Lendmire Research

Leverage on a second home runs a bit tighter than on a primary residence and steps down as the loan size grows.

That single choice determines the documentation path, the leverage available, and whether rental income can even help you qualify.

A property you’ll use yourself and rent fewer than 14 days a year can qualify as a second home.

None of what follows depends on where the property sits; the same occupancy test applies whether the second home is in wine country or anywhere else.

A lender divides eligible assets by a set number of months, and that result gets treated like monthly income.

Retirees keep showing up as a named driver of this loan category in trade coverage, and for good reason.

It’s a consumer, owner-occupied and second-home tool — not a rental-property financing product.

There is no federal definition of “super jumbo” — each lender in the network sets its own threshold, which is exactly why shopping matters here.

A lender divides eligible balances by a set number of months to produce a monthly income figure, then underwrites the file against that number.

Underwriters take the eligible balance, apply account-specific discounts, and divide the result by a set number of months.

The two products solve different problems, and mixing them up creates real compliance risk.