Asset qualifier loans: the portfolio is the file.
Qualification runs on seasoned, liquid assets. Employment and income documents stay out of the file entirely.
Bank, brokerage, and retirement statements set the base.
The desk confirms the money is yours and settled.
We match the portfolio to the desk that counts most of it.
In short
Key takeaways
- One test decides the file: what remains after closing, counted at each haircut, must carry the new loan plus roughly five years of full payments at most desks as of mid-2026.
- Haircuts set the real number. Cash counts near 100% while retirement funds count at 70 to 80% with age conditions, so $1,400,000 on the statements is not $1,400,000 to the desk.
- Assets are documented, never pledged or moved, and the accounts stay yours to trade after closing. Expect 20 to 25% down and 3 to 6 months of seasoning.
- This is the no-income-math half of a pair. If the portfolio should convert into monthly income that adds to a pension or a Social Security deposit, that is asset depletion, the sibling program.
Written and reviewed by the Intel Loans, Inc. lending team · NMLS #2858705Updated July 2026
What this desk looks at
Retired early, between ventures, or paid in ways no W-2 captures. If the balance sheet is the story, this is its desk.
Cash counts fully. Securities and retirement take haircuts.
Sixty to ninety days seasoned, with large deposits explained.
Assets left after closing are part of the math.
Score still sets the tier. Assets do not buy back a thin file.
The math
The coverage formula, to the dollar
The classic formula is one sentence long. After the down payment and closing costs leave your accounts, what remains, counted at each asset class’s haircut, must cover the new loan balance plus a fixed period of full monthly payments, known as PITIA. Around 60 months is the common ask as of mid-2026; some desks run 36, and a few want coverage for the entire loan term.
The haircut is where portfolios shrink. A dollar in checking counts as a dollar; a dollar of stock counts as 80 or 90 cents because markets move. Retirement money counts for less still, with age conditions attached, and the table below shows the typical mid-2026 matrix.
In high-premium markets the input that moves the test most is insurance, because PITIA carries it. Get the coverage quote before you run the math, not after; if you are buying in Florida, our Florida insurance guide shows what lenders require in a hard wind market and what it does to a monthly payment.
And the money never moves. Documented means the underwriter reads statements. Nothing is pledged beyond the house itself, and your brokerage account is still yours to trade the day after closing.
| Asset class | Typical percentage counted | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Checking and savings | Near 100% | Two months of statements; any standout deposit gets sourced |
| Money market funds and CDs | Near 100% | Counted like cash at most desks; confirm early-withdrawal terms per program |
| Marketable securities in a brokerage account | 80% to 90% | Valued off the latest statement; margin balances come off the top |
| Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s | 70% to 80% | Age conditions apply; many desks want you at 59½ or otherwise penalty-free to count the full percentage |
| Business accounts | Case by case | Your ownership stake matters, and desks often ask for a CPA letter saying the withdrawal will not impair the company |
| Crypto and private company stock | Usually 0% | Hard-to-price assets rarely count as of mid-2026; sell early and let the cash season instead |
Every $100 of premium is $6,000 of assets
A 60-month desk multiplies the monthly payment by 60. So a $100 monthly bump in the insurance quote raises the coverage requirement by $6,000, and a $500 bump raises it by $30,000. On thin files the insurance quote decides the approval before the underwriter does.
The requirements
Asset qualifier loan requirements as of mid-2026
No agency writes this rulebook. Every desk drafts its own matrix, and the coverage period is where they split hardest: a portfolio that clears a 36-month desk can miss a 60-month desk on the identical house. These are typical ranges across the desks we broker to as of mid-2026.
The document ask is two months of statements per account, every page, plus sourcing for any deposit that stands out. Transfers between your own accounts are fine. A $200,000 arrival with no paper trail is not, and it stalls the file until the closing statement or estate letter that explains it shows up.
| Criterion | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying formula | Post-closing assets cover the loan balance plus about 60 months of PITIA | Coverage periods run from 36 months to the full loan term, desk by desk |
| Asset seasoning | 3 to 6 months in accounts titled to you | A fully documented business sale or estate distribution shortens the wait at some desks |
| Down payment | 20% to 25% | Condos and second homes push toward the higher end |
| Credit score | Floors around 680; 700+ widens the grid | Score and LTV move together on every matrix |
| Occupancy | Primary and second homes; some desks add investment | Occupancy shifts the LTV ceiling and the pricing tier |
| Employment and income | Not part of the file; employment reads retired or none | By design; no letter of explanation is requested |
| Reserves | Built into the formula | The months-of-payments cushion is the reserve requirement; few desks stack more on top |
| Loan size | Commonly reaches $3,000,000 and beyond | Large balances overlap with jumbo desks and their two-appraisal rules |
| Asset handling | Documented only; never pledged or escrowed | The accounts stay in your name at your custodian, before and after closing |
Inside the file
What the underwriter actually reads
The stack is short: two months of statements for each account you want counted, plus the latest quarterly statement for retirement funds. Some desks also want the custodian’s withdrawal terms, which trips up old employer plans more than people expect.
What is missing is the point. No tax returns, and on the classic version of the program no 4506-C transcript pull either. The employment verification call never happens because the application names no employer, and there is no DTI worksheet since there is no income to divide.
Titling matters more here than on income files. Joint accounts count in full when both owners are on the loan, and revocable trust accounts generally count when the borrower is the trustee with the trust agreement in the file. A non-borrowing spouse’s separate account usually stays out of the math, and re-papering an account mid-process can restart its seasoning clock at some desks, so sort the titles before the statements go in.
Worked example
A Sarasota couple’s coverage test
Hypothetical example for illustration only, not a quote or an offer. A retired Sarasota couple, both 62, sold their staffing agency last year. They hold $1,400,000 across a joint brokerage account and an IRA and want a $650,000 house with 25% down. Here is the test a 60-month desk runs.
The file clears by $264,500 with no income figure anywhere in it. Watch what the formula punishes: a $500 monthly rise in the insurance quote adds $30,000 to the requirement, and a desk that wants full-term coverage instead of 60 months would ask for hundreds of thousands more. Same couple, same house, and the choice of desk decides the answer, which is why this file gets shopped instead of submitted to whoever is nearest.
The honest part
What an asset qualifier loan costs you
You pay a pricing premium over documented income. These files price above agency loans and usually above other non-QM structures too, because the lender is underwriting a balance sheet with no cash flow behind it. If a pension can carry an asset depletion file, or two years of tax returns can carry a conventional one, either path usually beats this program on price. We run the alternatives first and tell you which one won.
The formula is hungrier than it looks. A $650,000 purchase at 25% down needs $745,500 of counted coverage at a 60-month desk, and after haircuts that can mean $900,000 or more of actual portfolio. Buyers hear qualify on assets and assume the down payment is the hard part. Usually it is the coverage test.
The entry price is real. Conventional primary purchases start at 3 to 5% down; this program realistically starts at 20% as of mid-2026, with the stronger terms at 25%. On the Sarasota example that is $130,000 to $162,500 at the table, before Florida doc stamps and title charges. Credit floors around 680 close the door on some files a conventional desk would take.
How asset qualifier compares
No income reconstruction, no employment narrative.
Statements you already receive, assembled once.
No divisor math here. The pile itself qualifies.
From statements to closing
Run the coverage test before you shop the house.
Send the balances by account type and the price range you have in mind. We apply each desk’s haircuts and coverage period and send back what the portfolio carries, in writing.
Tally the accounts
List each account and a round balance: checking, brokerage, IRA, business. Statement-perfect numbers can wait, and nobody pulls credit at this stage.
We run the haircut math
Every desk counts asset classes differently, and retirement money is where they differ most. We put your mix through the matrices and return the eligible-asset figure each one produces.
We shop the coverage period
A 36-month desk approves portfolios that a 60-month desk declines. Matching the file to the formula is the whole job, and it is why identical accounts get different answers at different lenders.
Statements, then clear to close
Two months of statements per account and sourcing on any standout deposit, then a standard appraisal. The appraisal is the only third-party wait; asset files skip income re-verification, so clear-to-close usually turns on the statements.
Adjacent moves
If this isn’t quite your file
Questions we actually get
Do I have to move the money or lock it up?
No. The assets are documented, not pledged: the accounts stay at your custodian, in your name, and the underwriter only reads statements. You can keep trading through the process, though a large withdrawal before closing can force the desk to re-run the coverage test on the new balance. Nothing goes into escrow and nothing gets frozen. Make the big withdrawal after closing, not the week before.
Can retirement accounts count before 59½?
Often, at a reduced number. The 70 to 80% haircut generally assumes penalty-free access, so desks attach age conditions: at 59½ most count the full percentage, while younger owners see a deeper haircut or an exclusion depending on the program. A few desks accept documented exceptions, such as a rule-of-55 separation from a 401(k). Tell us your age up front and we shop the desks whose conditions you already meet.
Whose accounts count toward the formula?
Joint accounts count in full when both owners are on the loan. Revocable trust accounts generally count when the borrower is the trustee and can reach the funds, with the trust agreement in the file. A non-borrowing spouse’s separate account usually stays out of the math unless the spouse joins the loan. Business accounts are case by case: your ownership stake matters, and most desks want a CPA letter confirming the withdrawal will not impair the company.
I just sold my business. How does the money season?
Typical seasoning is 3 to 6 months in accounts titled to you as of mid-2026, and paper shortens the clock. A signed purchase agreement plus the closing settlement statement traces the wire to its source, and several desks count fully documented sale proceeds with little or no seasoning. Inheritances work the same way with estate paperwork. What stalls files is a large deposit with no story, so bring the story.
What does the application show for income?
The employment section lists retired, or nothing at all, and the income fields stay empty. That is the program design, not a gap you have to explain. Ability-to-repay on this program is analyzed through the assets themselves, which is exactly what the coverage formula exists to do. Nobody calls an employer, because the file names none.
I get Social Security. Does that disqualify me?
No. In a pure asset qualifier file there is no income line to put it on, so the check neither helps nor hurts. But if your Social Security or pension is meaningful, price the asset depletion version first: it converts the portfolio into monthly qualifying income that stacks on top of those deposits, and the combined figure sometimes carries a larger loan. We run both versions of the file and show you the difference in writing.
Find out what the portfolio carries.
Send the balances by account type and the price range you are shopping. We come back with each desk's haircut math and the coverage number in writing.
This is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit. All loan approvals are subject to credit review, underwriting, and property evaluation. Programs, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
Intel Loans, Inc., NMLS #2858705. Licensed in Florida. Verify our licensing at nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Assets used to qualify are documented, not pledged, escrowed, or restricted; lender formulas and eligible-asset definitions vary by program.
Worked examples on this page are hypothetical illustrations for education, not quotes or offers. Your figures, including taxes, insurance, and payment amounts, will differ.
Qualifying with documented assets is a program design, not a promise of approval; every file remains subject to the lender's full underwriting.