Financing a home above $10 million is a different exercise than financing a typical residence. The conventional conforming-loan market doesn't apply, the buyer pool is small and financially sophisticated, and the structures available are more varied than most buyers realize. The two primary paths — a jumbo mortgage from a conventional lender, or seller financing extended by the owner — each suit a different buyer situation. Increasingly, the most interesting deals combine elements of both.
What a jumbo loan offers
A jumbo mortgage is simply a loan that exceeds the conforming loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. At the $10 million-plus level, jumbo financing typically comes from private banks and the wealth-management arms of major institutions, which underwrite these loans against the borrower's full financial picture rather than a standardized formula.
As of mid-2026, the average 30-year fixed jumbo rate sits around 6.5%. The advantages of a jumbo loan are familiar: the buyer preserves cash, the lender takes first-lien position, and the structure is conventional and well understood by every party in the transaction. The disadvantages are the rate (meaningfully above where rates sat a few years ago), the underwriting timeline, and the documentation burden, which at this level can be substantial — private banks scrutinize concentrated positions, illiquid holdings, and complex income structures closely.
What seller financing offers
Seller financing, covered in detail in our companion article, has the owner carry part of the purchase price as a note, with the buyer paying the seller over time. The advantage at the high end is rate and flexibility: a motivated seller who doesn't need all cash at closing may carry at a rate well below market, with interest-only terms and a balloon structure that suits a buyer planning a future liquidity event.
The buyer's logic is preservation of capital deployment. A buyer with concentrated equity, private investments, or carried interest may prefer to keep that capital working at an 8–10% return rather than liquidate it to close in cash. If the seller carries at 3% while the buyer's portfolio earns more, the spread is real money — often seven figures over a multi-year carry term.
The hybrid structure — and the lien-position mechanics
A buyer with, say, $2 million in liquid cash who wants to acquire a $10 million-plus property has options beyond writing one large check or taking one large loan. A hybrid structure might combine a cash down payment, a seller note, and a conventional jumbo — but the order of these pieces matters in a way most buyers don't initially appreciate, because of lien position.
Conventional mortgage lenders underwrite against first-lien position. If a borrower defaults and the property is sold in foreclosure, the first-lien holder is paid in full before any second-lien holder sees a dollar. This is why a conventional lender will generally not write a jumbo loan in second position behind a large seller note — the risk doesn't price at conventional rates. There are three ways the structure actually gets built:
Conventional first, seller note second
The buyer takes a conventional jumbo in first position (clean, conventional rate), the seller carries a note in second position, and the buyer brings a cash down payment. This works when the seller is willing to be the second-position lender — a meaningful concession, since the seller now sits behind the bank in a default scenario.
Subordination agreement
The seller carries the note but agrees to subordinate it to a new first-position conventional mortgage. This inverts the seller's security position and is typically negotiated with compensating terms.
Bridge to a future refinance
The buyer brings cash plus a seller note, closes, and seasons the note for several years. The payment history during that period supports a future conventional refinance into a new first mortgage that retires the seller note at the balloon date. This works for a buyer with an identified future liquidity event or who expects rates to be more favorable at the refinance horizon.
Which path fits which buyer
The jumbo loan suits a buyer who wants a conventional structure, has straightforward income documentation, and is comfortable at current jumbo rates. Seller financing suits a buyer who values preserving capital deployment, wants a below-market rate, and is working with a seller who can be patient. The hybrid suits a buyer with a moderate cash position who wants to combine the strengths of both — and who has an advisor and attorney to structure the lien positions correctly.
In every case, the structure should be worked out between the buyer's advisors and the seller's representatives. The mechanics — lien position, subordination, prepayment, balloon timing — carry real consequences and deserve careful papering.
A property where the conversation is open
The owners of 5214 Royal Lane in Old Preston Hollow have made seller financing available — willing to carry up to $5,000,000 of the $10,995,000 purchase price at 3% interest-only through January 2030. The remaining balance can be structured to fit the buyer's preferred capital architecture, whether that's all cash, a conventional jumbo, or a hybrid. Specifics are worked out with each buyer through the listing team, subject to credit review and definitive documentation.
The property is listed by Hawkins Group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.