The Quick Read: Asset-based cash-out refinancing is reviewed around documented savings, investments and retirement balances rather than pay stubs or tax returns, and the cash-out route that is published runs through the asset depletion path, where eligible assets become monthly qualifying income, available on select programs and subject to underwriting. Every file is fully underwritten, and your statements carry the weight a paycheck would. The right provider depends on your property, credit, leverage and which assets you hold.
- Two paths exist. The asset qualifier path covers the whole loan with eligible assets, and it allows up to 75% loan-to-value on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. The asset depletion path divides usable assets by 60 months to create income.
- Cash-out is published on the depletion path. Leverage there tops out at 60% on a cash-out for a principal residence, second home or investment property. Whether the qualifier path allows cash-out proceeds, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published.
- Assets count at set shares. Cash and certificates of deposit count in full. Securities count at 80% and retirement accounts at 70% on the depletion path.
- Private company stock does not count. It is not an eligible asset on either path.
- The lender that writes your loan depends on the file. Providers vary by scenario, so the useful move is matching your property, credit and assets to the right program.
What Does Asset-Based Cash-Out Actually Mean?
It means a lender looks at what you own instead of what you earn. You document balances with statements. You do not provide tax returns, pay stubs or employment verification. The loan is still underwritten in full, with credit, collateral and asset review.
Two separate paths sit under the asset-based label, and a borrower is reviewed on one at a time. Lendmire, a mortgage broker, places these loans through select lenders in its network. The details are on its asset-based mortgage programs page.
On the asset qualifier path, your eligible assets, after the credit percentages below, 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. That figure becomes monthly qualifying income. It must carry the full housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test, which compares monthly debts to monthly income.
| Factor | Asset Qualifier | Asset Depletion |
|---|---|---|
| Reviewed on | Assets cover the whole loan | Assets converted to monthly income |
| Refinance leverage | Up to 75% (home or second home) | 60% cash-out; 80% rate-and-term |
| Investment property | Not published | 65% purchase or rate-and-term; 60% cash-out |
| Loan amounts | Up to $4,000,000 | $125,000 to $3,500,000 |
| Credit | 600 minimum | The lender’s matrix |
| Debt-to-income test | No income documented | Applies to derived income |
Every figure above is a ceiling or floor on select programs and is subject to underwriting. None is an offer.
A rate-and-term refinance replaces your current loan without pulling out extra cash. A cash-out refinance replaces it with a larger loan and hands you the difference.
Here is the catch on the qualifier path. Whether it allows cash-out proceeds, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published. Nobody can responsibly quote you a number there before a lender reviews your file. The depletion path publishes its cash-out limits, so most cash-out conversations land there.
How Underwriting Treats an Asset-Only Borrower, Step by Step
Underwriting follows a set order, and your statements drive most of it. Here is the sequence.
1. Pick the path. If your usable assets equal or exceed the whole loan, the qualifier path is available. If they do not, the depletion path turns them into income. If you have some documented income, derived asset income can supplement it, up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
2. Collect statements. On the qualifier path, expect 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account. Seasoning is the time funds have sat in your account. On the depletion path, statements must be at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent one within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that depletion seasoning.
3. Apply the percentages. Each asset class counts at a set share of its balance. The next section covers them.
4. Check credit and housing history. The qualifier path sets a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix. Housing history is typically 0x30x12, meaning no 30-day lates in twelve months. One late is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible. A housing event on the depletion path needs 4 years of seasoning.
5. Order the appraisal. Value sets leverage, and leverage sets the maximum loan.
6. Run the final math. The lowest of your leverage cap, your qualifying assets and the lender’s other limits sets the loan size.
Standard consumer mortgage disclosures apply when the loan is on a principal residence or second home, because it is a consumer mortgage.
Which Assets Count, and for How Much?
The share that counts depends on the path. Treat the two columns as separate tables, because blending them produces wrong numbers.
| Asset | Qualifier Path | Depletion Path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% | Securities at 80% |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | Cash at 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA | 90% under 59½; 100% at 59½+ | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 60% |
On the qualifier path, balances from different accounts combine into one total. A haircut is the portion of a balance that the lender does not count. On the depletion path, a securities balance loses 20% and a retirement balance loses 30%.
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. Privately held stock is not eligible on either path.
Cryptocurrency, precious metals and collectibles are not published as eligible on either path. Neither are business accounts beyond your ownership share, nor pledged or borrowed funds. The documented route for those is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source.
A Worked Example With Each Path
Run the numbers on two illustrative files. The lender’s own calculation governs, and these only show the shape of the math.
Qualifier path. Say you want an $800,000 loan. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, or $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½ (90% counts, or $270,000), and $200,000 in savings (100% counts, or $200,000). Together that is $800,000 of usable assets, which matches the loan. You qualify on assets alone, subject to underwriting. No reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them.
Depletion path. Say you hold $1,500,000 in securities (80% counts, or $1,200,000) plus $300,000 in cash (100% counts, or $300,000). Together that is $1,500,000 of usable assets. Dividing by 60 months gives $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must then carry the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Two depletion-path rules apply here. Qualified assets must reach the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They can never fall below $250,000 liquid when asset depletion is your only income source. The proceeds from a cash-out never count as qualifying assets, so you cannot borrow cash and then use it to qualify.
So Who Are the Top Providers? Why a Ranked List Misleads You
No single provider is the best for everyone. The best program for your situation depends on your property type, credit profile, leverage need and the assets you hold. A ranked list would also hide the details that decide your file.
Lendmire does not rank or name lenders. It is a mortgage broker that works with a network of wholesale cash-out refinance lenders, and it shops your file across them. Retail lenders and banks offer only their own menu. A broker compares several programs and matches your scenario to the one whose rules fit.
Use these criteria to judge any provider, whether you work through a broker or not:
- Is cash-out allowed on your path? Ask whether the lender publishes its leverage or sets it case by case.
- Which assets does it count, and at what share? A program that counts retirement at 70% treats the same portfolio differently than one at 90%.
- How does it season and date statements? Rules on statement age and account history vary.
- What does its credit matrix require? Score and loan size interact.
- Does it write your property type and occupancy? Investment property is available only on the depletion path.
- Does it need reserves? The qualifier path sets none at or below 75% loan-to-value.
- Is your loan size inside its range?
The lenders that write this product, and the terms they offer, change with their own guidelines. That is why a broker who sees several programs is more useful than a single list.
Where the Rules Break
Privately held company stock. If you founded a company or hold shares in a private firm, those shares are not an eligible asset on either path. The route is documented liquid assets. Seasoned proceeds from a sale or conversion count as cash. Public securities and retirement accounts count at their percentages.
Cash-out proceeds. Proceeds never count toward your qualifying assets on the depletion path. Build the file from assets you already hold.
First-time investors. On the depletion path, an investor with no prior investment-property experience needs a 700 score.
A free-and-clear home. Some lenders classify a refinance of an unencumbered home as cash-out. Others treat it differently. The lender’s definition decides, so ask before you apply.
Business-purpose loans. Investment-property loans on the depletion path are business-purpose loans, so they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The FDIC’s compliance manual warns that a checked business-purpose box with no record of how the proceeds will be used may be insufficient evidence. Under the CFPB’s Regulation Z commentary, the creditor decides in each case whether a transaction is primarily for business purposes. The borrower’s statement of purpose is one factor in that decision. If you plan to use proceeds on a rental, keep records of where the money goes.
Loose asset math. Asset-based loans still need documented, verifiable inputs.
Loan size. The qualifier path stops at $4,000,000. The depletion path tops out at $3,500,000. Never assume a larger amount is available.
How Does It Compare With the Alternatives?
Asset-based financing is one option among several, and each program qualifies you differently. Descriptions below belong to those programs, not to the asset-based program.
| Program | Reviewed around | Fits When |
|---|---|---|
| Asset qualifier | Assets that cover the loan | Balances are large; no income is documented |
| Asset depletion | Assets turned into income | Assets are large but cover less than the loan |
| DSCR | The rental’s income vs. its payment | The property is a business-purpose rental |
| Bank statement | Income shown through deposits | You earn income but cannot document it with returns |
| Full-doc jumbo or conventional | W-2s and tax returns | Your documented income is strong |
A DSCR loan is business-purpose rental financing. If you own a rental that earns enough to cover its payment, DSCR can work without using your assets as income. Bank statement loans are for borrowers who document income with deposits, so they do not fit someone living on a portfolio.
What Does the Decision Look Like?
Start with your balances. Add up what counts at each share. If the total reaches the whole loan, the qualifier path may fit. If it does not, the depletion path turns assets into income, and you test that income against your debts.
Then match the property. A principal residence or second home gives you the widest leverage. An investment property is available only on the depletion path, at 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out.
The upsides are plain. You keep your assets invested, and you skip traditional personal-income documentation, pay stubs and employment verification. The downsides are just as plain. Leverage on cash-out is modest, some assets are excluded, and you must keep balances documented and seasoned. Common mistakes include counting private stock, counting proceeds and moving funds right before applying, which resets seasoning.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: The route where eligible assets, after credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount.
Asset depletion path: The route where usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income.
Cash-out refinance: A new, larger loan that pays off your current one and gives you the difference in cash.
Debt-to-income ratio: Your monthly debts divided by your monthly income, used to test whether you can carry the payment.
Haircut: The part of an asset balance that does not count toward qualifying.
Seasoning: How long funds have sat in your account, or how long you have held a property.
Loan-to-value (LTV): The loan amount as a percentage of the home’s appraised value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a cash-out refinance with no income other than my assets?
Yes, through select programs on the asset depletion path, subject to underwriting. Cash-out is capped at 60% loan-to-value on a principal residence, second home or investment property. Your usable assets must meet the minimums, and they become income through the 60-month divisor. Whether the qualifier path allows cash-out is set by the lender and is not published.
Does privately held company stock count as an asset?
A founder’s or shareholder’s route is documented liquid assets: seasoned proceeds from a sale or conversion, cash, public securities and retirement accounts at their percentages.
Do my cash-out proceeds count toward qualifying?
No. On the depletion path, cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets. Qualification rests on assets you already hold and have documented.
Is this a no-doc loan?
No. Every file is fully underwritten, and your assets are documented with statements. What you skip is tax returns, pay stubs and employment verification.
Which path fits if my assets roughly equal the loan?
The qualifier path is built for that case. Eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan. You document no employment or income, and credit starts at 600 on select programs. Cash-out terms on that path are lender-set, so confirm them before you plan around proceeds.
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. Consumer mortgage lending for this program is licensed in 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. This is not a commitment to lend, and programs and guidelines change. Reach Lendmire at 828-256-2183.
Investors weighing their equity options can start with Lendmire’s guide to cash-out refinance on an investment property.
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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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. FDIC Consumer Compliance Examination Manual, Truth in Lending Act
2. CFPB, Regulation Z Section 1026.3 Interpretation
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Can You Get Approved for an Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance With No Income Verification? · Best Asset-Based Cash-Out Refinance Program When Monthly Income Is Limited
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.