You don’t have to be a millionaire to qualify for this type of mortgage. The most common candidates are in what has come to be known as the HENRY financial category, an acronym for “high earners, not rich yet.” This category describes households who earn from $250,000 to $500,000 per year. A good tip to conceptualize whether you’re making enough money to afford a jumbo loan is whether or not you will make half the total cost of the house in a year. If you are in the HENRY category, you may not have a substantial disposable income or accumulated assets. However, these borrowers do have enough money to sustainably qualify for a jumbo loan. If you’re in the HENRY category, it’s important to remember that determining whether you want to apply for a jumbo home loan is about more than how much money you make. If you have great credit and a secure job with a lot of upward mobility, a jumbo loan might be ideal. On the other hand, if you have one great year, and you’re still trying to solidify your economic position and eliminate your debt, you’ll want to lower your DTI before jumping to any jumbo conclusions.