The Quick Read: Usually yes, when the home is finished or the builder sells it on a standard purchase mortgage, because a Texas buyer can qualify on assets alone or turn assets into qualifying income, subject to underwriting and through select programs, though the loan that pays for construction draws is a different product. The asset-based mortgage normally enters at completion, not during the build. Every figure below is a ceiling or floor, not an offer.
- Finished homes are the cleanest fit. A completed home with a certificate of occupancy gives the lender a clear appraisal and a clear closing date.
- Two paths exist. Assets can cover the whole loan, or assets can be divided into monthly income. A borrower uses one path at a time.
- Leverage differs by path. On a purchase of a principal residence or second home, the asset qualifier path goes up to 80% loan-to-value, and so does asset depletion.
- Texas adds a completion-proof wrinkle. A new build outside city limits may have no certificate of occupancy to hand over.
What Counts as New Construction Here?
“New construction” covers three very different deals, and an asset-based mortgage fits each one differently. The label matters because lenders look at the completed home, not the marketing brochure.
| Structure | How the asset-based loan fits | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Completed spec home | Standard purchase; assets qualify you | Low appraisal |
| To-be-built from a builder | Loan arrives at completion | Delay outlasts your paperwork |
| Ground-up on your own land | Permanent loan after a draw-funded build | Construction financing is separate |
A spec home is one the builder finished before finding a buyer. It behaves like any other purchase. The to-be-built contract adds months between signing and closing. Ground-up construction usually means a short-term construction loan funded in draws, followed by a permanent mortgage once the home is done.
Across the wholesale network, the asset-based programs sit on the permanent side of that divide. Whether a given lender accepts a builder contract for a home not yet finished is that lender’s call, so confirm it before you sign anything.
How Does the Asset Qualifier Path Work on a New Build?
The asset qualifier path covers the entire loan with eligible assets and documents no employment or income. After the credit percentages are applied, your assets must equal or exceed the whole loan amount.
On a purchase, this path goes up to 80% loan-to-value for a principal residence or second home. Loans run up to $4,000,000. The credit score floor is 600. Reserves are not required at or below 75% loan-to-value, and above that the lender sets them.
Here is a sanctioned illustration, and the lender’s own calculation governs. Take an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (counted at 100%), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under age 59½ (counted at 90%, or $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100%). That adds up to $800,000 of usable assets, which covers the loan on assets alone.
“No income documented” never means “no documentation.” The assets are documented on both paths, down to the statements.
How Does Asset Depletion Work on a New Build?
Asset depletion converts eligible assets into monthly income. Usable assets are divided by 60 months, and that income must carry the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Take $1,500,000 in securities (counted at 80%, or $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100%). That is $1,500,000 usable, divided by 60 months, or $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. The lender then tests that income against the full housing payment and your other debts.
On a principal residence or second home, this path allows up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000. The qualified assets must total at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance, and never less than $250,000 liquid when assets are your only income. A first-time investor needs a 700 score. Otherwise credit follows the lender’s matrix.
Asset-derived income can also supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it does, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
| Factor | Asset qualifier | Asset depletion |
|---|---|---|
| How you qualify | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets become monthly income |
| Purchase leverage, primary or second home | Up to 80% | Up to 80% |
| Purchase leverage, investment property | Not offered | Up to 65% |
| Loan range | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Statements | Two months, 60-day seasoning | 120 days old plus one within 45 days |
Which Assets Count, and Which Don’t?
Cash and certificates of deposit count in full on both paths. Retirement accounts and securities get trimmed, and the trim differs by path. Never blend the two tables.
On the asset qualifier path, brokerage, certificate of deposit, money market and savings balances count at 100%. Retirement balances count at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. Accounts combine.
On the asset depletion path, the shares are these:
- Cash accounts and certificates of deposit: 100%
- Securities: 80%
- Private stock: 75%
- Retirement accounts: 70% at any age
- Real-estate equity: 60%
Some assets are not eligible on the depletion path: 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.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, borrowed or pledged funds, and business accounts beyond your ownership share are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source. Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets.
If your money sits in a trust, Lendmire’s guide How to Use Trust Assets to Qualify on an Asset Depletion Mortgage walks through that case.
What Does the Timeline Look Like From Contract to Closing?
Your statements have to stay valid while the house goes up. That is the real new-construction challenge, because a build can outlast a stack of paperwork.
1. Before you sign. Run your balances through the lender’s math, then read the builder’s contract for lender requirements and delay terms.
2. Contract and build. Keep the qualifying accounts where they are. Moving money mid-build forces the lender to trace it.
3. Completion. The home receives its certificate of occupancy or equivalent proof of completion.
4. Appraisal. A full appraisal sets the value that drives loan-to-value.
5. Final asset review. Expect the lender to want current statements again. Seasoning is 60 days with two months of statements on the qualifier path. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application plus one within 45 days.
6. Closing. The purchase closes as a consumer mortgage, so the usual consumer mortgage disclosures apply.
Market swings matter too. A brokerage balance that drops during a long build shrinks your usable assets, and the haircuts apply to the balance on the statement. Sale-of-business, inheritance and legal-settlement funds are excused from the depletion path’s seasoning, which helps recent sellers and heirs.
Ask how the lender and the builder handle a late completion before you sign. A delay is more common on a to-be-built contract than on a finished home.
Does Texas Change Anything?
The program figures stay the same in Texas. What changes is the proof of completion. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, Texas among them, and the brokerage places files with select lenders.
Here is the catch. Texas has no statewide residential certificate-of-occupancy system outside city limits. As McLennan County explains, the Legislature abolished the state’s residential construction commission, which ended state enforcement of statewide building codes. Counties got only limited, permissive authority.
For a buyer, a home in an incorporated city usually comes with a certificate of occupancy. A home in a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction or unincorporated county may not. A North Texas permitting practitioner notes that lenders in those areas may ask for third-party inspections or other proof of completion instead. That varies by lender.
The practical move is simple. Ask the builder early whether a certificate of occupancy will exist, and ask the lender what it accepts in its place. A Texas buyer who finds that out after signing has a problem.
What if the Builder Wants You in Its Own Lender?
You can usually bring an outside lender, but incentives may be tied to the builder’s preferred lender. Read the contract before you decide, because some builders structure credits that way.
This is where an asset-based mortgage earns its keep. A buyer with large balances and little documented income can get declined by a builder’s preferred lender, which looks for paycheck income. An outside asset-based file may rescue the purchase, though you may weigh that against any lost incentive.
Bring the lender in before signing. Once the contract has a financing deadline, you have little room to restructure.
What if the Home Is a Rental?
Then the asset-based mortgage may not be the right tool. On the depletion path, an investment property goes up to 65% loan-to-value on a purchase. The loan is still a consumer mortgage with your personal debt-to-income in play.
Most pure rental purchases move to DSCR. 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, as the federal rule on business-purpose credit reflects. The file qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Select lenders in the network will review sub-1.00 coverage, but leverage and terms adjust.
A finished new-construction rental typically needs a full appraisal that includes a market-rent schedule. The appraiser’s rent counts, not the builder’s advertised rent. The complete DSCR loans guide covers the mechanics. Lendmire’s piece How to Use Seller Concessions on a New-Construction DSCR Purchase covers the builder-incentive angle for investors.
Short-term rental rules can vary by city, county, HOA, and property type, so investors should confirm local rules before relying on projected rental income. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
What Can Go Wrong?
Four risks come up again and again on new builds. None is a dealbreaker, and each one is easier to handle when you plan for it.
- Completion slips. Your statements age while the builder waits on materials or inspections.
- A low appraisal. A never-sold home has few comparable sales. If value comes in under the contract price, loan-to-value is measured against the lower number, which means more cash from you.
- Asset drift. A brokerage account that falls reduces usable assets. A large transfer, even between your own accounts, needs a paper trail.
- No certificate of occupancy. Outside Texas city limits, this is the surprise to rule out first.
Manufactured homes, log homes, and barndominiums are not eligible construction types in Lendmire’s investor network, so the finished product matters as much as the paperwork.
Key Terms Defined
Certificate of occupancy: a local document confirming a finished home is safe to live in, which lenders often use as proof of completion.
Spec home: a home a builder completes before a buyer is under contract.
Seasoning: the waiting period that assets must sit in an account before the lender counts them.
Haircut: the share of an asset’s balance the lender does not count, such as 20% off securities on the depletion path.
Loan-to-value (LTV): the loan amount divided by the home’s value or price.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, divided by your qualifying monthly income.
Asset depletion: a method that divides usable assets by 60 months to create monthly qualifying income.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use this on a to-be-built home?
Sometimes, depending on the lender. The asset-based loan typically arrives at completion, so the contract’s timeline has to fit the lender’s statement rules.
Do I have to sell my investments?
No. The assets stay where they are. On the qualifier path they count toward covering the loan, and on the depletion path they are divided by 60 months to create income. You do need to keep them in place and documented through closing.
Is this the same as a hard-money loan?
No. Hard money is short-term investor financing underwritten on the property. The asset-based mortgage is a consumer mortgage for a principal residence or second home, and for investment property only on the depletion path, qualified on assets and your credit.
Can I combine asset income with other income?
Yes, on the depletion path. Asset-derived income can supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. A borrower still is reviewed on one path at a time.
What if my credit isn’t perfect?
The qualifier path has a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. Housing history of 0x30x12 is the target, a single 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case, and a housing event needs four years of seasoning on the depletion path. Everything is subject to underwriting.
Next Step
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. Programs are placed through select lenders, change over time, and are underwritten file by file, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
A Texas buyer’s best new-construction move is to confirm the certificate of occupancy question before signing the contract.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Texas page presents the program for Texas borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage brokerage serving self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states. Bank statement, P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based mortgages are arranged through wholesale lending channels; Lendmire brokers the financing and the lender underwrites each application. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. McLennan County, Residential Building Requirements
2. Ground Up Guides, What Is a Certificate of Occupancy in Texas
3. CFPB, Regulation Z § 1026.3 (business-purpose exemption)
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 an Asset Depletion Mortgage Works · Joint vs Individual Accounts on an Asset Depletion Mortgage · How Long Should Money Sit in an Account Before an Asset-Based Mortgage Application?
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Texas
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.