Route 04
Assets
No income used at all. A verified pool of liquid assets is divided across the term to produce a qualifying figure. Common for retirees and for people between ventures.
Who this is
- You are retired and drawing on savings rather than a salary
- You sold a business and are living on the proceeds
- Your wealth is real but your income statement is quiet
What you hand over
- Two to three months of statements for every account being counted
- Evidence that the assets are yours and are not borrowed
- Confirmation that retirement accounts are accessible without penalty, where they are counted
How the figure is worked out
Eligible liquid assets are discounted — retirement and brokerage balances are usually haircut, cash usually is not — and the remainder is divided by the number of months in the qualifying period the programme uses. The result is treated as monthly income.
Do the arithmeticWhat trips this route up
- The discount and the divisor differ sharply between programmes; they set the answer.
- Assets used for the down payment cannot also be counted as income.
- A gift or a recent large deposit will need to be sourced and may be excluded.
Where it leads
Programmes this route commonly unlocks
Demonstration form
Tell us about your assets
Nothing on this form is sent anywhere. On a working site it would reach a loan officer with the route you arrived through already attached.
The other four
Most files use more than one
- Paystubs and W-2sThe straight strand. Salaried and hourly income, evidenced by paystubs, W-2s and a verbal verification of employment.
- Bank statementsTwelve or twenty-four months of deposits, with an expense factor applied. Built for owners whose tax return is written to minimise tax, not to qualify for a loan.
- Profit and lossA CPA-prepared profit-and-loss statement, sometimes with 1099s alongside it. The shortest route when your accountant already has the numbers.
- Rental incomeThe property qualifies, not you. Market rent is compared with the full housing payment to produce a debt-service coverage ratio.