The Quick Read: Usually, yes: through select wholesale programs, an LLC or a revocable living trust can often be the named borrower or title-holder on a super jumbo loan, but a real person almost always signs a personal guaranty, and the file is still underwritten on that person’s deposits, assets, credit and reserves, subject to full underwriting.
- Loan size sets the super jumbo tier. It does not decide whether an entity may borrow.
- A revocable living trust is the cleanest trust structure. Irrevocable and land trusts add friction.
- An LLC fits investment property best. Most programs want one single-purpose LLC, not stacked entities.
- Above $4,000,000, every file is reviewed case by case before submission.
Super jumbo files get weird about paperwork, not about the entity itself. This guide shows which structures work, where files stall, and what the size of the loan changes.
Key Terms Defined
Super jumbo loan: an industry label for a mortgage well above standard jumbo size, often into seven figures. No regulator defines it.
Vesting: how title to the property is held, such as in your own name, a trust, or an LLC.
Personal guaranty: a separate document where a real person promises to repay the loan if the entity cannot.
Revocable living trust: a trust you can change or cancel, where you are typically the beneficiary. Lenders treat it much like personal ownership.
Land trust: a trust used mostly to keep your name off the public deed. It is a privacy tool, not a liability shield.
Due-on-sale clause: a term in an existing mortgage letting the lender demand payoff if the property is transferred.
Which Structures Work at Super Jumbo Size?
Individual names and revocable living trusts work on almost every program. A single LLC works on most investment property files. Irrevocable trusts, land trusts and layered entities work only case by case, and some programs decline them outright.
| Structure | Named borrower? | Main purpose | Typical friction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | Yes | Simplest file | None |
| Revocable living trust | Usually | Estate planning, probate | Trust paperwork |
| Irrevocable trust | Rarely | Estate planning | Grantor not beneficiary |
| Land trust | Select programs | Privacy | Title and resale questions |
| Single LLC | Often, investment use | Liability separation | Guaranty, entity documents |
| Layered entities | Generally no | Complex planning | Lender sign-off needed |
Read the table as a starting map. Across the wholesale network Lendmire places files with, these answers shift a little from lender to lender. The pattern holds, though.
Does Vesting Change Underwriting, or Just the Closing File?
Mostly the closing file. Underwriting looks through the entity to the person behind it. The lender still reviews that person’s credit, reserves and qualifying income, whether title sits in a trust, an LLC or a personal name.
Here is how that works on a bank statement file. Qualifying income comes from 12 or 24 months of deposits, divided by the statement months after an expense ratio. Transfers from your own business into your personal account count in full. Pricing and available terms vary by lender, borrower profile, property type, and full underwriting review. Debt-to-income can run to 50%. Reserves step from 3 months to 6 and then 9 as the loan grows. All of this is subject to full underwriting.
Entity paperwork adds a layer on top. The lender checks that the entity exists, who can sign, and that names match across the note, title, insurance, appraisal and lease. Mismatched names stall more files than weak credit does.
Size changes different things. Two appraisals are typical above $2,000,000 across most programs in the network, whether title is in a trust, an LLC or your name. Reserves rise with the balance. Review gets deeper. None of that depends on vesting.
(Market trade press agrees that these loans exist at scale. Scotsman Guide reports that non-QM jumbo loans can reach $3 million or more. Through select wholesale programs in Lendmire’s network, files run from $300,000 to $30,000,000 on two ladders, and everything above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case.)
How Does a Revocable Living Trust Work?
A revocable living trust is the easiest entity-style structure. You are typically the settlor and the beneficiary, you can change the trust, and the lender sees through it to you. Most programs accept it as borrower or title-holder.
What the lender usually wants to see:
- A certification of trust or the relevant pages of the trust agreement
- The trustee’s authority to borrow and sign
- Confirmation that you are the beneficiary
- Title and insurance that name the trust consistently
The trust solves estate planning problems. It helps avoid probate and passes the property smoothly. It does not separate the property from your personal liability. Many buyers confuse those two goals.
There is a bonus on the asset side. If you qualify on assets, a revocable living trust’s holdings count. Assets in other trusts never count toward asset-based qualification on these programs.
Why Do Irrevocable and Land Trusts Cause Trouble?
Irrevocable trusts are hard because you gave up control. The grantor usually is not the beneficiary, so the lender cannot look through the trust to a single person’s credit and assets. Some programs decline them. Others want a restructuring, such as an LLC owned by the trust, and that raises the layered-entity issue.
Raise it before you sign a purchase contract. Not after.
Land trusts are a different animal. They keep a name off the public deed. They do not protect you from a lawsuit. An LLC does the liability work. On a very large loan, counsel will look at how a land trust affects title insurance and a later sale of the loan. Select programs allow land trusts. Many prefer you skip them.
When Does an LLC Work as the Borrower?
An LLC works best on investment property. It can sit on title and sign the note, while a member signs the guaranty. Programs generally want a single-purpose LLC that holds the property, not a chain of entities above it.
Occupancy matters. A primary residence is personal use, so most programs put it in an individual or revocable trust name. A second home usually follows the same path. An investment property that you rent out is where an LLC fits.
Business-purpose lending also explains why this works. Investor loans on rental property are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. The federal rule behind that is 12 CFR 1026.3, which exempts credit extended primarily for a business purpose and credit to non-natural persons from the consumer-credit rules. The primary-purpose test is applied to each transaction. A lender cannot simply label a loan as business-purpose.
The guaranty is the part investors misread. An LLC borrower does not mean you have no personal liability. Nearly every entity-vested file needs a real person to guarantee the loan. A few lenders waive the guaranty for borrowers with proven track records, but a first-time buyer should not count on that. In a multi-member LLC, programs look at the owners with meaningful ownership. Which members sign varies by lender.
Lendmire’s piece Can Your LLC Hold a Super Jumbo DSCR Loan Without a Guaranty goes deeper on that exact question.
What Does Loan Size Change, if Not the Entity?
Size changes leverage, credit, reserves and review depth. Take an investment property purchase. Through select wholesale programs, leverage runs up to 85% from $300,000 to $1,000,000 and steps down to 80% from $1,000,000 to $2,500,000. It falls to 75% from $2,500,000 to $3,000,000 and to 60% from $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. Between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000, 65% is a ceiling reviewed case by case before submission. Beyond that, the bank program’s own ladder takes over, and every figure is on review.
Cash-out is tighter. On an investment property cash-out, leverage runs 75% from $300,000 to $1,000,000 and lower as size grows. On the portfolio program, cash-in-hand is capped at $1,500,000 above 60% LTV. Cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves on the larger files. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Super jumbo overlays kick in earlier for investors. Above $3,000,000 on an investment property, programs typically add a 700 credit floor and a clean housing history. They also want 48 months of seasoning on any credit event, U.S. citizen or permanent resident status, no non-occupant co-borrowers, and no rural property. Those overlays apply to an LLC borrower the same way they apply to an individual.
Property type also caps leverage regardless of vesting. Condos, condotels and multi-unit properties each have their own ceilings.
Picture a founder with strong deposits and a rental purchase above $3,500,000. Putting the property in an LLC changes the paperwork, not the arithmetic. Leverage, reserves and appraisal rules depend on the loan size. The founder’s credit and deposits still carry the file.
Moving an Existing Mortgaged Property Into an Entity
This is a separate problem from a new loan. If you already have a mortgage, its due-on-sale clause lets the lender demand payoff on a transfer. Federal law protects only certain transfers. For trusts, the eCFR rule at 12 CFR 191.5 covers a transfer into an inter vivos trust where the borrower is and remains the beneficiary and occupant.
That protection is narrow. It does not automatically cover an LLC, an irrevocable trust, or a land trust used purely for privacy. If you plan to retitle a mortgaged property, get your existing lender’s written approval first.
A new loan closed in the entity from the start avoids the issue. That is one reason many investors choose vesting before the purchase, not after.
Three Quick Scenarios
A physician buying a primary residence above the super jumbo line. Self-employed, with traditional personal-income documentation that understates income. A revocable living trust holds title, and the physician is reviewed on 12 months of deposits and reserves. The trust changes the paperwork. The deposits and credit carry the file.
An investor buying a rental with an LLC. One LLC, formed before closing, holds title and signs the note. The investor signs the guaranty. Insurance, appraisal and lease all name the LLC exactly. If the file qualifies primarily on documented deposits and reserves under the applicable program, subject to lender guidelines, the vesting stays clean.
A family with an irrevocable trust that wants an LLC above it. Sound planning, but a hard fit. The program may want counsel’s letter, a restructure, or a different lender in the network. This is a conversation to have before the contract, not after. Lendmire’s article How Trust vs LLC Vesting Changes a Super Jumbo DSCR Cash-Out Amount shows how structure can also affect a refinance.
What Do Lenders Usually Ask For?
For a trust, expect a certification of trust or trust pages, trustee authority, and a beneficiary confirmation. For an LLC, expect formation papers, an operating agreement, an EIN letter, a good-standing certificate, and evidence of signing authority. Programs also want the guarantor’s statements, credit and asset documents.
Form the LLC before the contract closes. A new entity with no history is fine for a purchase. A name mismatch is not.
Mistakes That Stall Files
- Assuming an LLC removes the guaranty
- Using a land trust for liability protection
- Stacking entities without lender sign-off
- Retitling a mortgaged property without checking the existing loan
- Letting names differ across the note, title, insurance and lease
- Waiting until contract to discuss an irrevocable trust
When Not to Use an Entity
Skip the LLC if you are buying a primary residence, or if you may refinance into a standard loan later. Entity-owned property generally cannot go into an agency-style mortgage, which usually wants individual vesting. A revocable trust does less harm there than an LLC does.
Skip the land trust if privacy is not the real goal. An LLC and a revocable trust each solve a different problem. Match the tool to the problem. Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; investors should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Next Steps
The brokerage’s complete DSCR loans guide covers the property-income path if rental cash flow suits your file better than deposits do.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Entity, trust, estate and state-law questions depend on your situation, so consult a qualified attorney or CPA before choosing how to hold title.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an LLC hold my primary residence loan?
Rarely. Most programs put a primary residence in an individual or revocable living trust name. LLCs fit investment property best. A few programs may review other structures case by case, subject to underwriting.
Do I still sign a personal guaranty if an LLC is the borrower?
Almost always. A real person signs a separate guaranty, and the lender reviews that person’s credit, deposits and assets. Some lenders waive it for proven track records, but a first-time buyer should not count on that.
Do trust assets count toward qualification?
Assets in a revocable living trust count toward asset-based paths. Assets in other trusts never count on these programs. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% at age 59.5 and up.
Does super jumbo size change the entity rules?
No. Size changes leverage, credit floors, reserves and appraisals, not whether an entity may borrow. Above $4,000,000, every file is reviewed case by case before submission.
Can I put an LLC above a trust?
Sometimes. This layered structure needs lender sign-off, and many programs decline it. Raise it before you sign a purchase contract so the lender can review the documents in advance.
For current guidelines and terms, see Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan programs page.
Self-employed borrowers can compare both super jumbo programs on Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a non-QM mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) arranging DSCR investor loans in 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. DSCR eligibility is generally reviewed around property-level rental income rather than personal income, subject to lender and program guidelines, a fit for self-employed investors and LLC-owned portfolios. Lendmire was recognized as a Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Workplace in 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Scotsman Guide – One out of 20 mortgages are non-QM
2. CFPB – 12 CFR 1026.3 Exempt transactions
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Buy or Cash Out on a Super Jumbo Loan With Portfolio Assets · IO vs Amortizing Super Jumbo Cash-Out for a Planned Short Hold · How To Use A Personal Account For A Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Important disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage brokerage. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or financial advisor. All loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not constitute a commitment to lend. Rates, terms, and program guidelines are subject to change without notice and vary by borrower profile, property type, and state. Information in this article is general in nature and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.