The Quick Read: Usually, yes, when both of you sign the loan, the assets that carry it are documented, and the loan type fits how you will use the home. Two retirees can pool eligible accounts on one application, and neither needs a paycheck. The real work is deciding how to hold title and putting your agreement in writing first.
- On the asset qualifier path, eligible assets must cover the entire loan, and no employment or income is documented.
- On the asset depletion path, usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
- Both signers are fully liable for the whole loan, whatever each of you contributed.
- Virginia treats a deed to two unmarried owners differently than many people expect, so survivorship needs explicit language.
- All figures here are typical ranges through select programs, subject to underwriting. Lendmire is a broker, not a lender.
Which Asset Path Fits Two Retirees?
Retirees whose balances are large and whose documented income is small usually choose between two paths. A borrower is qualified on one path at a time, so never blend their tables.
The asset qualifier path is the simpler of the two. Your eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. Nobody documents employment or income. The reviewing lender still judges whether you can repay, and it bases that judgment on the assets. Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, this path typically allows up to 80% loan-to-value on a purchase and 75% on a refinance, for a principal residence or second home. Loans run up to $4,000,000. The minimum credit score is 600, and housing history is expected to be clean, with one recent 30-day late considered case by case.
The asset depletion path turns assets into income. Usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income. That income must carry the housing payment and your other debts. Leverage is typically up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance for a principal residence or second home. For an investment property it is 65% and 60%. Loan amounts run from $125,000 to $3,500,000. On this path the lender’s score-and-loan-amount matrix sets the credit requirement.
Which is better for you? If your assets cover the whole loan, the qualifier path asks the least of you. If your assets are big but not loan-sized, depletion lets them work as income, at the cost of a debt-to-income test and a more cautious leverage ceiling on investment property.
How Do Two Borrowers Combine Their Assets?
Co-borrowers’ eligible accounts combine on one file. If you apply together and the file relies on both people’s accounts, the lender documents both people’s accounts. If the file only needs one person’s accounts, only those are verified, and the other person can still sign as a co-borrower.
What counts depends on the path. Here is how the credit percentages compare for the common account types.
| Asset | Qualifier path | Depletion path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage / securities | 100% | 80% |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | 100% (cash accounts) |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Retirement accounts | 90% under 59½, 100% after | 70% at any age |
| Real-estate equity | Not listed | 60% |
Three common pairings show how this plays out:
| Pairing | What the lender reviews | Likely path |
|---|---|---|
| One asset-heavy, one light | Heavy partner’s accounts, both sign | Qualifier or depletion |
| Two roughly equal | Both sets of statements | Qualifier |
| Mostly retirement balances | Age and the percentages above | Depends on the 59½ line |
Some assets are not published as eligible on either path. These include cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles, and pledged or borrowed funds. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source. Custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, and stock options are also excluded on the depletion path.
Seasoning is the waiting period assets must sit in an account before they count. 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 latest statement within 45 days. Inheritance, legal settlement, and sale-of-business funds are excused from that rule on the depletion path.
One myth is worth killing: asset-based does not mean no documentation. You skip income paperwork. You do not skip asset paperwork.
What Does the Math Look Like for Two People?
Run the numbers on two friends, Ruth and Walt. They want an $800,000 loan on a home they will both live in. This is illustrative, and the lender’s own calculation governs.
Ruth’s accounts and Walt’s retirement account are valued separately. Walt is 57 and holds $300,000 in a 401(k), which counts at 90% under age 59½, so $270,000. Together with the $530,000 counted from Ruth’s accounts, that is $800,000 of usable assets against an $800,000 loan. They qualify on assets alone, subject to underwriting. If Walt were 59½ or older, his account would count at 100% and they would have cushion.
On the depletion path, picture a different pair with $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. Securities count at 80%, which is $1,200,000. Cash counts at 100%, which is $300,000. Usable assets are $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then has to carry the housing payment and every other monthly debt through the debt-to-income test.
The depletion path also has a floor. Qualified assets must be at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. They should never fall below $250,000 liquid when depletion is the only income source. Your assets are not sold in either example. The calculation is a qualifying convention.
What Does Each Signer Owe?
Both of you, in full. A co-borrower is someone who applies jointly and signs the note, and the lender can look to either signer for the whole balance. It does not matter whose accounts did most of the qualifying.
That matters when your balance sheets are lopsided. If Ruth’s accounts carry most of the file but Walt signs too, Walt is on the hook for every dollar. Think hard about that before you agree to anything.
Non-owner co-signers are a separate matter. Many lenders decline a signer who is not on title. If you want a helper who will not live in the home, ask the lender up front instead of assuming.
Here is the regulatory frame, briefly. Federal rules require the lender to make a good-faith finding that you can repay, and they allow that finding to rest on income or on assets. The CFPB’s small-entity compliance guide says income does not have to come from full-time employment. Retirement benefits, dividends, and interest can all count. So can assets. An asset-based mortgage on a home you will live in is a consumer loan, and consumer disclosure rules apply to it.
How Should You Title the Home in Virginia?
Do not rely on the lender to decide this. Title is a property-law choice, and in Virginia the default surprises people.
Virginia abolished automatic survivorship between joint tenants, with an exception where the deed shows manifest intent, under Title 55.1 of the Code of Virginia. A deed that just says joint tenants gives you joint tenancy without survivorship. Section 55.1-135 as reproduced by FindLaw shows that adding with survivorship language changes the result. Tenants in common is the default if no tenancy is specified, and tenancy by the entirety requires marriage, according to the Virginia Land Title Association Examiner.
| Title form | At one owner’s death | Fits best |
|---|---|---|
| Joint tenants, no survivorship | Share passes by will or heirs | Rarely intended |
| Joint tenants with survivorship | Survivor takes the whole | Partners who want that |
| Tenants in common | Share passes by will or heirs | Unequal contributions |
| Entirety | Survivor takes the whole | Married couples only |
The honest read is that tenants in common suits most unmarried retirees who put in unequal money. You can state percentages, and each person’s estate plan controls their share. Survivorship suits two people who truly want the survivor to keep the house, but it needs deed language that says so. Either way, a Virginia real estate attorney should draft the deed.
What Belongs in a Co-Ownership Agreement?
Put it in writing before any appraisal, and before the application if you can. Lendmire’s experience across co-owner files is that disputes rarely begin with the loan. They begin with an unwritten assumption.
Cover these points:
- Each person’s contribution and ownership percentage, including unequal down payments.
- Who lives in the home, and whether anyone may rent a room.
- Who pays taxes, insurance, repairs, and utilities, and what happens when one person cannot.
- A buyout formula and a trigger list: sale, death, incapacity, move to care, or a falling-out.
- Whether either of you may sell or borrow against your share alone.
On cost-sharing, tax treatment varies, so speak with a qualified tax professional. Forum participants on BiggerPockets also suggest a written partnership agreement and tenants-in-common title with stated percentages. Treat that as anecdotal, but it matches the pattern above.
What If One Co-Owner Dies or Needs Care?
This is the section most co-buying advice skips, and retirees should not.
Say one of you dies. Under tenants in common, that share goes to the heirs named in the will, who may be adult children. Under survivorship language, the survivor owns the whole house, and the heirs get nothing from it. Neither is wrong. The problem is finding out which one you have after the fact.
The loan does not vanish. The surviving signer is still liable for the note. If the survivor cannot carry it alone, the agreement should say whether the estate buys the survivor out, the survivor buys the estate out, or the home is sold. If one of you moves to long-term care, the same triggers apply. Also, remember that a Virginia joint-tenancy-with-survivorship does not shield the home from one owner’s creditors. The Jones v. Phillips opinion discusses this, so ask your attorney how a lawsuit against one of you would reach the property.
What If You Plan to Rent the Home Out?
Then you are shopping for a different loan. A DSCR loan is designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because it is a business-purpose investor loan, it is reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. It qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines.
The asset-based loans above are consumer loans for homes you will live in, plus investment property only on the depletion path (65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance, 60% on a cash-out). Retirees who own rentals but show little taxable income often use asset qualification for the home they live in and DSCR for the rentals. Lendmire’s piece on what a DSCR loan is and how it qualifies explains how that second piece works.
When Is This a Bad Idea?
Sometimes the answer is no. This one is a toss-up for many pairs, and the numbers can look fine while the arrangement is shaky.
- Your assets are very uneven. One person carries the risk and the other carries the upside. Fix that in the agreement, not in hope.
- Your risk tolerance differs. If one of you wants to sell in three years and the other wants to stay for life, settle it before you sign.
- One person’s accounts will be drawn down. If drawing down those accounts to cover the home’s costs hurts the other person, say so now.
- No exit plan. A written buyout path is cheaper than a court.
Qualification is never a promise. Every file is underwritten individually, and lenders weigh credit, property, seasoning, and documentation together.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier: A path where eligible assets, after credit percentages, cover the entire loan and no income is documented.
Asset depletion: A path where usable assets divided by 60 months become qualifying income.
Seasoning: The time assets must sit in an account before they count.
Co-borrower: A person who applies jointly and signs the note, and is fully liable for the loan.
Tenants in common: Co-ownership where each person owns a stated share that passes by their own will.
What Is the Order of Steps?
1. Decide how you will use the home: live-in, second home, or rental.
2. Talk to a Virginia real estate attorney about title and the co-ownership agreement.
3. Gather statements for every account you want counted, and check the seasoning rules.
4. Choose the path: assets cover the loan, or assets become income.
5. Compare options through a broker who sees several lenders, and have each option underwritten.
6. Sign the agreement, then close the loan with the deed language your attorney approved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do both of us have to put our accounts into the application?
No. The lender verifies only the assets it relies on, so if one person’s accounts clear the bar, only those are documented. Both of you still sign if both are borrowers. A lender may also want both of you on title, so ask early. The CFPB guide linked above is the rule behind this logic.
Can a lender turn us down because of our age?
Age alone is not a lending criterion. What a lender reviews is your credit, your assets, their seasoning, and the property. At 59½ your retirement accounts count at a higher share on the qualifier path, so age can help.
Do retirement accounts count, and do I have to sell anything?
Yes, they count, at the percentages above, and nothing is sold. On the qualifier path a 401(k) or IRA counts at 90% under 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. On the depletion path, retirement accounts count at 70% at any age.
Does it matter if we are friends, siblings, or partners?
For the loan, no. Each co-borrower signs and is fully liable. For title, it does. Only married couples can use tenancy by the entirety in Virginia, so unmarried owners need clear deed language and a written agreement.
Is an asset qualifier loan the same as a DSCR loan?
No. An asset qualifier mortgage is a consumer loan on a home you will live in, qualified on your assets. A DSCR loan is a business-purpose investor loan qualified on the property’s rent. Each carries its own limits and program rules.
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. Lendmire is a broker, and Virginia is one of the 16 states where it is licensed for consumer mortgage lending.
Two people, two balance sheets, one deed: in Virginia the paperwork you sign before the loan matters as much as the loan itself.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Virginia page presents the program for Virginia borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
2. Code of Virginia, Title 55.1
4. Virginia Land Title Association Examiner
5. BiggerPockets: buying properties with a friend
6. Jones v. Phillips (Va. Supreme Court, FindLaw)
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 Buy Before You Sell in Washington Using an Asset Qualifier Mortgage · Can Two Montana Retirees Buy a Home Together on an Asset Qualifier Mortgage? · How to Buy Before You Sell in Virginia Using an Asset Qualifier Mortgage
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Virginia
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.