The Quick Read: It depends on the path, because eligible assets must cover the whole loan on the asset qualifier path, while on the asset depletion path usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying income, and vested shares in a brokerage account can count on both but unvested restricted stock units do not. There is no single dollar number for a tech worker. The loan size and the path set the target.
- Asset qualifier path: usable assets must equal or exceed the entire loan amount, subject to underwriting. No employment or income is documented.
- Asset depletion path: the lender needs at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan, and never less than $250,000 liquid when assets are your only income.
- Vested RSU shares in a brokerage account are securities. They count at 100% on the qualifier path and 80% on the depletion path.
- Unvested RSUs and stock options are not eligible on the depletion path. The qualifier path does not publish them as eligible.
- Salary can help. On the depletion path, asset income may supplement documented pay up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio.
Which Path Fits a Tech Employee?
Pick the path first. Most confusion on this topic comes from mixing the two.
Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, asset-based mortgages come in two shapes. A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. Never both.
The asset qualifier path is the simple one. Your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, must equal or exceed the entire loan. The lender does not document your job or income. The review rests on the assets and your credit, and the loan stays subject to underwriting.
The asset depletion path works differently. Usable assets are divided by 60 months. The result is a monthly qualifying income. That income then carries the housing payment and your other debts through a debt-to-income test.
Who needs this? A tech employee whose pay is hard for a lender to read. Think heavy stock compensation, a recent job change, or a stretch between roles. Think also of someone who sold vested shares and is sitting on a large cash balance.
If your pay is steady and your vesting history is long, an income-based loan may fit better. Lendmire’s piece How Tech Founders Qualify for a Jumbo Mortgage With Bank Statements covers one income-side route.
Which Tech Assets Count, and How Much?
Vested shares in a brokerage account count. Unvested units do not. That is the whole tech story in two sentences.
Carta explains that an RSU is a promise of shares that arrive on a vesting schedule, with the value set at vesting. Until then, you hold a promise. After delivery to your brokerage account, you hold ordinary securities with statements to prove it.
Here is how the credit percentages compare, subject to underwriting and the lender’s own calculation:
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Vested shares, brokerage | 100% | 80% (securities) |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Private company stock | Not published | 75% |
| Unvested RSUs | Not published | Not eligible |
| Stock options | Not published | Not eligible |
| Real-estate equity | Not published | 60% |
A few notes on that table. Accounts combine, so a brokerage account, savings and a 401(k) can add together on the qualifier path.
Private stock counts at 75% on the depletion path only. Private equity is thinly traded, and Qapita notes that private-company shares carry liquidity limits. Expect the lender to ask hard questions about valuation.
Concentration is a risk worth naming. Empower points out that holding a lot of your employer’s stock raises risk. Share prices move between application and closing. A drop in your company’s stock shrinks the usable balance. Keep a cushion above the minimum.
What Does Not Count?
Several items that feel like assets are not published as eligible on either path.
Not eligible on the depletion path: custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, non-vested RSUs, and funds from non-regulated financial companies.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles are not published as eligible on either path. Neither are pledged or borrowed funds. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source. Don’t count on a percentage for them.
Two more rules matter. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets on the depletion path. And no one gets to skip documentation. Skipping income paperwork is not skipping asset paperwork. Every qualifying account is documented.
How Much Do You Actually Need?
Here is the lookup. The target is set by the loan, not by your salary.
| Item | Asset qualifier path | Asset depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Loan range | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Minimum assets | Usable assets at least equal to the loan | Lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25x the loan |
| Liquidity floor | None published | Never below $250,000 liquid if assets are the only income |
| Leverage, purchase | Up to 80% | Up to 80% (primary or second home) |
| Leverage, refinance | Up to 75% | Up to 80% rate-and-term, 60% cash-out |
| Credit | 600 minimum score | The lender’s matrix |
Everything above is a typical ceiling or floor through select programs, subject to underwriting. None of it is an offer.
Run the qualifier math the way a lender would. Say the loan is $800,000. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, so $330,000). You also hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90% counts, so $270,000). Add $200,000 in savings (100%, so $200,000). Usable assets total $800,000, which equals the loan. That file is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
Now the depletion math. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities, which counts 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 must carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Notice the difference. The qualifier path asks whether your assets cover the loan. The depletion path asks whether your assets, turned into income, cover the payment.
Reserves
On the qualifier path, no reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. The depletion path publishes no reserve months. Reserves are not the down payment, though. Funds you use to close cannot be counted a second time as qualifying assets.
Assets, Income, or Both?
Tech workers have a third option the others skip: combine them.
| Situation | Likely fit |
|---|---|
| Large liquid balance, thin or irregular pay | Asset qualifier or depletion path |
| Steady salary, long vesting history | Income-based loan |
| Good salary, but not enough to carry the payment | Depletion income supplementing pay |
| Self-employed, strong deposits | Bank statement program |
On the depletion path, asset-derived income may supplement documented income, up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When assets supplement pay, the minimum-assets rule is waived. That can help a well-paid engineer whose salary alone falls a little short.
Here is how the income side differs. Under income-based programs, lenders often want a documented vesting history before they count RSUs as income. Policies differ by lender. Some count them and some do not. The federal ability-to-repay rules look at “income or assets,” per the CFPB compliance guide. They do not dictate one underwriting model. That is why asset programs exist.
RSU Timing: Vest, Sell, or Hold?
Hold the vested shares if the lender accepts them, and sell only if you need to. Selling is a choice, not a requirement.
On both paths, vested shares in a brokerage account can qualify as securities. You do not have to convert them to cash. Cash is simply cleaner. It counts at 100% on the depletion path versus 80% for securities.
Selling has costs. You can trigger a taxable event, and the share price can move before you act. Tax treatment varies, so consult a qualified professional before selling to qualify.
Timing matters for seasoning. The qualifier path wants 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. The depletion path wants statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from that depletion seasoning.
So if you plan to vest, sell and buy, build in the seasoning window. Sale proceeds that landed last week may not be usable yet. Plan well before you apply. Then write down where every large deposit came from.
What Most Tech Buyers Get Wrong
A common mistake is counting grants as assets. A large unvested grant makes your net worth look great and your file look empty. The grant is a promise. Lenders in this space work from statements.
Another is assuming the asset test replaces credit. It does not. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix, and a first-time investor on that path needs 700. A housing event needs four years of seasoning on the depletion path. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the standard, with one recent 30-day late considered case by case.
The third mistake is shopping for a loan above what the file supports, or giving up when you could buy. Both come from not knowing which path you are on.
One pattern shows up often in files like these. Tech borrowers tend to have wealth spread across several accounts: a brokerage account, a stock-plan custodian, a savings account and a 401(k). The strongest files line up current statements for all of them before anyone picks a path, then test both paths against the target loan. The lender’s matrix then picks the winner.
Three Illustrative Buyers
These profiles are illustrative only. Real outcomes depend on underwriting.
The recent vester. She holds vested shares in a brokerage account and a savings balance. She wants to buy a primary residence at 80% leverage. Adding her balances at 100% each may cover the loan on the qualifier path. She checks the 60-day seasoning window first. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
The between-jobs engineer. He has no current pay but a large mix of securities and cash. The depletion path fits. Securities count at 80%, cash at 100%, and the total divided by 60 becomes his qualifying income. He must show at least $250,000 liquid, because assets are his only income.
The well-paid manager. Her salary almost carries the payment. Asset income supplements it, up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. The minimum-assets rule is waived because assets supplement income.
Buying a Rental With Assets
Rentals work differently. Investment property is eligible only on the depletion path. Leverage tops out at 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out, subject to underwriting.
Many investors will not use an asset program for rentals at all. Business-purpose rental financing is DSCR, which qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Credit and liquid funds still matter. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide walks through that route. 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.
If your assets are retirement money, Lendmire’s explainer How to Use Retirement Assets to Qualify for a Jumbo Mortgage goes deeper.
Pre-Application Checklist
Start well before you apply.
1. Gather statements for every account you want counted, brokerage, savings, retirement and plan custodian.
2. Confirm which shares have vested and sit in your own name.
3. Move private-company equity or crypto toward a seasoned cash balance only if you plan to use it.
4. Note the source of any large deposit.
5. Check your credit and housing history against the path’s floor.
6. Test both paths, and note the price at which each stops working.
Key Terms Defined
Vested shares: shares you own outright after the vesting schedule delivers them.
Unvested RSUs: a promise of future shares that you do not yet own.
Seasoning: how long funds must sit in an account before a lender counts them.
Haircut: the portion of a balance a lender discounts before counting it.
Debt-to-income ratio: your monthly debts divided by your monthly qualifying income.
Asset depletion: converting usable assets into monthly income by dividing them over 60 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a job to qualify?
Not on the asset qualifier path. No employment or income is documented there, and the review rests on your assets and credit. On the depletion path, assets become your qualifying income, though documented pay can supplement them. Underwriting still reviews every file.
Do unvested RSUs count?
No. They are not eligible on the depletion path, and the qualifier path does not publish them as eligible. Once the shares vest and land in your brokerage account, the account statements can count.
Can my down payment also qualify me?
No. Funds used to close cannot be counted a second time as qualifying assets. Your usable assets need to cover the qualifying test on top of what you spend to buy.
Do retirement accounts count?
Yes, at a reduced share. On the qualifier path, 401(k) and IRA balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path they count at 70% at any age.
Is this the same as a bank statement loan?
No. A bank statement program is for borrowers who document income through deposits. Asset-based programs review your file on balances instead. Lendmire is a broker and places these loans through select lenders in its network, where consumer lending is licensed in 16 states.
What to Do Next
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. Everything here is subject to underwriting and is not a commitment to lend.
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 tax returns, 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
2. Qapita – Restricted Stock Units
3. Empower – Understanding RSUs
4. CFPB – ATR/QM Small Entity 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 to Qualify for a Jumbo Loan on Assets Instead of Income · How Much Can You Borrow With an Assets-Only Mortgage? · How to Document an Assets-Only Mortgage
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.