Bank Statement Loans in Michigan

How a bank statement loan actually works

A bank statement loan is a Non-QM mortgage — "non-qualified" in regulatory language, which simply means it sits outside the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac documentation rulebook. It is not a lesser loan. It's a fully underwritten mortgage that documents income differently, because for self-employed people, tax returns are often the worst possible evidence of what they actually earn. Bank statement lending is one of the largest branches of the Non-QM family — for the full menu of alternative programs, see our Non-QM loans hub.

Here's the problem this loan exists to solve. Your CPA's whole job is to legally minimize your taxable income. Truck payments, equipment, depreciation, mileage, home office, retirement contributions — every deduction shrinks the number at the bottom of your Schedule C. Conventional underwriting then takes that shrunken number and treats it as the whole story. In 28 years I've sat across from business owners depositing $20,000 a month whose returns said they earned $50,000 a year. Nobody was lying. The system just measures the wrong thing.

A bank statement loan measures cash flow instead. You supply 12 or 24 months of statements. The underwriter totals your eligible deposits, filters out items that aren't income — transfers between your own accounts, loan proceeds, the occasional one-off they can't source — and arrives at an average monthly deposit figure. If you're using business statements, an expense factor is applied to estimate what you actually keep after running the business; around 50% is a typical starting point, though it varies by program and industry. The result is your qualifying income, and from there the file looks like any other mortgage: credit report, appraisal, asset review, debt-to-income analysis, closing.

And yes — no tax returns means no tax returns. Most programs never ask for them. No W-2s, no 1099s, no K-1s either.

Who these loans are built for

If your income is real but your tax return doesn't show it, you're the borrower this product was designed around. The Michigan files I see most often:

• Contractors and skilled trades — plumbers, electricians, builders, HVAC — with heavy equipment and vehicle write-offs
• Realtors and commission-only salespeople with strong but uneven deposits
• Restaurant, salon, and shop owners running cash-flow-heavy businesses
• 1099 professionals: consultants, IT contractors, healthcare providers in private practice
• S-corp and LLC owners who pay themselves a small salary and leave the rest in the business
• Seasonal businesses — landscaping, construction, anything tied to Michigan's lake economy — whose annual income is solid but lumpy

If a bank already turned you down because your "income was too low," nothing on that list surprises me. Bank said no? That's where I start.

12-month vs. 24-month programs

Twenty-four-month programs are the default. Two full years of deposits give the underwriter a longer income history, smooth out seasonality, and generally earn the most favorable terms. If your business has Michigan-style seasonal swings — construction that slows every January, a landscaping outfit, a business tied to lake season — 24 months of statements average those dips so one slow winter doesn't define you.

Twelve-month programs exist for the opposite situation: your business is growing, and the last year was meaningfully stronger than the year before it. Averaging in the older, smaller year would only drag your qualifying income down. A 12-month program counts the most recent twelve and lets the growth speak for itself. It's also the path some lenders offer when you have one year of self-employment backed by years of W-2 experience in the same field.

I run the math both ways on nearly every file. Sometimes the answer surprises people — the right program isn't a guess, it's arithmetic.

Personal vs. business bank statements — and the expense factor

Which accounts you use changes how your deposits are counted. Personal bank statement programs credit a high percentage of deposits as income, because by the time money lands in your personal account, the business has already paid its bills. If you pay yourself consistently from the business into a personal account, this can be the cleanest route.

Business bank statement programs apply an expense factor to estimate the cost of running the company. A 50% factor is the common default — deposit $20,000 a month, qualify on $10,000 — but it is not a universal law. Some lenders set factors by industry. Others accept a CPA letter or a prepared profit-and-loss statement documenting that your real expense ratio is lower; a lean service business with little overhead might support a 30–40% expense factor, which credits you with more income from the same deposits. A few programs even blend both account types.

This is exactly the kind of detail that varies wildly from lender to lender — and why having someone who knows each lender's quirks matters more on these loans than on any conventional file.

What you'll need to qualify in Michigan

Every lender publishes its own guidelines, so treat these as honest ranges rather than promises — the job is matching your file to the program it fits.

• Self-employment history: about two years is the standard ask. Some programs accept one year of self-employment when it follows W-2 experience in the same line of work. My self-employed mortgage guide covers how lenders count it.
• Credit score: program floors generally fall between 600 and 660, with 700-plus unlocking the strongest terms and the lowest down payment options.
• Down payment: plan on 10–20% or more for a primary residence. Lower scores, second homes, and investment properties sit at the higher end of that range or above it.
• Bank statements: 12 or 24 months, every page, from personal accounts, business accounts, or both.
• Reserves: anywhere from a few months to twelve months of housing payments in the bank after closing, scaling with loan size.
• Property types: single-family homes, condos, 2–4 unit properties, second homes, and investment properties, depending on program.

Notice what's deliberately missing from that list: tax returns, W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, and a corporate job. That's the point.

Real numbers: a Livonia plumber's file

Let me show you how this plays out, because the math is where the lightbulb goes on. The names change, but I see this exact file constantly.

What does doubling qualifying income mean in practice? All else equal — same debts, same down payment — the loan size your debt-to-income ratio can support roughly doubles too. For Mike, that was the difference between settling for a condo and buying the four-bedroom in the school district his kids were already enrolled in. And if his CPA had documented a leaner expense ratio, some programs would have credited him with even more.

You'll notice I haven't quoted a rate or a monthly payment. That's deliberate. Pricing on these loans depends on your credit, down payment, property, and program — any number I printed here would be wrong for your file. The honest version is a conversation: call or text me at 248-408-2555 and I'll run your actual deposits.

What the process looks like, start to finish

It starts with a short conversation — a call, a text, or the 60-second eligibility check — about your business, your deposits, and what you're trying to buy or refinance. From there I'll ask for your statements and run the deposit math the same way an underwriter will, before anything is formally submitted. You'll know where you stand early, not four weeks in.

Then I match the file to lenders. Because I can see fifty-plus guideline grids side by side, that step takes me hours — not the weeks it costs a borrower calling lenders one at a time. Once you pick the option that fits, the loan moves like any other mortgage: formal application, appraisal, underwriting, clear to close. A well-packaged bank statement file generally runs on a timeline comparable to a conventional loan; the documentation is different, not slower, when it's assembled correctly the first time. Purchases, rate-and-term refinances, and cash-out refinances are all on the table.

And at every step, you're talking to me — Jason Yourofsky, NMLS #137016 — not a rotating cast of processors reading from a script.

Why a broker beats a direct lender on bank statement loans

Here's the part of this market almost nobody explains. A direct lender — the company behind most of the ads you've seen — can only sell you its own product. One rate sheet. One credit box. One expense-factor policy. If their program wants a 660 score and your file is a 645, the answer is no, and their loan officer isn't going to mention that a competitor might take the same file. They can't. They don't work for you; they work for one lender's menu.

Atlantis Mortgage is a wholesale mortgage brokerage. I take the same file — your statements, your credit, your deal — and shop it across more than 50 wholesale lenders, each with its own bank statement programs, score floors, expense factors, and pricing. They compete for your loan. I place it where it fits best.

This matters more in bank statement lending than anywhere else in the mortgage world. Conventional loans are commodities — Fannie and Freddie set the rules, so lenders barely differ. Non-QM has no central rulebook. One lender caps you at a 50% expense factor; another credits 60% of the same deposits. One wants 24 months of statements; another takes 12. One declines your industry; another specializes in it. The spread between the best and worst home for the same file is real money — and sometimes the difference between approved and declined.

After 28 years and more than $2 billion in funded loans, I can usually tell you within one phone call which lenders want your file — and which ones would have wasted three weeks of your life.

Loan sizes: $100,000 to $3 million and up

Bank statement programs cover an unusually wide range. On the small end, plenty of lenders fund loans around $100,000 — a starter home in Wayne County or a modest rental. On the large end, programs run to $3 million and beyond for borrowers with the credit, down payment, and reserves to match.

The 2026 conforming loan limit is $832,750 — above that line, a conventional loan becomes a jumbo loan, and jumbo underwriting is famously unforgiving about self-employed income documentation. Bank statement programs don't bend at that threshold the same way. For self-employed buyers shopping Oakland County's higher-end markets — Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, the lakes — a bank statement jumbo is often the cleanest path that exists.

One note for investors: if you're buying pure rental property, compare a bank statement loan against a DSCR loan, which qualifies on the property's rent rather than your income at all. I write both, and the right answer depends on your deposits, your portfolio, and the property.

Bank statement loan FAQ

Straight answers to the questions Michigan borrowers actually ask me.

What is a bank statement loan and how does it work?

A bank statement loan is a Non-QM mortgage that documents your income with 12 or 24 months of bank deposits instead of tax returns or W-2s. The lender averages your monthly deposits, applies an expense factor to estimate what you keep after business costs — around 50% is typical for business accounts, though it varies by program — and treats the result as your qualifying income. Everything else works like a normal mortgage: credit check, appraisal, down payment, and closing.

What credit score do I need for a bank statement loan in Michigan?

Most bank statement programs set their minimum score somewhere between 600 and 660, and scores of 700 or higher generally unlock the strongest terms and the lowest down payment options. Because Atlantis Mortgage shops more than 50 wholesale lenders, a score one lender turns down can still fit another lender's program — there is no single universal cutoff.

How many months of bank statements do I need?

Either 12 or 24 months, depending on the program. Twenty-four-month programs give underwriters a longer income history and usually earn more favorable terms, while 12-month programs help when your recent deposits are meaningfully stronger than the year before. Atlantis Mortgage runs the numbers both ways and recommends whichever produces the higher qualifying income on a program that fits your file.

Can I use business bank statements instead of personal statements?

Yes. Business bank statement programs are common for Michigan business owners. Lenders apply an expense factor — roughly 50% of deposits is a frequent starting point, though the exact percentage varies by program and industry, and a CPA letter documenting a leaner expense ratio can improve it. Personal statement programs typically credit a higher share of deposits, because the business has already paid its expenses before you pay yourself.

How much down payment does a bank statement loan require?

Plan on 10–20% down or more. Stronger credit profiles generally land at the lower end of that range on a primary residence, while lower scores, second homes, and investment properties usually require more. Exact requirements vary by lender and program, which is one more reason it pays to have a broker compare multiple options against your file.

Can I get a bank statement loan for an investment property or second home?

Yes. Many bank statement programs allow second homes and investment properties, usually with a larger down payment than a primary residence. For pure rental purchases, a DSCR loan — which qualifies on the property's rental income instead of yours — is sometimes the better tool. Atlantis Mortgage offers both and will compare them side by side for your situation.