastal homes, wind and flood coverage can change what you budget for, so ask for those quotes early.
Where the General Rule Breaks
Three situations break the general rule: a rental you own, a loan whose purpose is personal even though the collateral is a rental, and a home you are about to retire from.
A rental property. 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, and the federal exemption for credit extended primarily for a business purpose is why. DSCR means debt service coverage ratio. It compares the property’s monthly rent to its full monthly obligation. A loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
Most standard DSCR programs are built around a 1.00 ratio. Programs below 1.00 are available through select lenders in the network, but leverage and terms adjust. Your portfolio helps on a DSCR file with reserves and source of funds, but it never becomes qualifying income. For more detail, read Lendmire’s piece Can a Retiree With No W-2 Income Get a DSCR Loan?.
Purpose beats collateral. A rental as collateral does not make a loan business-purpose. Compliance Alliance explains that the loan’s purpose controls, more than the property. Doss Law gives an example: a cash-out refinance of a rental used to pay personal income taxes stays a consumer loan.
Small multifamily buildings you live in. If you live in one unit of a small multifamily building, unit counts decide the loan’s category. A rental you occupy, or will occupy within the coming year, is treated as business-purpose for buying it only if it has more than 2 units. For improving or maintaining it, the building needs more than 4 units. Below those counts, the loan is a consumer loan even though the collateral is a rental building.
If you do not live in the building and hold it purely as an investment, the business-purpose route applies. On the asset depletion path, leverage there is up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance for an investment property.
Planned retirement. If your records show your repayment ability will change after closing, lenders must account for that. Retiring with no plan to work again is exactly such a change. Plan to show assets or documented retirement income, not past wages.
Agency programs. Conventional agency programs have their own rules for turning assets into income. Those rules belong to those programs and do not describe the asset-based programs above.
What “No W-2” Does Not Mean
No W-2 does not mean no documentation. Your assets are documented on both paths. Lenders still review credit, the property, title and insurance.
When a lender relies on assets, it must verify the assets it relies on using reasonably reliable third-party records. That is why statements, not traditional personal-income documentation, carry the file.
Age is not a barrier. Lenders cannot deny you simply because you are retired. They can decide that your documented assets or income fall short.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: a program where eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan amount.
Asset depletion path: a program that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Seasoning: the period funds must stay in an account before the lender counts them.
Debt-to-income ratio: your monthly debts divided by your monthly income.
Rate-and-term refinance: a refinance that changes the loan’s terms without taking cash out.
Cash-out refinance: a refinance that pays off the loan and gives you extra cash.
Mistakes That Cost Retirees a Clean File
- Moving money right before you apply. Funds shifted between accounts can reset seasoning. Leave balances where they are.
- Mixing the two paths’ numbers. Retirement balances count at 90% or 100% on one path and 70% on the other. Use the right table.
- Counting unlisted assets. Cryptocurrency or collectibles sitting outside a regulated account do not count until converted and seasoned.
- Treating cash-out proceeds as assets. On the depletion path, they never count toward qualifying.
- Refinancing for a small gain. If your remaining term is short or your payment is already modest, the closing costs may outweigh the benefit. Compare the costs to your savings before you apply.
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.
Next Steps
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. For a rental, the complete DSCR loans guide walks through how that path works.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I refinance if my only income is Social Security and savings?
Often, yes, depending on the program. Documented Social Security counts as income under programs that rely on it. Your savings can supplement it on the depletion path up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived when they do.
Do my 401(k) and IRA balances count in full?
It depends on the path. On the qualifier path, they count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, they count at 70% at any age. Both are subject to underwriting.
Can I use cryptocurrency or gold as qualifying assets?
Not directly. Neither is published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to cash in a regulated account and letting the funds season, with the lender reviewing the source.
Is there a credit check?
Yes. The qualifier path has a 600 minimum score, and the depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700.
Can I use a DSCR loan on the home I live in?
No. DSCR loans are for investment properties and qualify on rental income. A refinance on your own home runs through an owner-occupied program, using assets or documented retirement income.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage programs page.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in North Carolina page presents the program for North Carolina borrowers.
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 – Reg Z § 1026.3 Exempt transactions
2. Compliance Alliance – Reg Z and Investment Properties
3. Doss Law – Business Purpose Exemption Simplified
4. Federal Register – ATR final rule
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 to Refinance a Mortgage After Retiring With No W-2 Income · How to Refinance a Florida Mortgage After Retiring With No W-2 Income · How to Refinance a Washington Mortgage After Retiring With No W-2 Income
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in North Carolina
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.