Jumbo loans

Any loan amount above your county's conforming limit. The 2026 baseline is $832,750, and designated high-cost areas have higher limits. Above that line, the loan is not eligible for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so lenders apply their own underwriting standards, which is why jumbo answers vary so much between lenders.

Not always, and sometimes they are lower. Jumbo pricing depends on the lender's appetite, your credit depth, and your reserves, and it moves week to week. This is exactly why I price jumbo files across multiple sources rather than trusting one bank's sheet. The spread between answers is often worth real money.

Expect to document months of housing payments in liquid or near-liquid assets after closing, with the exact expectation scaling with loan size and program. Retirement accounts often count at a discount. If reserves are your tight spot, structure can help, and that is a conversation worth having before you shop.

Sometimes, and it can be the smarter play. A conforming first mortgage at the limit with a second lien behind it keeps you in agency underwriting and can beat single-loan jumbo pricing, depending on the week. I run both structures on every file near the line and let the math pick.

Yes. With no agency guarantee behind the loan, lenders read everything: full income documentation, sourced assets, and explanations where the file is unusual. The work is front-loaded. A jumbo file packaged completely on day one closes smoothly, while a thin file invites weeks of follow-up conditions.

Yes. Full-documentation jumbo works when your returns support the income, and bank statement jumbo programs exist when they do not. Self-employed jumbo files reward preparation more than any other loan type I do. Bring me the whole picture early and we choose the documentation path that presents it best.