Skip to content
Sun City Center

Mortgage Answers

Can Asset Depletion Help Me Buy a Home in Florida?

By Dewey Kopenga and Travis Penny. updated July 2026

Questions about qualifying with assets instead of income? Rex, an automated concierge available 24 hours a day, answers at (813) 576.3131.

Quick Answer

6 min read

Yes. Asset depletion can help asset rich buyers qualify without traditional income.

An asset depletion loan converts your eligible liquid assets into a qualifying income figure using a lender formula. It is designed for buyers who have substantial savings and investments but modest monthly income, which is common in retirement. Program rules and eligible account types vary by lender.

  • ◆Qualification is based on assets rather than monthly paychecks.
  • ◆It suits retirees who are asset rich but low on taxable income.
  • ◆Eligible account types and formulas vary by lender and program.
✓

Last verified July 2026. Reviewed for accuracy by Dewey Kopenga and Travis Penny.

Who this is actually built for

You sold a business, a house, or both. You have seven figures across brokerage and retirement accounts. Your tax return shows sixty thousand dollars because you are managing distributions for tax reasons, not because that is what you live on. A retail bank looks at that return and declines you. The loan officer is not wrong under their guidelines. They are just running the only program they have. Asset depletion runs the math the other direction. It starts with the balance sheet.

How the number actually gets built

Three steps. Every program follows the same shape even though the inputs change.

Step 1. Count the eligible assets

Not every dollar counts at full value. A typical treatment looks like this.

Account typeTypically counted at
Checking and savings100 percent
Brokerage, stocks, bonds, mutual funds70 percent
Retirement accounts, borrower at or over 59 and a half70 percent
Retirement accounts, borrower under 59 and a halfOften excluded or heavily discounted
Business accounts, trusts, restricted stockCase by case. Often excluded.

Step 1 note

The haircut on market based accounts exists because the balance moves. Nobody underwrites a number that could be twenty percent lower next quarter.

Step 2. Subtract what is leaving

Your down payment, closing costs, and any required reserves come off the top. What gets converted to income is what remains after the purchase is funded, not your total balance.

Step 3. Divide

The remaining figure is divided by a set number of months to produce a monthly qualifying income. That divisor is the single biggest variable between programs. Across the programs Travis brokers, the divisor typically runs from 60 months to 360 months. Agency programs sit at the long end. Non QM programs run shorter, which produces a larger qualifying income from the same balance sheet. Same assets. Different program. The income figure can differ by a factor of four. That is why the program you pick matters more than the balance you bring.

What this looks like on a real balance sheet

Illustration only. Your numbers, your program, and your credit profile will produce a different result. A couple, both 67, buying in Kings Point at $400,000.

Amount
Brokerage account$700,000
IRA balances$700,000
Checking and savings$100,000
Total on paper$1,500,000
Less haircuts$420,000
Less down payment and closing costs$110,000
Net eligible for depletion$970,000
Divided by 120 months
Monthly qualifying income produced$8,083

What that means

Add Social Security on top of that figure and you have the income side of the debt to income calculation. Their tax return never enters the conversation. Not a quote. Not an approval. An illustration of the arithmetic.

Five ways this goes wrong

  • ◆Moving money right before you apply. Large transfers without a paper trail turn into a documentation request that can stall a file for weeks. Move it before you shop, or leave it alone.
  • ◆Assuming the retail bank has this. Most depository banks do not offer asset based qualification at all. You will be declined, and the decline is about their product menu, not your file.
  • ◆Counting accounts that do not count. Business accounts you do not solely own, restricted stock, and certain trusts are commonly excluded. Build your expectation off eligible assets, not the account summary.
  • ◆Ignoring the divisor. The same balance sheet qualifies for very different loan amounts depending on the program. Ask what divisor is being used before you accept the answer on what you can afford.
  • ◆Waiting until you are under contract. Asset documentation takes longer than pay stubs. Start the file before you write an offer, not after.

When something else fits better

Asset depletion is not automatically the right path just because it works. If you have documentable retirement distributions running consistently, a standard retirement income loan is usually cheaper and simpler. If you are selling a home up north, bridge financing may solve the timing problem without touching your investment accounts. If the purchase is an investment property, a DSCR loan qualifies on the property income instead of yours. The right question is not whether asset depletion works. It is which of the four paths costs you least. If you are deciding whether to finance at all, run it through the cash versus mortgage calculator first.

Important disclaimer

This page is general education, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not guarantee any loan approval. Loan program rules change and every lender applies its own overlays. Talk to a licensed loan officer about your specific situation before you count on any option. Travis Penny, NMLS 1649161, can review your numbers directly.

Keep reading

Keep reading

Frequently Asked

Questions about mortgage answers.

There is no universal minimum, but the math has to produce enough monthly income to cover the payment and your other obligations. In practice these programs start making sense somewhere around $1 million in eligible liquid assets, and get more useful from there. Balances below that usually qualify better under a different program.

Keep reading

More on living in Sun City Center.

Ready when you are

Get the answer for your situation.

One 30-minute call covers property strategy and financing. Dewey and Travis on the line together.

← Back to the main guide