The Quick Read: It depends on three separate limits: the program’s size band, the leverage cap at your loan size, and the income or assets you can document. Interest-only mostly changes the payment during the interest-only window rather than lifting those limits, and files above $4,000,000 are reviewed case by case before submission. Loan amounts run from $300,000 to $30,000,000 through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting and never a commitment to lend.
- Size: a portfolio non-QM program reaches $6,000,000, and a bank portfolio program carries twelve-month-statement files to $30,000,000.
- Leverage: on a primary-residence purchase the ceiling steps down from 90% at $1,000,000 and under to 75% at $3,000,000 to $4,000,000, then lower on review.
- Interest-only: it caps at 85% LTV on the portfolio program and 60% on the bank program, and the lower of that cap and the size band governs.
- Income: deposits after an expense ratio, assets, or property cash flow can each carry the file. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
What Does “Super Jumbo” Mean Here?
Super jumbo has no federal definition. Lenders draw the line themselves, and across our wholesale network it usually falls somewhere between $2,000,000 and $5,000,000. What matters is which program your balance lands in, because each one has its own leverage ladder.
The first is a portfolio non-QM program. It covers roughly $300,000 to $6,000,000 and accepts 12 or 24 months of statements. The second is a bank portfolio program. It takes over at the top of the range and carries twelve-month-statement files to $30,000,000. Its ladder begins above $4,000,000 on a primary residence, above $5,000,000 on a second home, and at $3,000,001 on investment property. On a primary residence the two programs overlap between $4,000,000 and $6,000,000, so a broker who sees both can match the file to whichever structure fits.
Interest-only loans fall outside general qualified-mortgage status, according to the CFPB’s small-entity compliance guide. That is why this product is non-QM at any size and why the agency conforming limit does not decide what you can borrow.
The Three Ceilings That Decide Your Number
Your maximum loan is the lowest of three numbers, and one of them binds first. Most borrowers assume the program maximum is the answer. It rarely is.
| Ceiling | Question it answers | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Program size band | Is my balance inside the program? | Portfolio to $6M, bank program to $30M |
| Leverage cap | How much can I borrow against the value? | Loan size, occupancy, transaction type |
| Income or assets | Can my file support the payment? | Deposits, expense ratio, DTI, liquidity |
For a modest loan, income usually binds first. For a large purchase with big cash reserves, leverage usually binds. At the top of the range, the case-by-case review binds.
How Much Leverage Do You Get at Each Size?
Leverage falls as the loan grows. The ceilings below apply to a primary-residence purchase through select wholesale programs, subject to underwriting. Second homes and investment property each have their own ladders, so read the figure for your occupancy rather than adjusting this one.
| Loan size | Primary purchase LTV | Program |
|---|---|---|
| $300K–$1M | 90% | Portfolio |
| $1M–$1.5M | 85% | Portfolio |
| $1.5M–$2M | 85% | Portfolio |
| $2M–$3M | 80% | Portfolio |
| $3M–$4M | 75% | Portfolio |
| $4M–$5M | 65%, on review | Bank portfolio |
| $5M–$10M | 60%, on review | Bank portfolio |
| $10M–$30M | 55% to 60%, on review | Bank portfolio |
The credit score each band’s top leverage needs runs from 680 at the smallest sizes to 720 through the middle bands and 760 at $3,500,000 to $4,000,000. A lower score takes a lower leverage cell in the same band. Treat every figure above $4,000,000 as a ceiling reached only on review. Nobody should read it as a promise. Cash-out and rate-and-term refinances sit lower on the same ladder. A cash-out on a primary residence tops out at 80% at the smallest sizes.
How Do Bank Statements Turn Into a Loan Amount?
The chain runs from deposits to qualifying income to payment capacity to loan size. Each step can shrink the number.
1. Choose 12 or 24 months of consecutive statements. The bank program uses 12. Transaction histories do not substitute for statements.
2. Add up eligible deposits. Transfers from your own business into a personal account count at 100%. One-off deposits and borrowed money generally do not.
3. Apply an expense ratio on business statements. The fixed ratios are 20% for a service business with no employees, 40% for one to five employees, and 50% for six or more employees or any product business. An accountant-provided ratio or a profit-and-loss method capped at 80% is also available. Business statements require at least 25% ownership. A trade-press example from Scotsman Guide shows how a 50% factor works and why lenders still must confirm repayment ability.
4. Divide by the statement months. That gives monthly qualifying income.
5. Test the payment against income. Debt-to-income can run up to 50% on most files.
6. Size the loan. The loan is the lesser of the leverage cap and the amount your income supports.
Personal statements skip the expense ratio. That can help a founder who pays himself consistently, though the deposits still have to look like income.
Asset paths exist for borrowers whose deposits understate wealth. An asset allowance divides liquid assets by 36, 60 or 84 months and adds the result to income. Assets-only needs liquidity equal to the loan plus costs. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% at age 59.5 and up. Business funds, gifts, unvested stock and cryptocurrency never count. These paths apply to primary and second homes only.
Does Interest-Only Let You Borrow More?
Sometimes it helps the income test, but it never lifts the leverage cap. On the files we place, qualifying during the interest-only window runs on interest, taxes, insurance and dues, so principal drops out of the payment. A borrower held back by DTI may see more room. A borrower held back by LTV sees none.
The structures differ by program:
- Portfolio non-QM program: a 40-year term with a 10-year interest-only period, available to 85% LTV with a 700 credit floor on purchase and rate-term files.
- Bank portfolio program: interest-only comes on 5- and 7-year fixed-period adjustables at 60% or the band’s ceiling, whichever is lower. A 10-year fixed-period adjustable is fully amortizing. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
Interest-only never raises a cash-out ceiling. The 85% figure applies to the structure, and the size band can pull it lower. Pricing and available terms vary by lender, borrower profile, property type, and full underwriting review.
Honestly, the cleaner way to think about it: interest-only lowers what you pay early and raises what you owe relative to an amortizing loan later. Lendmire’s piece When Interest-Only Works on a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan walks through that tradeoff.
Three Borrowers, Three Binding Limits
Picture a physician who owns her practice and buys a $2,500,000 primary residence. The ceiling is 80% on a purchase with a 720+ credit floor. Her practice deposits, after a 40% expense ratio, support the payment comfortably. Leverage is the binding limit, so interest-only changes her cash flow but not her down payment.
Say a founder buys a $4,500,000 primary residence. That sits in the review zone, so the 65% purchase ceiling applies only on review, with 680+ credit for that leverage on the bank program. Interest-only on the bank program caps at 60%. The founder’s 12 months of statements may be fine, but the leverage cap binds first, and the required cash down is larger than most expect.
Run the numbers on an investor whose rental purchase produces a loan in the $3,000,000 to $3,500,000 band. On investment property, the bank program’s band begins at $3,000,001, and the purchase ceiling there is 60%, with 680+ credit for that leverage. That is well below the 75% primary-residence figure in the same band. DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. If the rent comfortably covers the payment, a DSCR file may fit better than proving personal income, as our complete DSCR loans guide explains. Programs below 1.00 coverage are available through select lenders in the network, but leverage and terms adjust.
Reserves and the Overlays That Shrink Practical Borrowing
Reserves are liquid cash left after closing. On most files they run 3 months to $500,000, 6 months to $1,500,000 and 9 months above. Add 2 months for each additional financed property, up to 12. First-time investors need 12.
Overlays tighten above $3,500,000 on a primary residence and above $3,000,000 on a second home or investment property:
- a 700 credit floor and a 0x30x24 housing history
- 48 months of seasoning after any credit event
- U.S. citizens and permanent residents only, with no non-occupant co-borrowers
- no rural property and a ten-acre maximum
- no use of cash-out proceeds to satisfy reserves
Cash-out on the portfolio program is unlimited at or below 60% LTV. Above 60% it is capped at $1,500,000 in hand. The bank program publishes no cap. Every figure here varies by lender and program — guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
What Happens at the Reset?
Qualification during the window does not protect you after it. When the interest-only period ends, the loan re-amortizes on the remaining balance, and the payment steps up. On the bank program, that happens when the 5- or 7-year fixed period ends and the adjustable period begins.
Before you commit, test yourself against the post-reset payment, not just the early one. Decide your exit: a refinance, a sale, or a planned recast. A refinance later may carry lower leverage than the original loan, so do not count on borrowing the same percentage twice. Lendmire’s piece Interest-Only vs Amortizing Super Jumbo Bank Statement After Equity Exit covers that planning in more depth.
Non-QM is not a synonym for weak borrowers. Loans originated in one recent vintage averaged a 75% LTV and a 776 credit score, per Scotsman Guide reporting. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Mistakes That Shrink Your Number
- Commingled accounts. Mixed personal and business deposits get stripped or discounted.
- Assuming ownership lowers the expense ratio. Owning the whole business does not. Third-party documentation does.
- Counting on the headline maximum. The top loan size applies only at the matching leverage, credit and reserve level.
- Ignoring reserves. A file can clear income and leverage and still stall on liquidity.
- Planning only for the early payment. The reset is where interest-only files get tested.
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.
Key Terms Defined
Super jumbo: a loan large enough that the lender sets its own, tighter guidelines, usually somewhere between $2,000,000 and $5,000,000 and up.
Non-QM: a mortgage that falls outside the standard qualified-mortgage box, such as an interest-only loan or a loan underwritten on bank statements.
Expense ratio: the share of business deposits treated as operating costs, subtracted before income is counted.
Interest-only period: the window, often ten years, when the payment covers interest and not principal.
Reserves: liquid assets you must hold after closing, measured in months of payments.
Seasoning: the waiting period after a credit event before a lender will consider you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a single maximum loan amount?
No. The overall range is $300,000 to $30,000,000, but a portfolio non-QM program tops out at $6,000,000 and a bank portfolio program carries the larger files. The loan you can actually get is limited by leverage and income at your size. Everything above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Can interest-only get me to 85% on any loan size?
No. The size band still governs, so the lower cap wins. On the bank program, interest-only caps at 60% or the band’s ceiling, whichever is lower.
Does a bank statement loan skip the ability-to-repay check?
No. The lender still has to verify that you can repay, and it does so from eligible deposits, assets, or both. Bank statements change the evidence, not the test.
Can I use this for a rental property?
Yes, an investment-property ladder exists, with its own leverage figures and overlays above $3,000,000. When the rent can carry the payment on its own, a DSCR loan may be simpler than proving personal income.
Does the second home or investment ladder differ from a primary residence?
Yes. Each occupancy has its own ladder, and in some bands the purchase ceiling matches the primary figure while in others it sits well under it. Read the cell for your occupancy and loan size. Second homes are one-unit only.
Next Step
If you are financing a high-balance property on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Lendmire is a broker that shops multiple wholesale programs, and consumer mortgage lending runs in 16 states, so availability depends on where the property sits.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a DSCR-focused mortgage brokerage, NMLS# 2371349, placing investor loans across 41 markets, including Washington, D.C. DSCR eligibility is generally reviewed by the lender around a property’s rental income rather than personal income documentation, which fits LLC-held rentals, self-employed investors, and portfolios scaling past conventional financed-property limits. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. CFPB ATR/QM Small Entity Compliance Guide
2. Scotsman Guide, Rev Up the Engine for Non-QM Lending
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 Qualify for a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan in Montana · How to Document a Mixed-Income Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan · Is a Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loan Available in California?
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.