Really? Can you do that?
Check your Guidelines
Well, first, consider that a lender/underwriter can do whatever the financial institution’s (FI) guidelines allow assuming they are consistently applied in a legal manner. So if your FI allows you to use asset conversion, you can.
What is the difference?
Asset Conversion
You are counting on the borrower to liquidate assets to service the debt.
Income
You are counting on the borrower to generate income from earnings (or operations if a business) to service the debt.
Is there a preference?
Most lenders prefer to lend on income from earnings (or operations if a business) rather than counting on the prospective borrower to liquidate assets (asset conversion) to make their debt payments on a timely basis.
Wait just a minute!
There are groups of borrowers who absolutely count on asset conversion to service debt, with the blessings of their lenders. This includes retired people for whom, if they did it right, their asset conversion is now their primary source of income. Drawing from IRAs and Pensions is asset conversion. Selling off an accumulated stock portfolio or real estate is asset conversion.
Borrowers who are real estate investors, especially if they have done okay during the recession, are buying (and sometimes rehabbing) and then selling real estate. I know we are all leery of the ‘flippers’ but some of them did just fine.
My advice:
Consider whether the income from asset conversion is sustainable given the borrowers networth and access to readily converted assets. Your guidelines may allow you to use this in borrower projected cashflow. If not, it may at least be a significant compensating factor.
Do you use asset conversion as cashflow? If so, when and how?
