Jumbo & Large Balance
The banks’ ceiling is this shelf’s floor.
Above the conforming ceiling, most banks want private-banking theater: relationships, deposits moved over, committee reviews. This shelf just wants the file — and it reads bank statements and 1099s as willingly as W-2s, to three and a half million dollars, at leverage the marble-lobby crowd rarely offers.
Who this is built for
Buyers just over the line
The Miami starter home now prices past the conforming ceiling. If your loan is a little too big for the easy box, this is the shelf that treats that as normal.
Self-employed jumbo borrowers
The bigger the loan, the harder banks squint at a Schedule C. Here the bank-statement and 1099 routes run all the way up the ladder.
Buyers of two-to-three-million-dollar homes
Where private banks ask for your investment accounts, this shelf asks for your documents — and publishes its leverage in a grid instead of a conversation.
Strong files with one blemish
A credit score in the 600s does not end a large-balance purchase. One program reaches five million and prices the blemish instead of declining it.
Four programs publish four different ladders, and the one that fits depends on your documents as much as your price range. A short call sorts which grid you belong on before anything is pulled.
Find your gridMore mythology per dollar than any corner of the market
Banks want the relationship. This shelf just wants the file — and it reads bank statements as willingly as W-2s.
Jumbo lending has more mythology per dollar than any corner of the market. Three corrections:
The honest trade sits in the pricing, not the approval: large-balance non-QM costs more than a bank’s relationship jumbo. What it buys is leverage, documentation freedom, and an answer this month instead of a committee’s.
| “Jumbo means a giant down payment” | Not on this shelf | The strongest grid lends 90% of value up to $1.5 million on a primary residence — with the ratio published, not negotiated. |
| “Jumbo means full doc” | Not here either | Bank statements, 1099s, P&L and asset routes run the same ladders. The document changes; the ceiling mostly does not. |
| “Jumbo means perfect credit” | One program reaches $4 million | And its grid prices scores into the low 600s at reduced leverage instead of declining them. |
Leverage, documentation and credit requirements vary by lender and program and change without notice. Not all applicants will qualify.
How it actually works
A jumbo here is underwritten like any loan on this site — the zeroes change, the logic does not.
Pick the documentation that fits
Full doc if the returns are clean. Bank statements, 1099s, a CPA-prepared P&L or asset utilization if they are not. The top of the ladder is open to all of them.
The loan size sets the rungs
Leverage steps down as the balance steps up — the first grid, “The ladder”, shows exactly where. Reserves scale the same way: three months at the bottom of the ladder, twelve at the top.
Credit sets the entry point
The strongest grid wants 720. Another program on the same shelf prices files down to 600 at reduced leverage rather than refusing them.
Then it closes like anything else
Appraisal — sometimes two, at the largest balances — title, and a closing. No committee, no deposit relationship, no theater.
The four published ladders
Four programs, four grids, each on its own tab — because figures from different programs never combine, and the one that fits you depends on how your income documents as much as on the price. Read them in order: the leverage ladder, the alt-documentation reach, the prime lane for clean full-doc files, and the band past three and a half million.
One program’s current matrix at a 720 score, single-family primary residence — the cleanest published jumbo ladder on my shelf:
| Loan size | Purchase & rate-and-term | Cash-out |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $1.5 million | 90% | 80% |
| $1.5M – $2 million | 85% | 80% |
| $2M – $2.5 million | 80% | 75% |
| $2.5M – $3 million | 75% | 70% |
Two rungs below the headline matter just as much: at a 700 score the same program still lends 90% to $1 million and 85% to $1.5 million, and at 680 it holds 80% to $1.5 million. The documentation menu runs the whole ladder — full doc, bank statements, 1099, P&L, even asset utilization — with reserves of three months up to $1 million, six to $2 million and twelve above. Housing history wants twelve clean months. Two Florida notes belong in your offer math: on this program the state’s condos cap at 75% owner-occupied and 70% for second homes and investors, and these figures are the single-family column — two-to-four-unit properties run about five points lower throughout. And one door belongs here rather than three pages away: if you are a physician, dentist, or another eligible medical professional, there is a program that lends one hundred percent of the price to two million dollars with no mortgage insurance at all — nothing down on a two-million-dollar house, at a 720 score, and 100% to a million and a half at 680. The medical-professional page has the conditions. It is the largest gap between what this ladder shows and what my shelf can actually do.* Two other grids also beat this one on credit rather than on size: one writes 90% to a million and a half at a 700 score and still holds 85% at 660,† and another holds near-ninety percent to two million at a 680 rather than the 720 above.‡
Representative of one program’s matrix effective 06/30/2026, single-family/PUD/condo column, primary residence. Second-home and investment grids run lower. Maximum loan-to-value, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Florida condominium and new-construction caps as stated. Not all applicants will qualify.
A separate alt-income program extends the ladder past where most banks stop asking questions and start scheduling meetings:
| Loan size | Maximum loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| To $2 million | 85% | At a 740 score — one to four units, primary |
| To $2.5 million | 80% | At 720 |
| To $3 million | 75% | At 720; cash-out at this size runs 70% |
| To $3.5 million | 65% | At 740 — the top of the published ladder |
The part worth underlining: this is the same program whose income routes are bank statements, 1099s, a CPA-prepared P&L and asset utilization. Three and a half million dollars of leverage, documented the way self-employed money actually looks. And for files the first two grids turn away, a third program reaches four million dollars with a credit floor in the 600s — at the $1.5 million band it lends 90% at 700, 85% in the 660s, 80% at 640, and still 65% at 600. A large loan and an imperfect file are not a contradiction on this shelf; they are a rung. That third program carries one limit worth settling first, though: it does not lend in every state, and New York is one it excludes.
Representative of a second program’s alt-income matrix effective 07/10/2026, primary-residence purchase and rate-and-term figures; and, for the credit-range figures, a third program’s summary version 08/17/2026 at its $1.5 million band, purchase column — that third program publishes a list of states it does not lend in, and New York is on it. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum loan-to-value, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in each source. Not all applicants will qualify.
A fourth program underwrites jumbo the way conforming loans are underwritten — automated findings, full documentation, and near-ninety leverage at balances the other grids hold lower. Primary residence, purchase and rate-and-term:
| Loan size | Maximum loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| To $1.5 million | 89.99% | From a 700 score — the strongest 700-score rung on this page |
| To $2 million | 89.99% | From 720 — near-ninety at a balance the first grid holds at 85% |
| To $3 million | 80% | From 740 |
| To $3.5 million | 75% | From 740 — matching the deepest reach on the alt-documentation grid |
The flavor is the point: this grid wants the clean file — full documentation read by the same automated systems that run conforming loans, with reserves of roughly three months at the near-ninety rungs and eighteen to twenty-four at the top. In exchange, a W-2 borrower with tidy returns often finds this the best-priced jumbo on the page. It reaches past the primary grid too: cash-out runs to 80% up to $2 million at 740, second homes hold 80%, and investment purchases hold 80% to $2 million at 740 — a rung the other grids do not print. When the file is clean, we price this lane first; when it is not, the other three grids exist precisely because this one says no.
Representative of a fourth program’s jumbo product profile dated 08/06/2026, primary-residence purchase and rate-and-term figures except as noted; automated-underwriting approval and full documentation required. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum loan-to-value, credit score, loan amount and reserve requirements are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Not all applicants will qualify.
A fifth program publishes a grid where the others stop: three and a half to five million dollars, primary residence, on a printed matrix rather than a committee’s mood:
| The file | Maximum loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| To $5 million — full documentation | 75% | From a 700 score on a purchase; a refinance holds 65% |
| To $5 million — bank statements or 1099s | 70% | Alt-doc does not end at this altitude; refinances run 60% |
| The deeper rungs | 65–70% | At tighter ratios and up to twenty-four months of reserves |
The conditions are deliberately adult: eighteen to twenty-four months of reserves, conservative ratio caps, two appraisals on every file with the lower value governing, twenty-four clean months of housing history, no first-time buyers and no gift funds — at this size the lender wants your own money and your own track record. Citizens and permanent residents only, cash-out to one million dollars, and one address rule worth checking first: the property must sit in a metropolitan area of more than two million people. What this grid changes is the nature of the answer above $3.5 million — it used to be only a conversation; now there is also a printed number. And five million is not the end either — a separate alt-documentation grid keeps printing rungs to six million dollars on a primary residence, at sixty percent from a 760 score, on twelve or twenty-four months of bank statements rather than returns.
Representative of a fifth program’s matrix effective 08/04/2026, primary residence, $3,500,000 to $5,000,000. Leverage varies within the band by loan size, documentation and reserves; the strongest published rungs are shown. Two full appraisals required. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum loan-to-value, credit score, loan amount, ratio and reserve requirements are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
Every grid above is a primary residence. Large balances on a second home or a rental run their own ladders, and they run higher than most people assume:
| The file | Maximum loan-to-value | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Second home — to $2 million | 89.99% | From a 680 score, purchase or rate-and-term |
| Second home — cash-out to $2 million | 75% | From 700 |
| Second home — to $1.5 million, at a lower score | 80% | From 640; 75% at 620 |
| Investment — to $1.5 million, on your own income | 85% | From a 700 score — and eligible in New York |
| Investment — to $1.5 million, on the property’s rent | 85% | From 720; 80% at 660; 75% at 640; 65% at 620; 60% at 600 |
| Investment — to $3 million, on the rent | 70% | From a 700 score; 75% holds to $2 million down to a 640 |
| Investment — to $2 million | 80% | From a 680 score |
| Investment — to $2.5 million | 75% | From 720 |
| Investment — no personal income read at all | 75% | From a 650 score to $2 million — qualified on the property, not on you |
| Investment — cash-out to $1 million | 75% | From 680 |
| Investment — a foreign national | 65% | No US credit score required at all, to $1.5 million |
Near-ninety percent on a second home at a 680 score is the row worth pausing on — it is the same leverage the strongest primary-residence grid on this page offers, on a house you do not live in. The same program takes co-operative apartments on a primary residence and a second home, which matters enormously in the New York market and almost nothing else on this shelf will touch. The two eighty-five percent investment rows come from a different lender again, and they are worth separating: one reads your own income, the other reads the property’s rent, and both are available in New York even though that same lender will not write an owner-occupied loan there. A second home at a 640 score is its own surprise — most jumbo lending stops asking below 680. Reserves run twelve months on the investment rungs and follow automated findings below eighty percent. The property-based route is a different animal: it reads the asset rather than the borrower, asks for no personal income at all, and reaches into five-plus multifamily and mixed-use buildings well past these numbers — that is commercial territory rather than a jumbo home loan, so bring me the address and I will tell you which side of the line it falls on.
Second-home and investment figures representative of one program’s jumbo product profile effective 03/26/2026; the property-based row is a separate program’s matrix effective 07/24/2026, investment occupancy only, qualified on the property rather than personal income. Figures from different programs never combine. Maximum loan-to-value, credit score and loan amount are separate limits shown only in combinations printed together in each source. Co-operative apartments are eligible on the first program for a primary residence and a second home; reserve requirements apply and rise with balance. The property-based program’s larger balances are five-plus multifamily, mixed-use and commercial rather than one-to-four-unit residential. The two 85% investment rows are from a third program’s matrices effective 08/17/2026, investment occupancy only, one qualified on personal income and one on the property’s rent; that program excludes South Dakota on investment lending. The lower-score second-home row is from a fourth program’s matrix effective 07/27/2026. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
Qualifying on assets instead of income? That page is here →
* From one program’s published matrix effective 07/13/2026, for eligible medical professionals: 100% financing to $2,000,000 from a 720 credit score; 100% financing to $1,500,000 from a 680 credit score; 95% financing to $2,000,000 from a 680 credit score — one unit, primary residence, purchase or rate-and-term, with no mortgage insurance above 90% financing. Manually underwritten; a maximum of four financed properties. Eligibility depends on professional designation. Figures from different programs never combine.
† From a separate program’s published matrix effective 08/17/2026: 90% financing to $1,500,000 from a 700 credit score; 85% from 680; 85% from 660; 80% from 640; 75% from 620; 65% from 600 — purchase, primary residence, on full documentation or twelve or twenty-four months of bank statements. That program does not lend on owner-occupied property in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, South Dakota, West Virginia or the U.S. territories. Figures from different programs never combine.
‡ From a further program’s jumbo profile effective 03/26/2026: 89.99% financing to $2,000,000 from a 680 credit score, purchase or rate-and-term, primary residence, full documentation with automated findings — above 80% financing, fixed-rate only. The same profile carries the second-home and investment rows shown in the last tab. Figures from different programs never combine.
The fine print that decides large-balance files
What you actually hand over
Income, by whichever route fits
Tax returns, twelve months of bank statements, 1099s, a CPA-prepared P&L, or asset statements. The large balance does not force full doc.
Proof of reserves
Three to twelve months of the full payment depending on loan size — the document most likely to decide the file, so we count it first.
Twelve months of housing history
Mortgage or rent, paid as agreed, documented.
The property file
Appraisal — two at the top of the ladder — title, insurance. On Florida condos, the building’s questionnaire joins the stack.
Want the exact list for your file before you ever apply? Build your document checklist — the list changes with your answers, printable and yours to keep.
Where it wins — and the honest limits
Told straight, because this page is useless otherwise.
Ninety percent of value to $1.5 million on a primary residence, published in a grid — where a private bank would open a conversation about your deposits instead.
Bank statements, 1099s, a CPA-prepared P&L and asset utilization reach three and a half million dollars. The document changes; the ceiling mostly does not.
One program reaches four million with a credit floor in the 600s, pricing the blemish rather than declining it — which is the opposite of how large balances usually get handled.
A printed matrix answers this month. No relationship to establish, no deposits to move, no meeting to be scheduled around someone else’s calendar.
If you have seven figures on deposit at a private bank and patience for its process, their rate will likely beat this shelf. This page is for when you want the leverage, the documentation freedom, or the answer this month.
Twelve months of payments on a three-million-dollar loan is a serious liquidity test. If the down payment consumes everything, the file stalls at the reserves line, not the leverage line.
The 90% headline is a single-family, non-condo figure. Stack the published haircuts before falling in love with a property type.
The strongest grid wants twelve clean months. There are rungs for everything else — but they are different rungs, and honest pricing means saying so before the appraisal, not after.
Price the ladder against your file
Tell me the price range, the score band and how your income documents — I will show you which rungs you clear on each grid, what the reserves requirement looks like in dollars, what the cash at closing actually comes to, and where your private bank would genuinely beat me. Ten honest minutes.
Questions people actually ask
Open the full Q&A — documentation, credit, and what happens above $3.5 million ▾
+How much down do I actually need on a jumbo here?
The strongest grid lends up to 90% of value to $1.5 million on a primary residence at a 720 score — and steps down as the balance climbs: 85% to $2 million, 80% to $2.5, 75% to $3. Those are published ratios, not the opening position of a negotiation.
+Can I get a jumbo with bank statements instead of tax returns?
Yes — on the first two grids on this page. One runs bank statements, 1099s, P&L and asset routes up its whole ladder; the other is explicitly an alt-income program to $3.5 million. Self-employment does not shrink the ceiling; it just picks the document.
+My score is in the 600s. Is a large loan possible?
One program on this shelf reaches $4 million and publishes rungs at 680, 660, 640, 620 and even 600 at its $1.5 million band — at stepped-down leverage and stepped-up pricing. The honest framing: the rung exists, it costs more, and whether it is wise depends on the whole file.
+Why would I use this instead of my private bank?
Three reasons, sometimes one is enough: leverage their committee will not print, documentation their policy will not read, or a closing date their process will not meet. If none of those apply, take the relationship pricing — I will say so to your face.
+Do jumbo loans here require two appraisals?
At the largest balances, commonly yes — plan the contract timeline for it. Below that threshold a single appraisal is the norm, same as any loan on this site.
+What happens above $3.5 million?
Two answers now. A fifth program publishes a printed grid to $5 million — 75% at a 700 score on full documentation, 70% on bank statements, under adult conditions: deep reserves, two appraisals, a major-metro address. And one program still considers $3M–$5M case by case for files that fit no grid. Worth a conversation before assuming either answer.
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Loan programs, explained honestly
Programs described are offered through third-party lenders, are subject to lender approval and full underwriting, and change without notice. Leverage caps, credit minimums, reserve requirements, documentation options and loan amounts are separate limits, vary by lender and program, and are never available in combination across programs. Figures reflect multiple programs’ current materials, each cited beside the table or section it supports. Not all applicants or properties will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.