Most private lenders are comfortable at $250,000 to $600,000. A $1.2 million flip or spec is a different book. Jumbo hard money is what Jaken Finance Group calls investor loans in that larger band — luxury fix and flip, high-finish rehab, and new construction — sized on collateral and exit, not on a W-2.
This is not a bank jumbo for a primary house. The 2026 FHFA conforming limit is $832,750 on a one-unit property in most counties, and $1,249,125 in high-cost areas (FHFA 2026 announcement). Banks use those numbers for owner-occupant and agency-eligible loans. Investors searching jumbo hard money, $1 million hard money loan, or lenders that fund over 1 million need a business-purpose facility that will close on a vacant colonial, a framed spec, or a Historic Preservation row.
Qualified files price at 8.99%–13.5% interest-only. Fix and flip closes target 7–10 business days. Construction closes target 10–14 business days when plans, budget, and title are already in the package. Apply through newbuild for vertical work, or submit a scenario if the file is still a luxury rehab.
What “jumbo” means in private lending
In a bank conversation, jumbo means above the FHFA limit. In a hard-money conversation, jumbo usually means above the shop’s comfort line. That line is often $600,000 to $800,000, not $832,750.
A $350,000 two-flat and a $1.4 million spec are both “hard money” on a rate sheet. They are not the same risk. The larger file has a thinner buyer pool, longer days on market, and comps that fall apart if you import the wrong subdivision. Many funds cap loan amount so one asset cannot dominate the book. That cap is why investors hear “we love the deal, we just don’t do million-dollar notes.”
Jaken Finance Group will look at $1 million-plus investor files nationwide when the product, the finish, and the exit are real. Luxury programs live next door: luxury fix and flip and luxury new construction. Use those when the story is finish bar and buyer pool. Stay here when the search is loan size.
Why many shops stop near $800,000
Three underwriting facts, not attitude.
Concentration. One $1.3 million note is four $325,000 notes. A missed exit hurts more.
Comp discipline. At $400,000, three solds on the same block often exist. At $1.2 million, you are competing with new construction, and one imported sale from a weaker school district can fake a $150,000 spread that is not there.
Carry. Interest-only on a $1.05 million drawn balance at 11% is about $9,600 per month. A 90-day listing that would be annoying on a $280,000 flip becomes a six-figure problem. Liquidity has to match that calendar.
If your file is actually a $520,000 all-in rehab, do not force it into jumbo language. Use fix and flip requirements and the luxury versus standard comparison.
How a $1 million-plus file actually underwrites
We still fund the lower of cost and value. Dollar size does not waive that.
| Anchor | Flip | Construction / teardown |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Acquisition plus rehab, plus 10%–15% contingency on hard cost | Land plus vertical, plus the same contingency |
| Value cap | 70%–80% of supported after-repair value on luxury files | 75% of as-completed value |
| Typical leverage | 85%–90% of cost on qualified luxury rehabs | 80%–88% of cost on qualified luxury specs |
| Qualified smaller files | Up to 100% of cost, still capped at 75% of after-repair value | Up to 100% of cost, still the lower of cost and 75% as-completed |
A sponsor who closed three $300,000 flips does not automatically get 100% of cost on a $1.1 million gut. Finish mistakes at this price are not “paint and recarpet.” They are the entire spread.
Dual exit is required on paper, not as a slogan. Sale is Exit A. DSCR is Exit B when rent is legal and the takeout at certificate of occupancy or after lease-up sits at 70%–75% LTV on construction and luxury specs. Do not model an 85% construction takeout. Seasoned rental purchases can use the published DSCR purchase band. A spec that just got a certificate of occupancy is not a seasoned rental.
Worked example: $1.28 million Buckhead flip
Illustrative. Your comps replace every line.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Acquisition | $890,000 — dated 1980s brick, good in-town location |
| Rehab | $340,000 — kitchen, baths, systems, windows, landscaping |
| All-in before carry | $1,230,000 |
| Supported after-repair value | $1,475,000 |
| 75% of after-repair value | $1,106,000 |
| 88% of cost | $1,082,000 |
The advance binds near $1.08 million, not $1.23 million. Sponsor equity is about $148,000 plus closing costs and interest reserve. Gross spread before carry and selling costs looks like $245,000. That is not net profit.
Model 11 months of interest-only, not six. At 11% on an average drawn balance near $950,000, carry is roughly $8,700 per month. Eleven months is about $96,000 before a slow listing. Atlanta transfer tax and selling costs take another slice. If Brookhaven new construction is offering incentives, your $1.48 million list has to beat that product on finish, not on hope.
Buyer pool is owner-occupant professionals. Many of them need a jumbo mortgage. If their bank takes 45 days and then re-trades, you need a luxury bridge plan or cash to wait. That is why jumbo hard money and bank jumbo are different products on the same street.
Worked example: $1.4 million collar spec
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Land plus demo | $425,000 |
| Hard and soft vertical | $795,000 |
| All-in | $1,220,000 |
| As-completed comps, same product | $1,480,000 |
| 75% of as-completed | $1,110,000 |
| 85% of cost | $1,037,000 |
The loan sits near $1.04 million. The file is cost-bound and still under the as-completed cap. If as-completed comps were only $1.20 million, 75% would be $900,000, and the spec would be as-completed-bound. Sponsor cash would have to rise. “We always get 100% of cost” is not a sentence this file gets to use.
Build calendar is 14–18 months, not a flip term. Winter concrete, permit queues, and finish millwork are why luxury new construction exists. If the original lender already maxed cost and the frame is sitting, that is mid-construction refinance, not a new jumbo slogan.
Exit at certificate of occupancy is a retail sale into a school-driven buyer pool, or DSCR at 70%–75% LTV if you hold. Seventy-five percent of $1.48 million is $1.11 million. There is little cash-out if the construction balance is already there. Presale or a real rent roll is how the stack actually shrinks.
Luxury flip, standard flip, and construction — pick the product
Loan amount does not pick the product. Scope does.
| What you have | Product |
|---|---|
| Existing house, cosmetic to heavy rehab, sale in 8–14 months | Luxury fix and flip when all-in or after-repair value is in the premium band |
| Existing house, rental-grade finish, $250,000–$550,000 all-in | Standard fix and flip |
| Scrape, new foundation, or a rebuild that is really a new house | Luxury new construction or ground-up |
| Unsure whether this is a gut or a rebuild | Ground-up versus fix and flip |
| Original construction lender is done | Mid-construction refinance |
| Finished spec sitting at 90 days on market | Luxury bridge |
The luxury versus standard flip page is the decision table for rehab files. This page is the size conversation.
Comp rules that actually bind at $1 million-plus
Three solds are not enough if they are the wrong three.
Match square footage, bed and bath count, and finish. A builder-grade tract sale is not a comp for a custom millwork spec. A 2019 gut with granite that photographs like 2014 is not a 2026 luxury sale.
Match submarket, not city name. District 203 and District 204 in Naperville are different buyer pools. That teaching lives on Naperville luxury new construction. Do not import Elgin into Oak Brook. Do not import Anacostia into Georgetown.
Map new-construction competition. Incentives on a nearby subdivision can erase a $90,000 spread that looked fine in January.
Price transfer and recordation in net proceeds. Chicago files over $1 million can see a sharp stamp increase. That math lives on the Chicago transfer tax guide. DC recordation is large enough to change hold versus sale. If you ignore stamps, you do not have a jumbo pro forma. You have a brochure.
Interest reserve is not optional
A $1.05 million average balance at 11% is about $9,600 per month. Four extra months of Historic Preservation, a mechanic’s lien, or a buyer who failed to clear jumbo underwriting is about $38,000. That number never appears in the GC bid.
Put 4 or more months of interest in reserve on luxury flips. Put a build-plus-marketing reserve on specs. Luxury bridge is the listed-property tool when certificate of occupancy arrived and the listing is slow. It is not a substitute for sizing the construction reserve correctly on day one.
What the package must show
Send a file that looks like a $1 million file.
- Full address, entity, and a one-line thesis: luxury gut, scrape-and-rebuild, or stalled vertical.
- Three sold comps that match product and finish, plus a note on competing new construction.
- Line-item budget with 10%–15% contingency. “Allowance” is not a bid.
- Licensed general contractor, insurance, and a resume that matches this price point.
- Liquidity for equity, closing costs, and interest reserve. A thin checking account on a $1.2 million all-in is a pass.
- Exit A (list price, days-on-market plan) and Exit B (rent and DSCR at 70%–75% LTV if you hold).
- For construction: sealed plans, permit path, and a calendar that includes winter or historic review where those exist.
Photos of a mood board do not replace a bid. A Zillow estimate does not replace comps.
What we pass
We pass owner-occupied houses. We pass a request to treat FHFA jumbo rules as if they applied to a vacant investment property. We pass 100% of cost on a luxury spec whose as-completed value cannot carry it. We pass comps from a different school district or a cheaper finish band. We pass a six-month term on a 16-month build. We pass “GC TBD.” We pass a file with no interest reserve and a $9,000 monthly burn.
Passing early is cheaper than funding a beautiful kitchen that cannot find a jumbo-qualified buyer.
Experience on small flips does not automatically scale
Three closed $280,000 rehabs prove you can manage a contractor. They do not prove you can buy millwork that arrives in week 38, hold a $9,000 monthly burn, and still have a jumbo-qualified buyer in month 12.
We will ask who has finished a house at this price. If the answer is the GC and not the sponsor, the GC package has to be stronger: license class that matches project value, insurance limits, and a bid that is not an allowance sheet. Chicago GC classes scale with project value. Other cities have their own license ladders. Bring the card, not a logo.
Liquidity is the other scaler. Earnest money, equity, closing costs, and four months of interest on a $1 million balance is a different checking account than a $40,000 rehab.
Jumbo hard money versus bank jumbo, in one paragraph
If you live in the house, have full income documents, and the property will appraise as a completed primary residence, a bank or mortgage-banker jumbo may be cheaper long-term debt. If you are an investor, the house is vacant or mid-rehab, or you need draws, jumbo hard money versus bank jumbo is the comparison. Construction-to-perm is usually an owner-occupant product. Investor specs use private construction debt, then sale or DSCR.
Related $1 million-plus programs
- Luxury fix and flip loans
- Luxury versus standard fix and flip
- Luxury new construction loans
- Jumbo hard money versus bank jumbo
- Ground-up versus fix and flip
- Mid-construction refinance
- New construction loans for investors
- Fix and flip loan requirements
Apply with the loan amount in the first sentence
The fastest $1 million-plus files say the size and the scope up front. “$1.15 million all-in luxury gut, Capitol Hill.” “$1.4 million spec, scrape, 16-month calendar.” “Bank jumbo died, investor hold, listed at $1.6 million.”
New construction application · Submit scenario · Pre-qualify · (833) 264-7776
Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change without notice. Closing times are in business days and commence upon receipt of required diligence. All loans are subject to full underwriting. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.