Bellevue Mortgage Broker: Eastside Home Loans Done Right

The loan amount, not the price, determines jumbo status. On a $1.4 million purchase, a 25% down payment leaves a $1,050,000 loan, which is conforming in King County; a 20% down payment leaves $1,120,000, which is jumbo.

Each path has trade-offs:

• Conforming loans follow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules, price in a deep and competitive market, and allow lower down payments with mortgage insurance.
• Jumbo loans vary by lender. Common requirements are a larger down payment, higher credit scores, and several months of reserves after closing. Some wholesale jumbo lenders offer very competitive rates for strong borrowers, and some allow 10% down with no mortgage insurance.
• A piggyback structure, a conforming first mortgage plus a second lien, is another way to keep the first loan under the limit.

Frank prices all three where they apply and shows you the monthly payment, cash to close and long-term cost side by side. Read the buydown calculator if a seller or builder is offering to buy down your rate, which is common on new construction.

Eastside pay packages often look like base salary plus annual RSU vesting plus a target bonus. For qualifying:

• Base salary is straightforward with pay stubs and a written verification of employment.
• Annual bonus needs a history, usually two years, and a letter or pay history showing it is likely to continue.
• RSUs are the variable. Lenders that accept them look at the grant documents, vesting schedule, and a trailing average share price, then apply a haircut. New grants with less than a year of vesting history are often excluded. Shares you have vested and kept count as assets and reserves, which matters for jumbo.
• Sign-on bonuses and one-time retention payments are not treated as ongoing income, though the cash can be used for the down payment with a paper trail.

If you have just relocated for a new role, an offer letter plus a start date within a set window can be enough to close before your first pay stub with some lenders. Frank reviews your offer letter and recent pay history before you shop, so the pre-approval is based on the lender's actual rules. See Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4 (opens in a new tab) for the agency framework.

Relocation purchases are routine on the Eastside. A few things to line up:

• Employment. An executed offer letter with salary and start date, plus verification from the employer. Some lenders require you to start before funding; others allow closing shortly before.
• Your current home. If you are keeping it, lenders count its full payment unless you document rental income with a signed lease and, often, a security deposit. If it is listed for sale, the payment still counts until it closes. Bridge financing is possible but should be priced carefully.
• Assets. Large deposits from a home sale, stock sales or relocation packages need a paper trail. Keep the closing statement or brokerage statement handy.
• Closing. Washington closes through escrow companies. You can sign with a mobile notary anywhere in the country, and the escrow company records the deed in King County.

Frank's Status Updates matter more on a relocation, where you cannot stop by anyone's office. You will know where the file stands at every milestone. Use the affordability calculator to pressure-test a price range before your house-hunting trip.

New subdivisions on the Eastside's growth edges come with a familiar pitch: use the builder's affiliated lender and receive a credit toward closing costs or a rate buydown. Sometimes that is a genuinely good deal. Sometimes the base rate is higher than the market and the incentive just covers the difference.

The way to know is to compare the full offer in writing: rate, points, lender credit, APR, monthly payment and total cost over the years you expect to keep the loan. Our comparison tool does exactly that. Frank will price the same scenario across his lenders so you can decide with numbers. RESPA gives you the right to choose your own lender, and the builder cannot make the sale contingent on using theirs.

Other new-construction notes: locks may need to be longer than 30 days when the home is still being finished, and extended locks carry a cost or a float-down option. Temporary buydowns funded by the builder are common; the buydown calculator shows what one is worth to you.

Reserves are liquid or near-liquid assets left after closing: checking, savings, brokerage accounts (often counted at a discount), and vested retirement accounts (often counted at a discount and only when accessible). Vested company stock you still hold usually counts.

Jumbo lenders use reserves as a cushion against income volatility, which is exactly the profile of many Eastside borrowers. The requirement can also change with the loan amount, the property type (condos and second homes often need more) and whether you own other financed properties.

Because reserve rules and the asset discounts vary, two lenders can look at the same statements and reach different answers. That is one reason Frank prices jumbo scenarios across multiple lenders rather than defaulting to one. Everything before underwriting is an estimate, not a commitment to lend.

Eastside homeowners refinance to lower a rate, move from jumbo to conforming as the limit rises or the balance falls, drop mortgage insurance, consolidate a HELOC, or take cash out for a remodel.

On a large balance, title, escrow and lender costs can run into the thousands, so the math has to be honest. Our refinance calculator estimates the new payment, monthly savings, break-even month and the lifetime interest difference, and it warns clearly when restarting a 30-year term costs more over time than the monthly savings suggest.

Frank prices refinances the same way he prices purchases, across his lender network, and sends the comparison in writing. If the numbers do not work, he will say so. For the rest of the region, see the Seattle guide and the Washington page.