Jumbo loans and condo financing on the First Coast

Where the line sits

The conforming limit, and what happens above it

A conventional loan is one written to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines, which means an agency will buy it. There is a ceiling on that. Above the ceiling, no agency is standing behind the loan and the lender is holding the risk on its own books — that loan is a jumbo, and it behaves differently in almost every way.

For 2026 the Federal Housing Finance Agency set the baseline one-unit conforming limit at $832,750 in most of the country, announced in November 2025. The high-cost ceiling for one-unit properties is $1,249,125. Limits are set county by county and change every year; check the current figure for the county you are buying in at fhfa.gov.

Jumbo

What a jumbo file actually asks of you

Jumbo guidelines are set by each lender rather than by an agency, so they vary a great deal. What follows is the shape of it, not a rule — your lender's overlay is the only thing that matters in practice.

• A larger down payment. Often 10% to 20%, more on second homes and investment property.
• Reserves. Months of principal, interest, taxes and insurance in liquid assets after closing. This is the requirement that catches people out, and the number can be substantial.
• Deeper documentation. Two years of returns, full asset sourcing, and a real explanation of any large deposit.
• Tighter credit expectations, and pricing that moves sharply with score.
• Sometimes two appraisals, particularly on unusual or high-value coastal property with thin comparables.
• A longer timeline. A thirty-day close on a jumbo is ambitious. Build the contract accordingly.

Waterfront property adds one more wrinkle. Appraisers differ on how much value they attribute to docks, lifts and seawalls, comparable sales are scarce, and a low appraisal on a jumbo cannot be papered over with a small cash contribution. Start the conversation with the lender before the appraisal is ordered.

Condominiums

The building gets underwritten too

This is the part buyers never expect. With a house, the lender underwrites you and appraises the property. With a condominium, the lender also underwrites the association, and a perfectly strong borrower can be declined because of a building they have no control over.

The shorthand for all of this is warrantable — a project that meets agency guidelines. Non-warrantable does not mean unfinanceable; it means you are into portfolio products, with higher down payments and rates, and a much smaller pool of lenders.

Due diligence

What to ask before you write on a condo

1. Has anyone financed in this building recently, and with whom? The single most useful question. A lender who closed there last quarter knows the answer to everything below.
2. Is there a special assessment, current or being discussed? A pending assessment changes your cost and can affect the loan.
3. What do the reserves look like, and is there a structural integrity reserve study? Ask for the study, not a summary of it.
4. What is the owner-occupancy percentage? And how many units are on short-term rental programmes.
5. Is the association in litigation? Ask in writing.
6. What does the master insurance policy cover, and what is the wind deductible? On the coast this drives both your own HO-6 premium and the association's assessment risk.
7. If you are using VA or FHA, is the project on the approved list? Not on the list means not financeable with that product, full stop.

Practical

How I run a jumbo or condo purchase

• Lender conversation first, before we look seriously. On a jumbo the reserve requirement can change the price range entirely.
• For condos, identify a lender with recent closings in that specific building before making an offer.
• Build a realistic financing timeline into the contract instead of the standard one.
• Get insurance quotes — both the unit policy and an understanding of the association's coverage — inside the inspection period.
• Keep the appraisal conversation open, particularly where a dock or an unusual lot is a large share of the value.

More general programme detail is on my types of home loans page, and a factual list of local lenders is on the lender directory.