Where Has all the Jumbo Financing Gone?

The stimulus bill has left a lot of homeowners out in the cold--those more than 5% underwater on their loans, and those whose mortgage fall outside the Fannie / Freddie "conforming" mortgage limits.

While loans exceeding that limit used to have a healthy market of buyers (like hedge funds and other institutional investors), that market dried up in the wake of the mortgage mayhem of 2008. So where can homeowner find jumbo loans for refinancing?

Those seeking jumbo financing need to look beyond Wall Street, to local banks, portfolio lenders (who don't resell their loans), and brokers with access to many sources of financing. Because jumbo loans aren't the commodities that conforming loans are, rates and terms vary widely, and shopping around is more critical.

Fortunately, it's not difficult to shop using the Internet. Sites like this one provide shortcuts for shoppers by letting them complete a fast form with no personal information, and allowing lenders to present their offerings directly to the homeowners.

Liz Freeman has more than a decade of mortgage lending experience. She writes about mortgage and finance issues and is a regular contributor to Mortgage News Daily and other publications.