Some of the most financially solid buyers in Texas can't show a paycheck: retirees living off a portfolio, business owners who just sold their company, investors between ventures. Conventional underwriting wants monthly income, and a seven-figure brokerage account doesn't count — unless you use a loan built for it. An asset depletion mortgage (also called asset dissipation or asset utilization) converts your verified assets into a monthly qualifying income, no employment required.
The basic math
The concept is simple: take your eligible assets and divide them across a set number of months, and that's your monthly income for qualifying. Many programs divide by 360 (a 30-year horizon); others use shorter windows that produce more generous income. As a plain illustration of the arithmetic, $1,200,000 in eligible assets divided over 360 months works out to about $3,333 per month — and the same assets over 120 months would be triple that. Which divisor applies is program-specific, and it changes your buying power dramatically, so this is worth shopping.
Not all assets count the same
Lenders apply haircuts by asset type. Cash and money-market balances typically count in full. Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are usually counted at a discount of their market value to allow for volatility. Retirement accounts often count at a further discount, and may only count meaningfully if you're of retirement age. Funds you're using for the down payment and closing costs are subtracted before the calculation. The result: two borrowers with the same net worth can qualify very differently depending on where the money sits.
Who this loan actually fits
The classic profiles: retirees with strong portfolios but modest Social Security income; founders and business sellers sitting on proceeds; widows and inheritors with assets but no employment history; and self-employed borrowers whose deposits are lumpy but whose balance sheet is strong. Asset depletion can also be combined with other income — many programs let you stack asset-based income on top of Social Security, pension, or even bank-statement income to reach the qualifying number.
What to expect in underwriting
You'll document the assets with recent statements and show they're liquid, seasoned, and yours — large recent transfers in will need a paper trail. Expect reserve requirements after closing and credit-sensitive pricing like other non-QM products. The pleasant surprise for most borrowers: no employment verification, no tax returns, and a process that's often simpler than documenting self-employment income.
See what you qualify for in 60 seconds — free and no credit check. Use the eligibility check at the top of this page.