Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
Jumbo payment estimate
The starting figures are an example price in the jumbo range with ten percent down on a thirty-year fixed. Replace them with yours.
Editable benchmark: 7.40% as of October 15, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a jumbo loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $1,000,000 price in the jumbo range, ten percent down on the top-leverage lane, a thirty-year fixed structure at the current Freddie Mac conforming benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated at typical national rates. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conforming benchmark, a market reference and not a jumbo loan quote; jumbo rates are set by the lender and the lane at lock and differ from the conforming benchmark. An adjustable-rate scenario is shown at the benchmark for the whole term; the rate after the initial period is unknown. Reserve months and appraisal counts follow the lane sheet for the amount band; the automated finding may require more. Taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included. On most lanes the conforming limit for the county decides whether a loan is jumbo at all; two lanes start at a stated dollar floor instead. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
The Quick Read: Vested shares sitting in your brokerage account can often count toward jumbo reserves. Unvested grants generally cannot. Reserves are measured after closing, so the same shares cannot cover the down payment and also count as your cushion. Each jumbo lender sets its own valuation and paperwork rules, so confirm them before you make an offer.
What Are Jumbo Reserves, and How Is the Target Set?
Reserves are the verified assets you still hold after closing, counted in months of your full housing payment. A lender multiplies your monthly payment by its required number of months. That product is your target. Your documented, usable assets must meet or beat it.
A loan is jumbo when it starts one dollar above your county’s conforming limit. That limit resets every year. Across the wholesale lanes Lendmire arranges, the envelope looks like this:
- A 660 decision score on the headline lane.
- Leverage up to 90% on some lanes (several reach 89.99% combined loan-to-value, and the rest stop at 80%).
- Loans up to $5,000,000 on the largest lanes.
- A 50% ratio ceiling on the fixed lanes, 45% on adjustable and 43% on interest-only. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Reserves are measured in months of the full payment, and the months rise as the loan grows. Higher leverage tends to push them up too. You can see how these pieces fit together on Lendmire’s jumbo loan programs page. Every figure is subject to lender guidelines and full file review, and none of it is a commitment to lend.
Why Do Tech Households Come Up Short on Paper?
You can earn a lot and own a lot, and still look thin to an underwriter. That is the RSU problem. Your wealth sits in company stock, but a lender wants documented, liquid, vested assets.
RSU stands for restricted stock unit. It is a promise of company shares that arrive on a vesting schedule. Until a tranche vests and the shares land in your account, you hold a promise. Not an asset.
Here is the split that matters. Vested shares in a brokerage account are assets. Unvested grants are a future story. A lender may weigh them as part of your income picture, but they do not sit in the reserve column.
How Does a Lender See RSUs Compared With Cash?
A lender sorts each holding by how certain, how liquid, and how provable it is. Cash is simplest. Vested stock is usually workable. Unvested grants and private stock usually are not. This table shows the typical read, and your lender’s rules decide the final answer.
| Holding | Counts as reserves? | What to document |
|---|---|---|
| Cash in checking or savings | Yes | Recent statements |
| Vested shares in your brokerage account | Often, at the lender’s valuation | Statements showing shares and price |
| Unvested RSU grant | No | Vesting schedule (income file only) |
| Shares sold, proceeds in the bank | Yes, once sourced | Sale confirmation and deposit trail |
| Private-company stock | Rarely | Lender-specific review |
Fannie Mae offers the closest published benchmark. Its guide counts reserves as months of the housing payment that your financial assets could cover. Its 2015 announcement says the full value of vested stocks, bonds and mutual funds counts toward reserves. The same announcement says non-vested assets are not eligible for reserves, down payment or closing costs.
Treat that as a benchmark, not a jumbo rule. Jumbo lenders set their own reserve months and valuation rules. Some apply a haircut to volatile or concentrated stock. Some may ask you to sell. Ask early.
Is RSU Income the Same Test as RSU Reserves?
No. Income and reserves are two separate tests, and one grant can feed both. Mixing them up is the most common stumble for tech borrowers.
For income, Fannie Mae’s RSU rule shows what a documented file looks like:
- Proof the stock is publicly traded.
- A vesting schedule showing past and future vesting.
- Statements showing earlier distributions arrived in your account.
- A verbal verification of employment.
- For one-time, time-based awards, expected vesting for at least three more years.
- A 200-day average price when income is paid in shares.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also calculate RSU income differently. A jumbo lender may follow either method or use its own. Most jumbo files are reviewed by hand, not by an automated system. That helps when your pay history is unusual, since an underwriter can read the whole story. It also means the answer depends on the person and the lender.
This article is about reserves. If a lender counts your RSU income, that does not make the shares reserves. The shares still have to be vested, in your account, and documented.
Worked Example: From Vest to Verified Reserves
Picture a modeled borrower, not a real one. Every figure below is an illustrative assumption.
Scenario one: hold the shares.
1. A tranche of 400 shares vests. 2. The employer withholds 140 shares for taxes. You receive 260. 3. The 260 shares settle in your brokerage account. 4. Your statement shows the share count and the current price. 5. The lender applies its own valuation rule to that value. 6. The result is your verified reserve figure for those shares.
Notice what shrank the number. Withholding cut the count. Then the lender’s valuation rule trimmed the value. The portal balance you see at work is not the number the underwriter uses.
Scenario two: sell some.
1. You sell 100 of the 260 shares. 2. The proceeds settle into your bank account. 3. The file shows the sale confirmation and the matching deposit. 4. Those proceeds now read as cash.
Selling trades upside for simplicity. Cash needs less explaining. A sold-share deposit still needs a paper trail, because lenders source large deposits.
Why Can’t You Count the Same Shares Twice?
Reserves are measured after closing. Money you spend on the down payment and closing costs is gone. It cannot also be cushion.
Run the order like this:
1. List every asset you hold and its verified value.
2. Subtract the funds needed to close, including the down payment and closing costs.
3. Test what remains against the reserve target.
The order changes the answer. Pay the down payment from cash and keep the shares, and the shares count as reserves. Sell the shares to fund the down payment, and they are spent. A higher loan-to-value can also raise the reserve months at many jumbo lenders. A larger down payment can therefore help twice. Still, it drains the very pool you need to keep.
Reserve months also scale with loan size. Lendmire’s piece on how reserves climb on the largest loans shows that pattern from another angle.
Sell, Hold, or Split?
There is no single right answer. Each choice trades paperwork, price risk, and upside.
| Choice | Paperwork | Price risk | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hold vested shares | More statements | You carry it | Kept |
| Sell all needed | Sale and deposit trail | Removed | Given up |
| Split | Both trails | Partly removed | Partly kept |
Selling can create a tax bill. Tax treatment can depend on your situation; borrowers should speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction or credit.
The split often fits a household that wants some cash certainty and some upside. This one is a genuine judgment call. A strong stock run argues for holding. A volatile stock and a thin margin above the target argue for selling.
What Does the Timeline Look Like?
Start before you make an offer. Reserves are easier to fix when you have room to move.
- Before the offer: Ask the loan officer how the lender values vested stock, and whether it requires a sale.
- Before the statement period: Shares that vest before your statements count. Shares that vest after you apply do not count until they appear in your account.
- Around vest dates: Watch trading windows and blackout periods. Stock that is vested but locked up may not count as accessible.
- Between contract and closing: Reserves are valued at the current price. If the stock drops, your cushion shrinks.
- Late in the file: A lender may re-check holdings. Keep your statements current and avoid moving money without telling your loan officer.
Build a buffer above the target. A thin pass looks safe until the stock slips.
Where Does the General Rule Break?
Short vesting history. A new hire may have few vested shares and little history. Reserves may lean on cash or other assets, and income may need a stronger case.
Performance-based grants. Awards tied to company targets are harder to forecast. Lenders may treat them with more caution than plain time-based grants.
Private or pre-IPO equity. Stock in a company that is not public usually cannot serve as reserves. Hold it as wealth, not as a lender-ready asset.
Job change or layoff. Unvested shares are often forfeited when you leave. A move between jobs can also change which income a lender counts. Lendmire’s piece on how reserves work when income pauses between positions covers how a lender reads that gap.
Retirement accounts. Many lenders count the vested balance in a retirement account, sometimes at a discount. Treat it as a backstop, not a plan.
Two appraisals. On larger loans, some lanes require two appraisals above a threshold amount. That affects the loan-to-value test that sets your reserve months.
What Should You Ask Your Loan Officer?
Bring this list to the first call.
1. How many months of reserves does this loan size need?
2. Do vested shares count, and at what percentage of value?
3. Must I sell shares, or can I hold them?
4. Does money used at closing reduce my reserves?
5. How do you treat a recent stock drop?
6. What statements and how many months do you need?
7. How do you source the proceeds from sold shares?
8. Do you count RSU income, and by which method?
9. Do retirement balances count, and at what value?
10. Does my loan-to-value change the reserve months?
Key Terms Defined
Reserves: Verified assets left after closing, counted in months of your full housing payment.
Vested: Shares you own outright because the vesting date passed.
Unvested: Shares promised to you that you do not own yet.
Haircut: A discount a lender applies to an asset’s value before counting it.
Seasoning: How long funds have sat in your account before the lender counts them.
Conforming limit: The county’s loan ceiling. A loan above it is jumbo. The FHFA county limit list lists the current figure for your county.
Next Step
If you are buying a home and want to see whether a jumbo loan fits your file, Lendmire can help you compare the options and what each one asks of the file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do unvested RSUs count as reserves?
No. Fannie Mae’s benchmark rules exclude non-vested assets from reserves, and jumbo lenders take the same view. Unvested grants may help tell your income story, but they do not sit in the reserve column.
Do I have to sell my shares?
Not always. Under Fannie Mae’s rules, vested stock can count for reserves without a sale. A jumbo lender may require liquidation, so ask before you assume either way.
Can the same RSUs support both income and reserves?
They can feed both tests, but each test has its own paperwork. Income needs a vesting history and a vesting schedule. Reserves need vested shares held in your account. Shares you spend at closing no longer count as reserves.
What if my stock drops before closing?
Your reserve value falls with it, because shares are valued at the current price. If your margin is thin, the file can slip below the target. Build a cushion, or sell some shares and hold the proceeds as cash.
How early should I check this?
Before you make an offer. Reserves, valuation rules, and vest dates all affect how much cash you can use for the down payment. Early review gives you room to adjust.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Lendmire arranges FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans through wholesale lenders; every file is underwritten by the lender under the applicable program guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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Informational only. Not a Loan Estimate, approval, or commitment to lend. Program availability and eligibility are subject to lender guidelines, credit approval, property review, and underwriting.
References
1. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.1-01, Minimum Reserve Requirements
2. Fannie Mae Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2015-07
3. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-07, Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Employment Income
4. FHFA: Fullcountyloanlimitlist2026 Hera Based Final Flat.xlsx
This article is part of Lendmire’s jumbo loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Jumbo Cash-Out Requirements for a Home Vested in a Trust or Estate · Jumbo Cash-Out Documentation for Business Use When Income Is RSUs · Jumbo Cash-Out Process for a Homeowner With RSUs and Bonuses
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Legal disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage that arranges financing through wholesale lender relationships. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or registered financial advisor. The discussion above is general informational content about real estate financing — it is not financial, legal, or tax advice, and readers should consult licensed professionals for guidance on their individual circumstances. Loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not represent a commitment to lend. Loan terms, rates, and qualification standards vary by borrower, property, and state, and are subject to change at any time. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.