There is a particular borrower who frustrates conventional underwriting: someone with significant wealth but little reported income. A retiree living off savings, or a high-net-worth individual whose income is modest on paper, can struggle to qualify for a mortgage the traditional way — even though they could write a check for the house. Asset-depletion loans solve this. This is Non-QM education; rates, products, and terms are illustrative and subject to change, and this is not a commitment to lend.
The core idea
An asset-depletion (sometimes called asset-utilization) loan lets a borrower qualify based on their liquid assets rather than their monthly income. The lender takes an eligible portion of your verified assets and converts it into a hypothetical monthly income figure using a formula. That calculated income is then used to qualify you, just as a salary would be.
In other words, the program treats your portfolio as if it were a stream of income, whether or not you are actually drawing it down.
How the calculation works
Lenders do not count every dollar of every account. Typically they:
- · Identify eligible assets — generally liquid holdings like checking, savings, and brokerage and retirement accounts.
- · Apply a haircut to certain account types, recognizing market risk and access limitations (retirement accounts may be discounted, for example).
- · Divide the resulting amount over a set number of months to produce a monthly income figure.
The exact eligible asset types, haircuts, and divisor vary by lender and program, which is why two lenders can arrive at different qualifying incomes from the same portfolio.
Who it fits
Asset-depletion loans tend to fit:
- · Retirees with substantial savings but limited reportable income.
- · High-net-worth borrowers whose income is intentionally modest.
- · People between ventures or recently liquidity-rich from a sale, who have assets but not a current salary.
What it is not
This is not a loan that ignores your finances — it is a different lens on them. You still need documented, verifiable assets, and reserves still matter. And because it sits outside conventional guidelines, it is a Non-QM product with pricing and terms that reflect that.
A planning note
How you draw from various accounts can have tax implications, especially with retirement assets. That side belongs to your CPA — this is general information, not tax advice.
The Alliance take
We see capable, asset-rich borrowers get declined by conventional underwriting all the time, and asset-depletion programs are exactly the bridge for them. The first step is simply taking stock of the eligible assets.
Asset-rich but income-light on paper? Reach out and we will see how a portfolio could qualify you.