A non-conforming loan amount greater than the County loan limit.
A jumbo loan is a non-conforming loan amount greater than the County loan limit (as set by federal lending guidelines). These larger loan amounts are oftentimes utilized by well-qualified borrowers to reach higher price points, which are common in California's Bay Area.
As non-conforming loans, they do not need to abide by Fannie/Freddie guidelines; however, they are subject to more stringent investor requirements (e.g., higher minimum down payments and credit scores for qualification) and rigid overlays (e.g. higher reserve requirements). Jumbo loans also require a slightly longer closing timeline (25 days at the time of this writing). First/second combo loans are an alternative to jumbo financing.