"Can I Qualify for a Mortgage on What I Have Saved? The Asset Qualifier That Divides by 84"

The practice sold, or the company did, or the paychecks stopped because you decided they could. The brokerage account is larger than it has ever been, and the retirement accounts have not been touched. Then you start planning the next home and see that your last tax return shows a small slice of the money you actually live on.

Yes, with the right lender. Luxury Mortgage Corp.'s Simple Access Asset Qualifier divides the assets you will have left after closing by 84 months. The result counts as your monthly gross income, and what remains after your monthly payments has to be at least $1,300 a month.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation, licensed in fifteen states. Luxury Mortgage Corp. is a wholesale lender I work with, and every figure on this page for its program comes from its Simple Access Non-QM underwriting guidelines, version 9.2, most of them from Section 5.4. Other lenders write their own asset rules with their own divisors and percentages, so please read these numbers as one lender's program rather than as how every asset-based loan works.

Asset-based loans belong to the wider family of non-QM loans, the mortgages written outside the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guides.

How does an asset qualifier mortgage turn savings into income?

The Simple Access guidelines put the whole calculation in one sentence: "For purposes of the product, gross income is determined by taking available post-closing assets and dividing by 84 months."

In plain terms, the lender adds up your eligible accounts at the percentages described further down this page. It takes out the money you are spending to close, meaning your down payment and closing costs. The rest is divided by 84, and that monthly figure stands in for a paycheck.

Two more sentences in the same paragraph of the lender's guidelines decide whether the figure is enough.

• "The residual income for the Asset Qualifier product must meet or exceed $1,300 per month."
• "Do not impute tax deductions when determining residual income."

Residual income is the money left over from that monthly figure once your monthly payments are covered, including the new housing payment. The second sentence means the lender does not subtract an estimate of income taxes before checking that remainder against $1,300. I'll confirm with the lender exactly which payments go into that subtraction on your file.

The guidelines say an Asset Qualifier loan needs "No separate reserves," because the asset test below already covers the money you keep after closing. First-time home buyers are the exception. Section 2.5.1 asks them for 3 to 6 months of housing payments in reserve, depending on the loan amount and loan-to-value, and limits them to a primary residence or second home with a loan of up to $3 million. For loans written to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules, what counts as mortgage reserves explains how reserves work.

Dividing by 84 compared with Freddie Mac's 240 and Fannie Mae's loan term

There are three different calculations for the same question, and each one gives a different monthly number from the same savings. I wrote about Freddie Mac's divide-by-240 rule for qualifying on savings and about Fannie Mae's route for using retirement savings as qualifying income.

	Luxury Mortgage Simple Access, Section 5.4	Freddie Mac, Section 5307.1	Fannie Mae, B3-3.4-06
Assets left after closing are divided by	84	240	The months in the loan term (360 on a thirty-year loan)
What the result is checked against	Residual income of at least $1,300 a month	Your debt-to-income ratio	Your debt-to-income ratio
Bitcoin and Ethereum	60% of value, or 100% once sold	Not counted	Not eligible

The divisor moves the monthly figure more than anything else. The $1,160,000 in the illustration below, divided by 84, is $13,809.52 a month. Divided by 240 it is $4,833.33, and divided by 360 it is $3,222.22. Each route subtracts different things first and has its own eligibility rules, so those figures are arithmetic only.

Enough left over after closing: the asset test

Alongside the 84-month figure, the guidelines ask a separate question: is there enough left in your accounts after closing to carry the loan? The guidelines list four ways to meet it, and your file only has to meet one.

Method	Assets left after closing must equal
Method 1, Mortgage Only	125% of all outstanding mortgage debt you are personally liable for
Method 2, Simplified	110% of the new mortgage amount, plus 25% of all your other outstanding debt, mortgage and consumer
Method 3, Traditional	100% of the loan amount, plus 36 months of your other debt payments, plus 36 months of any net loss on rental real estate
Method 4, Subject Mortgage Only	125% of the new loan amount after the down payment and closing costs

Method 4 has four limits of its own: a minimum 700 credit score, "Primary residence occupancy for subject property only," "No Non-Occupying Co-Applicants" and a maximum loan amount of $3 million. Those four are written under Method 4 alone. The loan-to-value, credit score and loan amount limits for the rest of the program are in the lender's program charts, and I'll check them against your file rather than guess at them here.

Method 3 is the only method that weighs the rent on investment properties you already own. It counts each one at 75% of the lease, less that property's full monthly payment, and the net rent can never count above $0. An investment property that earns more than it costs adds nothing to the test, and one that costs more than it earns adds the shortfall to your debts.

The accounts that count, and at what percentage

Each kind of account counts at its own percentage.

Kind of account	How much of it counts
Cash and cash equivalents, such as checking, savings and money market	100% of face value
Marketable securities, such as publicly traded stocks, bonds and funds	100%, excluding unvested restricted stock units and stock options
Retirement funds, such as a 401(k) or an IRA	100% of face value, with your ability to access the money documented
Cash surrender value of an annuity or a life insurance policy	100%, less any penalties, net of any loans against it
Bitcoin and Ethereum	60%, or 100% if sold
Bank accounts held outside the U.S.	Not allowed

Two more sources count. Proceeds from a documented sale of your home or business within the prior four months are eligible. On Methods 2 and 3 only, up to 10% of the assets used may come from cash-out proceeds on a refinance.

A loan secured by one of these accounts, such as a margin loan, comes off that account's value before the percentage is applied. Only the balance owed comes off, not the full amount you could draw.

An account in your name and the name of a spouse who is not on the loan can count in full with an access letter. An account shared with anybody else who is not on the loan counts only for your share. The lender splits it evenly when two things are true: the account states no percentage for each owner, and every owner provides an access letter.

Business funds do not count, though they can go toward your funds to close, meaning the money you bring to closing. Neither do cars, artwork, the net worth of a business, unvested restricted stock, unexercised stock options or securities that are not publicly traded. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the only cryptocurrency the program accepts.

If you hold Bitcoin or Ethereum, a coin you keep counts at 60% and the same value sold and deposited counts at 100%. Selling can carry a tax bill, so please talk with your tax advisor before you move anything. Using cryptocurrency toward a down payment covers the paper trail for a sale, and when you actually have to sell stock for a down payment covers the timing for stocks on a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan.

The statements and the paper trail behind your assets

The documentation rules are in the same section. The lender needs the most recent four full months of statements for any account used to qualify. Balances have to be verified within 60 days of the date you sign your note.

Deposits get read closely. For any deposit greater than 10% of the account's value on the most recent statement, you'll need to show where the money came from. A deposit you cannot trace comes off the ending value of the account. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA set their deposit threshold differently, and which bank deposits an underwriter will ask you to explain covers that version.

Gifts have a narrow role. The guidelines say "Gift deposits are not eligible for the assets used to qualify," and they may be used only for funds to close on a purchase. A gift from your family can still help you close, and how a gift for a down payment gets documented walks through that part.

Before closing, the lender checks your accounts again. The guidelines say that on Asset Qualifier loans, "Luxury Mortgage will order a re-verification of assets." Please tell me about any large transfer of money you are planning before you make it.

When you're ready, please provide the most recent four full months of statements for every account you would like counted. For every statement, please provide all pages, even if the last page is intentionally left blank. For a retirement account, please also provide something that shows you can withdraw the money, such as the plan's withdrawal terms, since the guidelines ask for your access to be documented.

Common mistakes with asset-based qualifying

Comparing an 84 figure with a 240 figure. A friend who qualified through Freddie Mac's 240 rule will describe a much smaller monthly number, because the programs divide by different numbers.

Counting crypto at full value. Bitcoin and Ethereum count at 60% until they are sold, and no other cryptocurrency counts at all.

Planning on a gift to raise the income figure. A gift can help pay for the closing, but it cannot be part of the assets that produce the 84-month income.

An illustration with made-up numbers

Numbers below are made up to show the mechanism. They are not a quote.

A client is buying a $900,000 home with 25 percent down. She has $700,000 in a brokerage account, $500,000 in an IRA she can access, $150,000 in savings and $100,000 in Bitcoin she has not sold. Her down payment and closing costs come out of savings and the brokerage account.

Assets, as counted under Section 5.4.2

Brokerage account at 100%                 $700,000
IRA at 100%                                500,000
Savings at 100%                            150,000
Bitcoin at 60% of $100,000                  60,000
                                        -----------
Counted assets                          $1,410,000
Down payment                            (-) 225,000
Closing costs                             (-) 25,000
                                        -----------
Available post-closing assets           $1,160,000
Divided by 84 months                          / 84
                                        -----------
Monthly gross income                    $13,809.52

Her loan is $675,000, and she owes $18,000 on a car. Method 2 asks for 110% of the loan plus 25% of her other debt.

Method 2 asset test

110% of $675,000                          $742,500
25% of $18,000 car loan                      4,500
                                        -----------
Assets needed after closing               $747,000
Assets she has after closing            $1,160,000

She clears that test. For residual income, suppose her new housing payment with taxes and insurance is $5,400 and her car payment is $550. That leaves $7,859.52 a month, well above the $1,300 floor.

Now suppose she sells the Bitcoin and deposits the $100,000 before applying. It counts at 100% instead of 60%, so her post-closing assets rise to $1,200,000 and her monthly figure becomes $14,285.71.

Availability depends on the state and the lender

Section 3.6 of the Simple Access guidelines, titled Geographic Eligibility, says "See Rate Sheet for State Eligibility." The states where this program is offered are set by Luxury Mortgage on its rate sheet, and that list can change. Being licensed in fifteen states does not mean this program is offered in all of them, so please ask me before you plan a purchase around it.

Your next step

This program is not priced in the rate tool on the homepage, so the place to start is a conversation. Please call me at (843) 765-0000 or email me at jeff@solverya.com, and we can go through your accounts together. I'll tell you which method your file fits, how each account counts, whether the program is offered in your state, and whether a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac route would serve you better. Calls are welcome even if you are only starting to think about it.

Common questions

Can I get a mortgage based on assets instead of income?

Yes, with some lenders. Under Luxury Mortgage Corp.'s Simple Access Asset Qualifier, version 9.2 dated July 8, 2026 and revised July 31, 2026, the lender divides your available post-closing assets by 84 months and treats the result as monthly gross income. What is left after your monthly payments has to clear a set floor.

Does Bitcoin count as an asset for a mortgage?

Under Luxury Mortgage's Simple Access guidelines, version 9.2, Bitcoin and Ethereum count at 60% of their value, or 100% once sold, and no other cryptocurrency counts. To use either toward your funds to close, it has to be sold and deposited before closing.

Can gift money count toward asset qualifying?

No. Luxury Mortgage's Simple Access guidelines, version 9.2, say gift deposits are not eligible for the assets used to qualify. A gift may still be used toward your funds to close on a purchase.

Is 84 months the same as Fannie Mae's or Freddie Mac's asset rule?

No. Freddie Mac's Section 5307.1 divides net eligible assets by 240. Fannie Mae's B3-3.4-06 divides by the months in the loan term. The 84-month divisor and the residual-income floor belong to Luxury Mortgage's Simple Access Asset Qualifier, version 9.2, and other non-QM lenders set their own figures.

Can I use an asset qualifier loan on a second home or with a co-applicant who will not live there?

It depends on the method. Under Luxury Mortgage's Simple Access guidelines, version 9.2, Method 4 is limited to a primary residence with no non-occupying co-applicants and a loan amount cap. The limits for the other methods are in the lender's program charts, and I can check your file against them.

Nothing here is a credit decision, an approval or a denial. Lender guidelines change, so please confirm what applies to your own file.