Another type of loan is the jumbo loan which is basically any loan over $417,000. This has been modified slightly depending on the type of mortgage, such as an FHA mortgage and the location of the home. For instance in some areas in Salt Lake City, mortgages that are FHA can be up to $600,000+ and not be considered “jumbo”. However, as a rule, if your loan amount is over $417,000 it is a jumbo loan.

These loans aren’t usually subject to the same FHA rules because most all of these are loans are done through lenders that are not FHA.

Anytime a lender reviews loan documents, the lender is always looking out for their own best welfare. These aren’t nice guys that are going to give you a chance like back in the day. These are typically underwriters who are highly subject to guidelines established by policy and executives at a higher level. When loans get approved it’s based on the underwriter having enough information to determine the risk to the bank and having that information meet the requirements for approval.

The reason I say this is because there is a moral issue or ethical issue where a loan officer attempting to approve a jumbo loan in Salt Lake City, or anywhere for that matter, is aware of the circumstances of the borrower based on having all of the information and knowing what it will take to get a home loan approved. This knowledge of all of the facts compared to what that loan officer makes available to the underwriter are usually two different things and the loan officer will purposely leave out information that would give cause for an underwriter at the bank or lender to decline the loan.

This may especially be true for the larger jumbo loans. The principles, however, on which the jumbo loans are approved or declined are the same as the lower loans. The lender will review the income, credit score, amount of the loan, the ability to repay the loan or the ability to recoup funds in the event that the borrower defaults on the payments, etc. These and several other factors will determine whether or not a borrower is approved for a mortgage in Salt Lake City area and throughout Utah.

There are several locations within Salt Lake City where homes sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. If the loan amount is bordering on what is considered a “jumbo” loan vs. a traditional loan, the borrower has the option of covering the difference between the sales price and the loan amount to keep the loan amount below that jumbo level. There are often lenders that will do a second mortgage to cover the difference as well.