source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b5-1-01
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-1-01 — High-Balance Mortgage Loan Eligibility
    and Underwriting
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-1-01 — High-Balance Mortgage Loan Eligibility
    and Underwriting.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b5-1-01-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b5-1-01-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-1-01 — High-Balance Mortgage Loan Eligibility
    and Underwriting
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-1-01 — High-Balance Mortgage Loan Eligibility
      and Underwriting
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/selling-guide
    snapshot_id: 5f7b8b79da595d76
    fetched_at: '2026-05-25T14:09:57Z'
    content_hash: sha256:98cf85a02861bbe84914a0e339b327c8fc131869a8a573882007bbeea60c5701
    paragraph_quote: 'B5-1-01, High-Balance Mortgage Loan Eligibility and Underwriting
      (07/02/2025) Introduction This topic contains loan eligibility and underwriting
      information on high-balance mortgage loans, including: Loan Limits Loan Eligibility
      and Underwriting Requirements High LTV Reﬁnance Loans Government Mortgage Loans
      Loan Limits The high-balance loan requirements apply to mortgage loans with
      original loan amounts meeting the high-cost area loan limits established by
      the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fannie Mae publishes on its website the
      maximum high-cost area loan limits that may apply by state (or territory); however,
      speciﬁc loan limits are established for each county (or equivalent) and may
      be lower for each speciﬁc high-cost area. Refer to Loan Limits for Conventional
      Mortgages for additional information, including the loan limits for each area.
      Lenders are responsible for ensuring that the original principal balance of
      each mortgage loan does not exceed the applicable maximum loan limit for the
      speciﬁc area in which the property is located. To assist lenders in determining
      the applicable limits, Fannie Mae posts reference material on its website, including
      the Loan Limit Geocoder, which lenders can use to look up loan limits based
      on a speciﬁc address (or batch of addresses). Published May 6, 2026 699 Loan
      Eligibility and Underwriting Requirements High-balance mortgage loans must meet
      all standard Fannie Mae eligibility and underwriting requirements, as outlined
      in this Selling Guide, except as noted in this section. The following guidelines
      apply to all high-balance mortgage loans: Loans must be conventional ﬁrst-lien
      mortgages only. Loans must meet the LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV ratios as outlined
      in the Eligibility Matrix. All loans must be underwritten through DU. For additional
      eligibility information, see the Eligibility Matrix. For information about loan
      delivery, see B5-1-02, High-Balance Pricing, Mortgage Insurance, Special Feature
      Codes, and Delivery Limitations. Note: Unless otherwise notiﬁed by Fannie Mae,
      existing variances in the Lender Contract apply to high-balance mortgage loans;
      however, the more restrictive of the eligibility requirements of this section
      or the lender’s variance will apply. High LTV Reﬁnance Loans High-balance mortgage
      loans are eligible for high LTV reﬁnance options. The eligibility and appraisal
      requirements speciﬁc to high LTV reﬁnance loans supersede all requirements that
      apply to high-balance mortgage loans. See B5-7-01, High LTV Reﬁnance Loan and
      Borrower Eligibility for additional information. Government Mortgage Loans For
      details, see B6-1-01, General Government Mortgage Loan Requirements, B6-1-02,
      Eligible FHA-Insured Mortgage Loans, B6-1-03, Eligible VA-Guaranteed Mortgages,
      and B6-1-05, Eligible RD-Guaranteed Mortgages. Recent Related Announcements
      The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements that are
      related to this topic. Announcements Issue Date Announcement SEL-2025-05 July
      02, 2025 Announcement SEL-2020-04 August 05, 2020 Announcement SEL-2019-07 August
      07, 2019 Published May 6, 2026 700'
  judgment: false
