Colorado Springs does not have the density of Super-Jumbo transactions that Denver or Boulder carry — that is simply a function of the market’s median price point. But the city’s upper tier is real, and the buyers active at the top of it require exactly the same portfolio lending expertise, relationship-driven underwriting, and lender-matching precision that a $5 million transaction anywhere in Colorado demands. The most significant Broadmoor estates — those with Cheyenne Mountain frontage, historic architectural distinction, and resort proximity — have listed and closed above $3 million. Premier positions in Kissing Camels on the 27-hole golf course, rarely available, command $3 million and above for the finest properties. Black Forest acreage estates on five to ten or more acres, with custom build scopes that reflect the land’s character, reach multi-million-dollar price points that place the most significant transactions firmly in Super-Jumbo territory.
The buyers at this level in Colorado Springs are a specific group. They include senior defense executives — program directors and vice presidents at Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman, and RTX whose total compensation, including equity, deferred compensation, and long-term incentive plans, runs well above $400,000 annually. They include military flag officers and senior civilian defense department officials who retire to Colorado Springs after careers that have produced significant investment assets, military retirement income, and in many cases consulting agreements with the defense firms they’ve spent decades working alongside. They include highly compensated surgeons and subspecialists at UCHealth Memorial, Penrose, and private practice groups whose income supports this tier but whose financial profiles include student debt, practice equity, or partnership buy-in costs that require sophisticated lender matching. And they include California and coastal buyers who have discovered that Colorado Springs’ $3–$5 million tier delivers estate-scale property, resort-quality amenity access, and Pikes Peak views at a fraction of what comparable properties cost in their home markets.
Ryan Lehrman, NMLS #235295, structures Super-Jumbo mortgage loans in Colorado Springs for all of these profiles — with the portfolio lender relationships and complex income expertise these transactions require.
Super-Jumbo mortgage loans are generally defined as loans above $3 million, though some portfolio lenders draw the threshold at $2.5 million. These transactions fall outside standard jumbo program guidelines — they are structured through portfolio lenders that hold the loan on their own books, private banks with high-net-worth relationship lending programs, and specialized non-QM lenders who underwrite each file individually.
In Colorado Springs, Super-Jumbo lending applies to the most significant Broadmoor estate transactions, the top-tier Kissing Camels positions, large custom builds in Black Forest, and any acquisition in the market where the total loan amount exceeds $3 million. It also applies to buyers whose financial profiles require asset depletion qualifying, deferred compensation documentation, or military retirement plus investment income combinations that don’t fit the templates of standard jumbo products.
The Broadmoor and Kissing Camels estate properties at $3 million and above — large lots, historic or custom architectural significance, resort and country club access — qualify for portfolio programs at 70–75% LTV on primary residences. These lenders evaluate the borrower’s full financial picture rather than applying formulaic qualifying ratios: net worth statement, investment account depth, employment stability and trajectory, and the specific characteristics of the property being acquired. Colorado Springs’ military and defense community — with its combination of stable government-adjacent employment, Thrift Savings Plan assets, investment portfolios, and military retirement income — presents a profile that relationship-oriented portfolio lenders evaluate favorably.
Military retirees and senior defense civilians who have accumulated significant Thrift Savings Plan balances, brokerage account assets, and real estate equity — but whose current earned income has moderated into retirement or semi-retirement — access Super-Jumbo financing through asset depletion programs. Documented liquid and near-liquid assets are converted to a calculated monthly qualifying income using a lender-approved formula. A retired general officer or senior defense executive with $8 million in combined TSP and investment assets may qualify for a significant Super-Jumbo purchase without relying primarily on current employment income. The combination of VA entitlement eligibility (for those with qualifying service), significant investment assets, and military retirement income makes some Colorado Springs buyers among the strongest Super-Jumbo qualifying profiles in the Mountain West.
Senior executives at Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman, and RTX Corporation in Colorado Springs may carry long-term incentive plans, deferred compensation agreements, retention equity, and performance-based bonuses that don’t translate cleanly into standard mortgage income calculations. Portfolio Super-Jumbo lenders with defense industry experience evaluate these structures more favorably than standard programs, particularly when the employer is a major publicly traded defense prime with named government contract awards. Ryan assembles these documentation packages — including employment verification from company counsel, compensation plan summaries, deferred comp account statements, and equity vesting schedules — to present the borrower’s true income picture to the lender best positioned to act on it.
Custom builds in Black Forest on acreage, or significant custom projects in the Broadmoor foothills area, at total project costs exceeding $3 million require Super-Jumbo construction-to-permanent financing — a single loan covering land, construction draws, and permanent mortgage with the rate locked before construction begins. These transactions require lenders fluent in both portfolio construction underwriting and the specific property type characteristics of rural acreage and hillside custom builds in El Paso County.
Broadmoor — Colorado Springs' Historic Luxury Address
The Broadmoor neighborhood is not simply named after its famous resort — it is architecturally and culturally continuous with it. The Broadmoor Hotel, operating since 1918 as a National Historic Landmark, defines the character of the surrounding residential community in ways that no other Colorado Springs neighborhood can claim. Estate properties here begin at $800,000 for entry-level positions and reach several million dollars for the most significant historic mansions — those with Italian Renaissance architecture, large lots, Cheyenne Mountain views, and proximity to the resort's private amenities. At $3 million and above, Broadmoor transactions move into Super-Jumbo territory and require portfolio lenders who appreciate the neighborhood's long-term value stability and the distinctive collateral qualities that set it apart from the broader Colorado Springs market.
Kissing Camels — Gated Prestige, Impossible Views
Kissing Camels is Colorado Springs' most exclusive gated community — dual guarded entrances, a 27-hole private golf course, round-the-clock spa and fitness access, stocked fishing ponds, and views of Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and the distinctive rock formations that give the neighborhood its name. Homes begin at $1 million, and the most sought-after positions — those immediately on the golf course with unobstructed Pikes Peak views — rarely come to market and command prices that reach $3 million and above for the finest properties. The combination of physical rarity (finite lots in a gated community), premium amenity access, and irreplaceable view corridors creates a collateral profile that portfolio lenders with Colorado Springs experience evaluate favorably.
Black Forest — Estate Acreage, Genuine Privacy
Black Forest delivers what no in-city Colorado Springs neighborhood can: space on Colorado's terms. Properties here on two to ten or more acres of pine-covered terrain represent a genuinely different lifestyle proposition — horses, privacy, room to build a compound, and the quiet of rural El Paso County within 30 minutes of the city's employment centers. The top end of Black Forest's market — large custom homes on substantial acreage, sometimes with equestrian facilities, guest houses, and workshop structures — reaches multi-million-dollar price points that require Super-Jumbo financing. These properties require lenders comfortable with rural acreage collateral in Colorado, including well and septic systems, and Ryan's experience with these property types ensures the appraisal and underwriting process is structured correctly from the start.
Portfolio lender and private bank access — relationships with institutions that underwrite Super-Jumbo transactions as individual files evaluated on full financial picture
Military retiree and TSP asset depletion expertise — correct documentation of Thrift Savings Plan and investment account balances for qualifying income calculation
Defense executive compensation experience — deferred comp, LTIPs, retention equity, and performance bonus structures from major Colorado Springs defense primes documented and presented correctly
Rural acreage familiarity — Black Forest custom builds and acreage collateral structured correctly for portfolio lenders comfortable with El Paso County rural properties
Absolute confidentiality — Colorado Springs' defense and military community is close-knit; Super-Jumbo transactions are handled with complete discretion
Early engagement recommended — Super-Jumbo files benefit from pre-contract lender relationship establishment, particularly for Black Forest properties and Broadmoor estate transactions where the appraisal process requires careful planning
Ryan Lehrman, NMLS #235295
Loan amount: Generally $3 million and above; some portfolio programs begin at $2.5 million
Credit profile: Typically 720+ minimum; 740–760+ preferred at higher loan amounts; portfolio lenders evaluate full credit history and overall financial picture
Income documentation: W-2 including defense contractor compensation structures, military retirement, TSP and investment asset depletion, deferred compensation, and complex hybrid income profiles all eligible; documentation requirements vary by program
Down payment and reserves: Typically 20–30% down at $3M+; 24+ months PITI reserves standard; larger reserve positions — particularly significant TSP or investment account balances — can strengthen qualifying in some portfolio programs
Early confidential consultation — Super-Jumbo transactions benefit significantly from pre-contract engagement; Ryan reviews the full income, asset, and military/employment profile to identify the correct portfolio lender and structure the presentation of your file before you are in contract on a Broadmoor estate, Kissing Camels position, or Black Forest acreage property
Documentation assembly — W-2s, tax returns, military retirement award letter, TSP and investment account statements, defense executive compensation plan summaries, deferred comp schedules, and any other relevant income and asset documentation organized into a cohesive package
Portfolio lender introduction — Super-Jumbo lenders at this tier often require relationship-level introductory conversations before committing to a pre-approval; Ryan facilitates this and ensures you are presented to the lender most aligned with your specific profile
Underwriting — more intensive and iterative than standard jumbo; additional documentation requests are routine; Ryan manages all lender communication from submission through final conditions clearance
Closing — final conditions cleared, closing coordinated; Colorado Springs Super-Jumbo transactions sometimes involve trust vesting, entity ownership, or other structures that Ryan coordinates with appropriate title and legal professionals
Yes — and your financial profile is one of the most favorable Super-Jumbo qualifying combinations available in Colorado Springs. Military retirement income from a general officer is significant, guaranteed, and eligible for the 25% gross-up that non-taxable income receives from most lenders. Your TSP balance — assuming it is in the multi-million-dollar range typical of a career general officer — can be converted to a calculated qualifying income through an asset depletion program. Your consulting income, if reflected on two years of tax returns or documented through consulting contracts, adds a third qualifying income stream. Portfolio lenders who work with Colorado Springs' defense community are familiar with this profile and evaluate it favorably. Ryan can structure the full qualifying analysis across all three income sources and identify the portfolio lender best positioned to approve your Broadmoor transaction.
Black Forest appraisals require careful planning because the neighborhood's properties — large lots, rural setting, custom construction, sometimes with equestrian improvements — don't have the density of comparable sales that urban neighborhoods provide. Portfolio Super-Jumbo lenders who work in the Colorado Springs market understand this and work with appraisers experienced in El Paso County rural acreage. The key is ensuring the appraisal is ordered through a lender who has done Black Forest work before and whose appraisal management panel includes appraisers with genuine rural acreage experience in this county. Ryan structures the lender selection for Black Forest transactions specifically around this requirement — because an appraisal from an inexperienced appraiser can create value issues that derail an otherwise strong file.
VA loans for veterans with full entitlement have no loan limit — meaning a veteran with full entitlement and sufficient income can theoretically use a VA loan at any purchase price. However, VA loan programs are not typically structured as Super-Jumbo portfolio products, and most VA lenders set their own internal loan limits well below $3 million. For Super-Jumbo purchases, most Colorado Springs buyers — even those with VA eligibility — use conventional portfolio programs at this tier rather than VA financing, simply because the portfolio programs available above $3 million are better matched to the transaction characteristics. Ryan evaluates whether VA financing makes sense at the specific purchase price, or whether a portfolio Super-Jumbo program is the stronger
Super-Jumbo transactions benefit from early engagement. Let’s have a confidential conversation about your property and financial profile.
Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I moved to Phoenix to attend Arizona State University and have proudly called Phoenix home ever since.
My journey into the mortgage industry began with a friend’s encouragement, who saw how my energy and people-first mindset could make a difference. He was right — I found my calling.
I’ve always embraced what makes me different. With ADHD as my secret weapon, I thrive in fast-paced, detail-heavy environments. I’ve built my career on clear communication, creative problem-solving, and putting clients first, always.
Outside of work, my greatest motivation is my wife and three amazing kids. I’d be honored to help guide you through your lending journey with care, clarity, and commitment.
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