Nick Nagy · Asset depletion mortgages

Nick Nagy finances high-net-worth buyers on assets, not a paycheck.

A retiree or a buyer with concentrated stock or brokerage holdings often has no W-2 income an automated system recognizes. An asset depletion mortgage turns the balance sheet into qualifying income instead.

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The answer

The direct answer

An asset depletion mortgage lets a lender credit a borrower with monthly qualifying income calculated from their liquid assets, rather than requiring the recurring salary an automated underwriting system is built to recognize. It is used for buyers who hold substantial savings, brokerage accounts, or retirement funds but do not have a conventional paycheck to document. The exact math, how much of each asset type counts and over what schedule, is set by the individual lender rather than a single government rule.

What I tell people first

I see this program misused most often by a retail loan officer who does not know it exists, and turned away buyers who would have qualified easily with the right lender. A broker with access to more than 230 lenders can shop an asset-heavy file across several different depletion methodologies instead of forcing it through the one guideline book a single bank offers. The difference between one lender’s schedule and another’s can be the difference between a declined file and an approved one, which is why I run the numbers against more than one methodology before we settle on a lender.

Who this page is for

This page is for you if you are retired, semi-retired, or otherwise sitting on substantial brokerage, savings or retirement accounts without a W-2 that reflects your real financial position. It fits a tech employee with a concentrated stock position and inconsistent year-to-year reported income just as well as a traditional retiree. It is not a stated-income loan; the assets still have to be fully documented. It also fits a buyer who was told by a single bank that they did not qualify, without ever being shown a lender whose depletion schedule was built for a file like theirs.

The fact this page stands on: A broker with access to more than 230 lenders can shop an asset depletion file across several different underwriting overlays instead of the one guideline book a single bank offers.
Source: Loan Factory, Inc., published lender count, September 2026.
Last verified: September 6, 2026

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Nick Nagy NMLS #314880 · CA DRE #01444600 · Loan Factory, Inc. · 23 years About Nick · Licences, verified at source · Text 916-805-1933

Part of the Nick Nagy pages on go.homeaccesslist.com, and of the California Mortgage Answer Desk.

How it works

How the mechanism works

Rather than looking at a pay stub, the lender takes a portion of the borrower’s eligible liquid assets and converts it into an equivalent monthly income figure, spread over an assumed schedule. That figure is then used in the same debt-to-income calculation a standard income file would use.

This is a documentation method, not a discount. The borrower still has to show real, verifiable assets, and the lender still runs the same debt-to-income math against the converted income figure that it would against a paycheck.

The detail that matters

Which assets typically count

Eligible assets generally include checking and savings balances, brokerage and investment accounts, and retirement accounts, though how each is treated, and whether a retirement account is discounted for early-withdrawal considerations, varies by lender.

Checking and savings account balances
Brokerage and other investment account holdings
Retirement account balances, subject to the individual lender’s own treatment
A documented, stable paper trail showing the assets are the borrower’s own and have not just arrived

The detail that matters

Where this pairs with other financing

A buyer using asset depletion to purchase a new home while still owning their current one runs into the same timing question any buyer does, whether to sell first, buy first, or bridge the gap. The asset depletion structure does not solve that problem on its own.

I look at whether a short-term bridge against the current home makes more sense than tying up the same liquid assets being used to qualify for the new purchase, since using them for both at once can undercut the very number the depletion schedule is built on.

This is also a program where an experienced processing team matters. Loan Factory’s in-house processing and underwriting teams handle asset-heavy files regularly enough that documentation questions get resolved without adding weeks to the timeline.

Ask Nick about my assets 237 lenders, one file, no second application.

Files like these

Three files, and what changed the answer

A retiree living on investment accounts

The buyer has no W-2 income but substantial brokerage and retirement balances, which the file converts into a qualifying monthly income figure under the lender’s own depletion schedule.

A tech employee with a concentrated stock position

The buyer’s reported income swings year to year, so the file leans on account balances rather than a standard two-year income average.

A buyer combining a small pension with asset depletion

A modest fixed income is supplemented with a qualifying figure drawn from savings, rather than being qualified on the pension alone.

None of these is a promise about your file. They are shapes. The number on your own file comes from running it, which is the point of the form on this page.

Who answers

Nick Nagy

23 years in California lending · NMLS 314880 · CA DRE 01444600 · Loan Factory, Inc.

Dual licensed, so the loan side and the real estate side of a move get looked at as one problem instead of two. Most of what goes wrong in a move is a timing problem wearing a financing costume, and it is cheaper to catch it before you write an offer than after.

Financing is placed through Loan Factory, Inc. Real estate work is under CA DRE 01444600. More about Nick.

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The desk behind the file

One file, 237 lenders competing for it, and a broker who has done this for 23 years.

Loan Factory, Inc. is the brokerage. These are its published figures.

20,907+Loan Factory Google reviews

5.0Loan Factory average rating

237Lenders available through Loan Factory

48States Loan Factory is licensed in

A retail bank has one guideline book. A broker shops the same file across the shelf and finds the lender whose box it already fits.

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Straight answers

Questions people here actually ask

The follow-on questions, answered in the order they get asked.

asset depletion mortgage California

An asset depletion mortgage in California converts a buyer’s liquid savings, brokerage or retirement accounts into a monthly qualifying income figure, letting a borrower without a conventional paycheck still qualify for a home loan.

How is asset based mortgage income calculated?

A lender takes a portion of the borrower’s eligible liquid assets and spreads it into an equivalent monthly income figure over a schedule the lender itself sets. There is no single government-published formula for it.

Can a retiree get a mortgage with no income in California?

Yes, through an asset depletion program, if the retiree holds documented liquid assets, savings, brokerage or retirement accounts, large enough to convert into a qualifying monthly figure under a lender’s schedule.

Do all lenders treat retirement accounts the same way?

No. Treatment of retirement accounts, and how much of each asset type counts toward qualifying income, varies from lender to lender, which is why matching the file to the right one matters.

Is asset depletion the same as a stated-income loan?

No. The assets still have to be fully documented with statements. The program changes what counts as income, not whether the file needs verification.

Ask a question that is not on this page

The person, not a call center

Talk to Nick Nagy directly

Text 916-805-1933, or send the situation through the form below. I read every one myself.

Mortgage loan originator, NMLS 314880, and licensed real estate salesperson, CA DRE 01444600, both under Loan Factory, Inc. 20,907+ Google reviews · 5.0 average · 237 lenders, the company's own published figures.

Text Nick at 916-805-1933 Or use the form below. No credit pull to start.

Your own file

Ask Nick directly, not a call center

Tell me the situation in plain English. If your file changes anything on this page, I will run it on your actual numbers. Private, no obligation, and nothing is published or shared.

What happens after you send it

You send the situation. Your question, a number to reach you, and one line about where you are. No credit pull, no documents, nothing published.
Nick reads it himself. Your file goes against the programs that apply, shopped across 237 lenders through Loan Factory, not one bank's guideline book.
You get the number and keep it. A straight answer on what your file supports and what it does not. If waiting is the better move, that is the answer you get, and the numbers are yours either way.