Traditional loan
- What the lender counts
- Dividends and interest on the tax return
- Investment income
- $90,000 a year
- The rest of the portfolio
- Not counted as income
$7,500/mo
Qualifying monthly income
For buyers with wealth but no paycheck
Asset Qualifier Loans for Buyers Without a Paycheck
Sold your business, retired early or came into money? Qualify on what you own instead of what you earn.
- Up to $4M
- Loan amount
- 680–700+
- Credit score
- From 20%
- Down payment
- None
- Paycheck needed
Why this loan exists
No paycheck doesn’t mean no money
Most mortgages are built around a paycheck. The lender wants two years of steady income, then checks that your new payment fits inside it. That works for most people. It falls apart for someone who just sold a company or retired early. On paper they have no income at all, even with millions in the bank.
An asset qualifier loan flips the question. Instead of asking what you earn, the lender looks at what you own: cash, investments and retirement accounts. It either turns those balances into a monthly income figure or checks that they cover the loan outright. You don’t need a job, a pension or tax returns that show income.
This is a non-QM (non-traditional) loan. That label means it doesn’t follow the federal “qualified mortgage” checklist, which is what lets the lender use your assets in place of income. You still have to show you can carry the payment, and rates typically run 1% to 2% higher than on a traditional loan.
I still check the cheaper option first. Freddie Mac has its own version, updated in August 2026, that can count savings, investments, retirement money and the proceeds from selling a business. It stops at the conforming loan limit, the largest loan Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy ($832,750 in most areas for 2026). It also usually wants your money in your accounts for a full year, or 90 days for money from selling a business. If your loan fits those rules, a traditional loan costs less. When it doesn’t, this is the loan built for you.
Side by side
Same couple, two very different answers
Once a loan is above the conforming limit, a traditional lender can only count the dividends and interest your investments pay, as they show on your tax return. An asset loan counts the investments themselves. Take a couple in their early 50s who live off a $4 million portfolio and want a $2 million home with 25% down.
Asset loan
- Portfolio
- $4,000,000
- Minus down payment and closing costs
- $540,000
- Spread over 120 months
- $3,460,000 ÷ 120
$28,833/mo
Qualifying monthly income
Same couple and same money, with $21,333 more a month a lender can count.
Two ways to use your assets
Asset depletion or asset qualifier?
Lenders use your assets in one of two ways. The names get used loosely, and some lenders call both an asset qualifier loan, so here is what actually changes.
Asset depletion
- How it works
- Your assets are spread over a set number of months to create an income
- Debt-to-income check
- Yes, like a regular loan (your monthly debts divided by your monthly income)
- Assets needed
- Enough to create the income for your payment and debts
- Best fit
- Strong savings, with some debts or a smaller balance
Choose this if your assets create plenty of income, even if they don’t cover the whole loan.
Asset qualifier
- How it works
- Your assets must cover the loan, the closing costs and some reserves (money left over after closing)
- Debt-to-income check
- None on many programs
- Assets needed
- More than the loan amount, often with $500,000 left after closing
- Best fit
- Very wealthy buyers who want the simplest file
Choose this if your assets are larger than the loan and you want the fewest questions.
Bottom line
I run your numbers both ways and pick the program that fits. If you still own and run a business, a bank statement loan or a P&L only loan may cost less, and my self-employed options page lays out every path.
Real math
Three buyers the system says have no income
Here are three buyers with millions to their name and no paycheck: a lottery winner, an early retiree and an investor who sold his rentals. Each example spreads the money left after the down payment and closing costs over 120 months. Some programs use a shorter or longer period.
Scenario 1 · A windfall with no paycheck
Lottery winner buying a $1.8M home
She took the lump sum after a big win and left her job. Her loan is too big for Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s versions, and Fannie Mae doesn’t count lottery winnings anyway, so an asset loan is the path.
Income inputs
- Lump sum after taxes
- $4,200,000
- Minus down payment and closing costs
- $500,000
- Assets counted
- $3,700,000
Qualifying result
$30,833/mo
Qualifying monthly income
Her winnings, spread over 120 months, create far more income than most lenders look for. With assets this large, she may also fit a program that skips the income math entirely.
Watch for: The lender will want the paper trail: the claim paperwork and the deposit into her account. I ask for both on day one.
Scenario 2 · Retired before the pension starts
Early retiree buying a $1.2M home
He retired at 57 from a long engineering career. His pension and Social Security are years away, so he lives off his savings, and his tax returns show almost no income.
Income inputs
- Brokerage account
- $1,800,000
- IRA of $1,000,000, counted at 60% before age 59½
- $600,000
- Minus down payment and closing costs
- $330,000
- Assets counted
- $2,070,000
Qualifying result
$17,250/mo
Qualifying monthly income
His savings create a monthly income the lender can use, even though no check arrives in the mail. Once he turns 59½, his IRA counts for more.
Watch for: Freddie Mac’s version can count his savings, but his $900,000 loan is above the standard conforming limit, so he lands here.
Scenario 3 · Cashed out of real estate
Investor buying a $1.5M home in Austin
He sold 14 rental homes this year to simplify his life. The sale ended the rental income his tax returns used to show, and the cash now sits in his accounts.
Income inputs
- Cash from selling the rentals
- $3,000,000
- Minus down payment and closing costs
- $400,000
- Assets counted
- $2,600,000
Qualifying result
$21,667/mo
Qualifying monthly income
A traditional lender sees a man whose income just disappeared. An asset loan sees $3 million in the bank.
Watch for: Large deposits need a source. The closing statements from his sales show exactly where the money came from, and many programs then count it right away.
Get my options
Plenty of assets but no paycheck? Tell me your situation.
Three quick taps and an optional note. I read every one myself and tell you which path fits, usually the same day.
What are you looking to do?
How do you earn most of your income?
When would you like to buy or close?
Optional. A sentence or two about your situation helps me come to our call prepared.
Where should I reach you?
Your answers are already filled in below, so I’ll know your situation before we talk.
Rather just talk?
Run your numbers
Estimate the income your assets create
Enter your cash, investments and retirement accounts. The calculator takes out your down payment and closing costs, spreads the rest over the period you choose, and shows the home price that income could support.
Income your assets would likely create
$0
$0 a year ·
- Assets counted after down payment and costs
- $0
- Max housing payment (45% of income, minus debts)
- $0
- Estimated loan amount
- $0
- Estimated price range
- $0
The rate is an example. Assumes a 30-year fixed loan, a 45% debt-to-income limit, and property taxes plus insurance at 1.2% of the price per year. Asset loans on the programs I access go up to $4M. Some programs skip the income math and only check that your assets cover the loan.
Who this is for
The buyers an asset loan fits best
Asset borrowers have one thing in common: real wealth that a paycheck-based loan can’t see.
Owners who just sold a business
Your company sold, the salary stopped, and for the first time in years your tax return can’t tell your story. The sale proceeds can.
Early retirees
You stopped working before your pension or Social Security begins. Your savings carry you now, and an asset loan can count them.
Retirees who want more house
Your pension and Social Security are real income, but not enough for the home you want. Your investments can add the income you need.
Windfalls
A lottery win, an inheritance or a legal settlement can leave you wealthy without a paycheck. If the paper trail is clean, the money can qualify you.
Investors who cashed out
You sold your rentals or a big stock position. The income that used to show on your tax return is gone, but the money is in the bank.
Tech professionals between roles
You left a company with vested stock and cash and you’re taking time off before your next move. Vested shares, meaning stock that is fully yours, can count once they sit in a brokerage account.
How your assets are counted
From account balance to qualifying income
The lender starts with your account balances, takes out what you’ll spend to close, and counts the rest. On an asset depletion program, that remaining balance is spread over a set number of months. The shorter the period, the more income it creates, which is why I compare programs before we apply.
One tip: the period a program uses matters more than most buyers think. Moving from 240 months to 120 doubles the income the lender counts.
How a lender turns your assets into income
- Cash and investments $2,500,000 Statements for every account you use
- Minus money to close − $400,000 Down payment and closing costs
- Spread over 120 months ÷ 120 Programs range from 60 to 360 months
- Qualifying income $17,500/mo The number the lender uses to size your loan
How long the money has to sit
Most programs want your money in the account for two to six months before you apply. Plan any big moves between accounts with me first.
Retirement accounts under 59½
Bring your plan’s withdrawal rules along with your statements. Some lenders won’t count money you can’t reach yet.
Requirements
Asset qualifier loan requirements
These are the typical terms across the asset programs I can access.
- Credit score
- 680–700+
- Most programs want 700; a few start at 680
- Down payment
- 20% to 25%
- Larger loans usually need 25%
- Loan size
- Up to $4M
- Through the programs I can access
- Paycheck
- Not needed
- No job, pension or tax return income required
- Money left after closing
- Often $500K+
- On programs that skip the income math
- Seasoning
- 2 to 6 months
- How long the money sits in your accounts first
How much of each account usually counts
- 100% Cash and savings
- Up to 100% Stocks, bonds and funds
- 70% Retirement, 59½ or older
- 60% Retirement, under 59½
- 0% Home or business equity
Use an asset loan to buy or refinance a primary home or second home; a few programs also allow rentals. There is no monthly mortgage insurance. The money you use to qualify can usually double as your reserves, which is the cushion a lender wants to see left over after closing.
Checklist
Your asset loan checklist
You’ll need
- Recent statements, every page, for each account you want counted; many programs want two to six months
- Proof of where any large deposit came from, like the closing statement from a business or home sale or your lottery claim papers
- Retirement account statements, plus the plan’s withdrawal terms if you’re under 59½
- Photo ID and a list of any properties you own
- The signed purchase contract once you’re under contract
Nice to have
- Your last two tax returns, so I can check whether a cheaper loan works first
- Pension or Social Security letters, if your payments start soon
- A short note on any big recent move between accounts, so the underwriter (the person at the lender who reviews your file) doesn’t have to ask
Who this loan fits
A fintech founder who sold her company and can’t show a paycheck
- Palo Alto, CA
- Location
- About $5 million
- Home price
- Asset qualifier loan
- Best fit
- $3.75 million
- Loan amount
Here’s the kind of buyer this loan was made for. She spent eleven years building a fintech company in Silicon Valley and sold it this spring. After taxes, she netted about $12 million, and she is taking a year off before she decides what to build next.
She found a home in Palo Alto for about $5 million and went to the private bank that holds her money. The bank turned her down. Its rules want two years of steady income, and she has none: no salary, no pension, and no retirement account paying her anything for years. On paper, one of the wealthiest buyers in town looks unemployed.
An asset qualifier loan looks at what she owns instead. With 25% down, her loan would be $3.75 million, and even after her down payment, what’s left covers that loan nearly three times over, with plenty to spare for closing costs and reserves. Because the money came from selling her company, it can often count right away, as long as she has the closing papers from the sale.
She could pay cash, but that would tie up more than 40% of her money in one house. It would also mean selling investments and paying tax on the gains, right when she wants that money free for her next company.
Watch-outs
Where asset loans go sideways
Asset loans are simple when the paper trail is clean. These are the problems I see most, and each one is easy to avoid if we talk before you move any money.
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Moving money right before you apply
Big transfers between accounts in the weeks before you apply raise questions and can restart the clock on how long the money has sat. Call me before you consolidate anything.
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Counting the down payment twice
The money you use for your down payment and closing costs comes off the top. Plan on what is left, not on your full balance.
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Wealth that needs time to count
If most of your wealth is in private company shares or crypto, we may need to sell or move some of it into a brokerage account early, so it has time to season before you apply.
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A windfall without a paper trail
An inheritance, settlement or sale needs documents that show where the money came from. Gather them before you apply so the underwriter doesn’t stall the file.
-
Retirement money still at your old job
Some 401(k) plans won’t release money until you formally leave or roll it over. If yours is stuck, start the rollover early so the statements are ready.
FAQ
Asset loan questions I hear most
It is a mortgage that qualifies you on what you own (cash, investments and retirement accounts) instead of what you earn. It is a non-QM (non-traditional) loan, which means it sits outside the federal qualified mortgage rules, and rates typically run 1% to 2% higher than a traditional loan.
No. The math is a test the lender uses to measure your ability to pay. It isn’t a withdrawal plan. Your money stays in your accounts and keeps working for you, and you pay the mortgage however you like.
Checking, savings, money market and brokerage accounts usually count in full, though some programs count stocks and bonds at 70% to 80%. Retirement accounts usually count at 60% before age 59½ and 70% after. Home equity, a business you still own and private company shares don’t count, and most programs don’t count cryptocurrency.
Usually, yes. Most programs want money to sit in your accounts for two to six months. Proceeds from selling a business are often exempt, as long as you have the closing papers that show the sale. That makes this loan a strong fit for owners who just exited.
Many of my asset borrowers could pay cash and choose not to. A mortgage keeps your money invested and easy to reach, so one large purchase doesn’t tie up most of your wealth.
Yes. Asset loans work for primary homes and second homes, for purchases and refinances, and a few programs also allow rentals. If you’re buying a rental, I also compare a DSCR loan, which qualifies on the rent instead.
Yes. If you start a new job or your pension begins, a traditional loan may become an option at a lower rate. Most of my asset borrowers plan for that from the start, and I watch for the right moment with them.
Google reviews
In their words
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Keep reading
Related articles and programs
Sources
- CFPB, What is a qualified mortgage?
- Freddie Mac Guide, Section 5307.1: Assets as a basis for repayment
- FHFA, 2026 conforming loan limits
Program terms are typical ranges across the programs I can access and can change. Not a commitment to lend. Dale Corley, mortgage broker, NMLS #1547543.
Let your assets make the case
Start an application and send your most recent account statements. I check first whether a traditional loan works, because it costs less. If it doesn’t, your assets become the case for the home you want.
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