A straight answer
Can I get a mortgage with no job but substantial savings?
The direct answer
Possibly. Some mortgage programs can turn eligible assets into a qualifying income figure when you have no paycheck, and I review your accounts, your access to the money and your plans before checking which programs fit. I'm Zach von der Linden (NMLS 1652805), a mortgage broker with West Capital Lending, based in San Clemente.
I arrange loans with lenders and put the financing together. Which assets count, what is subtracted first and how the figure is calculated differ by program, so the answer depends on the program and your accounts. Text or call me with whether you are buying or refinancing, the property state and the types of accounts you hold, and I will tell you which details I need before I review programs. I work with homeowners in California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona.
Zach von der Linden, mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending · NMLS 1652805
Wholesale pricing · California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona
5.0 across 66 reviews on Experience.com (read on 2026-09-24) · Text reaches Zach directly · Last updated 2026-10-18
Have assets but little current employment income? Text me whether you are buying or refinancing, the property state and the types of accounts you hold, and I will tell you which details I need before reviewing programs.
No credit pull happens from a conversation. Texts go to Zach's cell.
What is an asset-depletion mortgage?
Asset depletion, asset dissipation and employment-related assets as income are names for one idea. A lender takes documented assets you could draw on, subtracts what the program requires, and divides what is left by a number of months to arrive at a monthly income figure. It is not a waiver of underwriting. The lender still verifies the assets, counts your debts and documents the file the way it would for any other income.
Assets are a lawful basis for a loan when a program is written to read them. Under the federal ability-to-repay rule, a lender must consider and verify your current income or assets, other than the value of the home that secures the loan, and your monthly debt (CFPB, What is a Qualified Mortgage?). The rule does not oblige any lender to offer an asset-based program, and requirements vary by program and lender.
Can I qualify using my IRA, retirement account, or brokerage account?
Under Fannie Mae's rules for loans sold to Fannie Mae, the eligible employment-related assets are two kinds. The first is a non-self-employed severance package or lump-sum retirement package, documented with the employer's distribution letter and deposited to a verified account. The second is a 401(k), IRA, SEP or Keogh account to which you have unrestricted access, usable only when a distribution is not already set up or the distribution is not enough to qualify (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-06).
Unrestricted access has a definition. At the time of the calculation you must have the unqualified and unlimited right to request a distribution of all the funds in the account, whatever tax withholding or penalty would apply. The assets must be owned by you alone, or the co-owner must be a co-borrower on the loan.
Fannie Mae also says what does not count under this topic: stock options, non-vested restricted stock, lawsuit, lottery, real estate sale, inheritance and divorce proceeds. Checking and savings accounts generally do not count unless the balance came from an eligible employment-related asset, and virtual currency is excluded. A taxable brokerage account is not on that eligible list. Other asset-based programs keep their own lists, which is why I ask about each account before I say which program to check.
Do I have to start taking distributions to qualify?
Not necessarily. Some methods evaluate eligible account balances, and others evaluate distributions you actually receive. Fannie Mae keeps the two in separate topics. The balance method above requires no minimum income history and no continuance documentation, because the income is calculated from the loan's own term.
The distribution method documents the amount currently being received, with a statement from the organization paying it, an award letter or benefit statement, a bank statement, a tax return, a W-2 or a 1099. A fixed distribution needs no minimum history. A variable distribution needs a 12-month history and is averaged over it. A retirement account distribution has to be expected to continue for at least three years from the application date, and eligible 401(k), IRA or Keogh balances may be combined to meet that test (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-03).
I compare the two methods against your accounts before suggesting any change to how money comes out of an account. Whether to take a distribution is a decision for you and your tax professional, not something a loan program should drive.
How do lenders turn assets into qualifying income?
The sequence is the same everywhere, and the numbers inside it are not. Eligible documented assets, then required deductions and account adjustments, then a program-specific division factor, then a qualifying-income figure.
Under Fannie Mae's method the deductions are the penalty that would apply if the account were completely distributed at the time of the calculation, after transaction costs, and the funds you will use for the down payment, closing costs and required reserves. What remains is called net documented assets, and the lender divides it by the amortization term of the loan in months. Other programs choose their own deductions and their own divisor. The divisor matters as much as the balance, so I never estimate the figure from a program I have not confirmed, and this page states no divisor, no balance and no income figure.
Can the same money count as my down payment, reserves, and income?
Not without adjustment. Fannie Mae's income method subtracts the funds used for the down payment, closing costs and required reserves before the calculation, so a dollar set aside for closing is not also a dollar of income. Under a separate Fannie Mae topic, vested funds in an IRA, SEP, Keogh or 401(k) are an acceptable source for the down payment, closing costs and reserves, the account has to be vested and allow withdrawals regardless of employment status, and funds used for reserves do not have to be withdrawn (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-03).
How much of one account serves each purpose is an allocation the lender works out on the file. I would not assume the same balance counts in every category, and I check the split before you write an offer.
Do Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA all allow this?
Each rulebook is different, and the lender decides which one your loan follows. Fannie Mae's employment-related assets method is limited to a purchase or a limited cash-out refinance of a principal residence or second home. It carries a cap on the loan relative to the home's value, with a higher cap when the owner of the assets is at least sixty-two at closing. When a loan falls outside those parameters, Fannie Mae points to its interest and dividend income rules or its annuity, pension and retirement income rules instead.
Freddie Mac has its own Guide section on assets used as a basis for repayment, and it revised that section during 2026 (Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-4). I could not open the section's current text on the day this page was written, so I do not restate its asset list, its calculation or any effective date here. I confirm with the lender which version it applies before estimating anything.
The FHA handbook's income rules for a forward mortgage have no asset-depletion method that I could find; FHA counts pension and IRA or 401(k) distribution income that is documented and reasonably likely to continue for three years (HUD Handbook 4000.1). The VA lender handbook's underwriting chapter has no provision for using asset balances as income that I could find; it says not every type of income can be listed, asks for a history of receipt and a likelihood of continuance for at least three years, and tells the lender to underwrite each loan individually (VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4). Requirements vary by program and lender, and non-agency programs set their own. A jumbo program writes its own asset rules too; if the loan is only just over the county limit, the conforming limit page covers whether a larger down payment keeps you inside the agency rulebooks.
Can I qualify using money from selling a business or investments?
It depends on where the money sits now and what the program says about its source. Under Fannie Mae's method, proceeds from the sale of real estate, an inheritance and divorce proceeds are not eligible employment-related assets, and a checking or savings balance counts only when it came from an eligible source such as a severance or a lump-sum retirement distribution. Other programs read seasoned deposits and securities differently, and some ask how long the money has been in the account and where it came from.
Bring the sale documents and the account statements from before and after the deposit. I will not tell you to sell an investment, move money between accounts or change how you file to fit a program. That is a conversation for your tax or investment professional, and the program is checked against your accounts as they are.
Can I use assets for a refinance as well as a purchase?
Loan purpose matters. Fannie Mae's method allows a purchase or a limited cash-out refinance, not a cash-out refinance, and other programs keep their own list. If you want cash out, that is a separate eligibility check against the program's rules. If you would rather keep your first mortgage and borrow against equity, a home equity line is qualified on the line program's own income rules; the page on a HELOC when your income is Social Security covers how a fixed income is read there. Text me the purpose and I check the right list.
What I check before placing the loan
- The most recent statement for each account, and the one from a year earlier where the program asks for history.
- Whether each account is yours alone or shared, and who would be on the loan.
- Whether you can withdraw from each account today without restriction, and what penalty would apply if you did.
- Any distribution already set up, and its amount and frequency.
- Whether you are buying or refinancing, which state the property is in, and whether you will live there.
- Your other income, if any. Social Security, a pension, rental income or part-time work each count under their own rules and can sit alongside an asset-based figure.
- Your monthly debts, because the income figure only means something next to them.
Send the statements through the secure process I give you when we talk, not by ordinary text. A conversation does not pull your credit. Buying a home? Get pre-approved once we have talked. The pre-approval uses a soft credit check, never a hard pull for the first look, and qualifying from assets needs an individual review rather than an assumed salary, so the conversation comes first.
The hard-to-qualify hub lists the other ways income can be reviewed.
Questions people ask next
Do I have to be retired to qualify using assets?
No. The methods look at the assets and your access to them, not at your age or your employment status, though Fannie Mae's method sets a higher cap on the loan relative to the home's value when the owner of the assets is at least sixty-two at closing. Someone between jobs or living on savings is reviewed the same way.
Can I qualify if I am between businesses or jobs?
Possibly, if the assets are eligible under a program and the loan fits its other parameters. Fannie Mae's method requires no minimum income history. The lender also reads the rest of the file, and a gap in employment is its own question, covered on the job change or gap page.
How long must the money have been in my account?
It depends on the program and the account. Fannie Mae's method asks for the most recent statement and traces a checking or savings balance back to an eligible source. Other programs ask for a year of statements or a seasoning period of their own. Bring the statement from a year ago as well as the current one and I will tell you what the program needs.
Can borrowed or pledged assets count?
Not as the basis for this kind of income under the rules I can cite. Fannie Mae's method requires assets you own and can draw on without restriction, and a borrowed or pledged balance fails both tests. Borrowed funds secured by an asset are a different topic, about the down payment and reserves rather than income, and I can walk you through that one separately.
Is qualifying on assets the same as getting a reverse mortgage?
No. Qualifying on assets is a way of documenting income for an ordinary mortgage that you repay monthly. A reverse mortgage is a different loan with no required monthly mortgage payment, for homeowners sixty-two and older, repaid when the borrower no longer lives in the home. The FHA reverse mortgage's financial assessment has its own imputed-income-from-asset-dissipation method, which is one reason the two get confused. The reverse mortgage page explains what that loan requires, and I compare the two side by side.
What clients say
Zach was so easy to work with. He made a stressful situation into a very positive experience for us and did push us one way or another. He listened to what we hoped we could accomplish and made it happen.
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Sources and checked dates
Sources: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.4-06, Employment Related Assets as Qualifying Income (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.4-03, Annuity, Pension, or Retirement Income (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.3-03, Retirement Accounts (checked 2026-10-16) · Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-4, Selling Updates (April 1, 2026) (checked 2026-10-16) · HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (last revised August 12, 2026), II.A.4.c Income Requirements (checked 2026-10-16) · VA Lenders Handbook, VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting (checked 2026-10-16) · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a Qualified Mortgage? (checked 2026-10-16) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.3-15, Borrowed Funds Secured by an Asset (10/30/2009) (checked 2026-09-27) · 12 CFR 1002.6(b)(5), Regulation B (checked 2026-09-26) · Fannie Mae selling guide, B3-3.4-15, Social Security Income (checked 2026-09-26) · HUD, FHA Reverse Mortgages (HECM) for Seniors (checked 2026-09-26) · 24 CFR 206.33, Age of borrower (checked 2026-09-26).
Show each claim on this page, what it depends on, and the date it was checked (12)
| What we say, and what it depends on | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-06, Employment Related Assets as Qualifying Income (03/04/2026): the eligible assets are "a non-self-employed severance package or non-self-employed lump sum retirement package (a lump sum distribution)", documented with a distribution letter from the employer and deposited to a verified account, and "401(k) or IRA, SEP, Keogh retirement accounts" where "the borrower must have unrestricted access to the funds in the accounts and can only use the accounts if distribution is not already set up or the distribution amount is not enough to qualify." Unrestricted access means the borrower has "the unqualified and unlimited right to request a distribution of all funds in the account (regardless of any possible tax withholding or applicable penalty applied to such distribution)." The assets "must be owned individually by the borrower, or the co-owner of the assets must be a co-borrower on the loan." Ineligible are "non-employment-related assets (for example, stock options, non-vested restricted stock, lawsuits, lottery winnings, sale of real estate, inheritance, and divorce proceeds)"; "Checking and savings accounts are generally not eligible as employment-related assets, unless the source of the balance in a checking or savings account was from an eligible employment-related asset"; "Virtual currency is not an eligible asset." Net documented assets equal the eligible assets minus the penalty that would apply if the account were completely distributed at the time of calculation and minus "the amount of funds used for down payment, closing costs, and required reserves", and "The lender must divide 'Net Documented Assets' by the amortization term of the loan (in months)." No minimum income history is required and income continuance does not need to be documented. Loan purpose is "Purchase and limited cash-out refinance only"; occupancy is "Principal residence and second home only"; the loan carries a maximum loan-to-value ratio, with a higher maximum when the owner of the assets is at least 62 years old at closing (if jointly owned, all owners must be borrowers and the qualifying borrower must be at least 62). Outside those parameters, the guide points to its interest and dividend income and its annuity, pension or retirement income topics. | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.4-06, Employment Related Assets as Qualifying Income | 2026-10-16 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-03, Annuity, Pension, or Retirement Income (10/07/2026): the lender verifies "the income amount currently being received" with at least one of a statement from the organization providing the income, a retirement award letter or benefit statement, a financial or bank account statement, a signed federal income tax return, a W-2 or a 1099. Income history: "Fixed Distribution or fixed payment: No minimum history is required. Variable Distribution: A minimum 12-month history of receipt is required." Income continuance: for an "Insurance/personal annuity or retirement account distribution: The lender must document that income is expected to continue for at least three years from the application date", and "Eligible retirement account balances (from 401(k), IRA, or Keogh) may be combined for the purpose of determining whether the three-year continuance requirement is met. The borrower must have unrestricted access to the accounts without penalty." A fixed distribution is used as documented; a variable distribution is averaged over the most recent 12 months. | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.4-03, Annuity, Pension, or Retirement Income | 2026-10-16 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-03, Retirement Accounts (06/30/2015): "Vested funds from individual retirement accounts (IRA/SEP/Keogh accounts) and tax-favored retirement savings accounts (401(k) accounts) are acceptable sources of funds for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves. The lender must verify the ownership of the account and confirm that the account is vested and allows withdrawals regardless of current employment status." Retirement assets held as stocks, bonds or mutual funds follow the stocks, stock options, bonds and mutual funds topic for value and receipt of funds, and "When funds from retirement accounts are used for reserves, Fannie Mae does not require the funds to be withdrawn from the account(s)." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.3-03, Retirement Accounts | 2026-10-16 |
| Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-4 (Selling Updates, April 1, 2026) refers to "assets used as a basis for repayment of obligations in Section 5307.1" of the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide and specifies that asset accounts held in the name of a Living Trust are considered owned by the Borrower when the Borrower is the Settlor of the trust. Freddie Mac therefore has its own section on using assets as a basis for repayment, separate from Fannie Mae's, and revised it during 2026. | Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-4, Selling Updates (April 1, 2026) | 2026-10-16 |
| HUD Handbook 4000.1 (Update 18, issued August 12, 2026; every page footer "Last Revised: 8/12/2026"), II.A.4.c Income Requirements (TOTAL), Other Sources of Effective Income, Retirement Income: "Retirement Income refers to income received from Pensions, 401(k) distributions, and Social Security." For a pension, "The Mortgagee must verify and document the Borrower's receipt of periodic payments from the Borrower's Pension and that the payments are likely to continue for at least three years", with tax returns, the most recent bank statement showing the income, or the pension letter. For an IRA or 401(k), "The Mortgagee must verify and document the Borrower's receipt of recurring IRA/401(k) distribution Income and that it is reasonably likely to continue for three years", using the most recent account statement plus tax returns or a bank statement; consistent income is used at its current amount, fluctuating income is averaged over the previous two years, and income received for less than two years is averaged over the time of receipt. A full-text search of the handbook on 2026-10-16 for "asset depletion", "assets as income", "asset-based income" and "dissipation" found no asset-depletion method in the forward-mortgage income sections; the only imputed-income-from-asset-dissipation provision sits in the reverse mortgage (HECM) financial assessment, II.B.5.e. | HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (last revised August 12, 2026), II.A.4.c Income Requirements | 2026-10-16 |
| VA Lenders Handbook (VA Pamphlet 26-7), Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting, Topic 2, Income: "Income is considered effective when it is determined to be verifiable, stable and reliable, and anticipated to continue for the foreseeable future. Income analysis is not an exact science." "Only verified income can be considered in the repayment calculation." Under Other Types of Income: "While not all types of income can be listed, documentation of income must support the history of receipt and the likelihood or continuance of the income for at least 3 years from the anticipated closing date to include in effective income." Its list of other income types names pension or retirement benefits, disability income, dividends from stocks, interest, royalties, notes receivable and trusts. A search of the chapter on 2026-10-16 for "restricted stock" and "RSU" found no provision on restricted stock income, and no provision on using asset balances as income. | VA Lenders Handbook, VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting | 2026-10-16 |
| The CFPB's page on qualified mortgages (last reviewed January 2, 2025) lists "A requirement to consider and verify income or assets and debts. For your loan to be a Qualified Mortgage, your lender must consider and verify your current monthly income or assets (other than the value of the property that will secure your loan) and your monthly debt." Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.43(c)(2)(i), as published on the CFPB's regulations site, requires a creditor to consider "The consumer's current or reasonably expected income or assets, other than the value of the dwelling, including any real property attached to the dwelling, that secures the loan." | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a Qualified Mortgage? | 2026-10-16 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.3-15, Borrowed Funds Secured by an Asset: "Borrowed funds secured by an asset are an acceptable source of funds for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves"; the lender must document "the terms of the secured loan, evidence that the party providing the secured loan is not a party to the sale, and evidence that the funds have been transferred to the borrower"; and "When qualifying the borrower, the lender must consider monthly payments for secured loans as a debt." For a secured loan with no required payment, "the lender must calculate an equivalent amount and consider that amount as a recurring debt." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-4.3-15, Borrowed Funds Secured by an Asset (10/30/2009) | 2026-09-27 |
| 12 CFR 1002.6(b)(5): “A creditor shall not discount or exclude from consideration the income of an applicant or the spouse of an applicant because of a prohibited basis or because the income is derived from part-time employment or is an annuity, pension, or other retirement benefit; a creditor may consider the amount and probable continuance of any income in evaluating an applicant’s creditworthiness.” | 12 CFR 1002.6(b)(5), Regulation B | 2026-09-26 |
| Fannie Mae’s selling guide, B3-3.4-15, says an “SSA Award letter may be used to document the income if the borrower is receiving Social Security payments or if the borrower will begin receiving payments on or before the first payment date of the subject mortgage as confirmed by a recently issued award letter,” that for income history “no minimum history is required,” and for retirement benefits on the borrower’s own record that “lenders are not required to verify continuance unless they have reason to believe the income may not continue.” | Fannie Mae selling guide, B3-3.4-15, Social Security Income | 2026-09-26 |
| HUD’s HECM page says the federally insured reverse mortgage is the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, available through FHA-approved lenders, that “HECM borrowers may reside in their homes indefinitely as long as property taxes and homeowner’s insurance are kept current,” and that a counselor can be found through the HECM Counselor Roster. | HUD, FHA Reverse Mortgages (HECM) for Seniors | 2026-09-26 |
| 24 CFR 206.33: “The youngest borrower shall be 62 years of age or older at the time of loan closing.” | 24 CFR 206.33, Age of borrower | 2026-09-26 |
Written for and accountable to: Zach von der Linden, Mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending.
Last updated 2026-10-18.
Verify him: NMLS Consumer Access, ID 1652805 · 66 reviews on Experience.com.
Sources for product claims are listed on this page, with the date each was checked.
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