Based in San Luis Obispo, serving the Central Coast
California Mortgage Solutions is an independent mortgage broker in San Luis Obispo, working the Central Coast inside this county and just across its line. What the parcel is can shape the loan as much as the borrower can, and this page covers the parcel.
The county's loan limits for 2026
San Luis Obispo County is a high-cost county, which is why the table carries the national baseline and ceiling beside the county's own figures: ours sit between them. At or under the conforming limit a loan can be a conventional conforming loan; above it, a jumbo loan. We tell you which side of the limit your loan is on when we price it. The county's FHA limit is in the table too, and VA sets no limit for a veteran with full entitlement.
- Conforming limit, one unit
- $1,000,500
- Conforming limit, two units
- $1,280,850
- Conforming limit, three units
- $1,548,250
- Conforming limit, four units
- $1,924,100
- FHA limit, one unit
- $1,000,500
- VA limit
- VA sets no loan limit for a veteran with full entitlement.
- National baseline, one unit
- $832,750
- National ceiling, one unit
- $1,249,125
2026 figures. Sources: FHFA county loan limits (See the published list); HUD FHA mortgage limits (See the published list); VA: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. New FHFA and HUD limits take effect every January.
All of the county's loan limitsSanta Barbara County's loan limitsJumbo loans above the limitConventional loansFHA loansVA loans
Where we work
San Luis Obispo County is four regions. Across the county line, Santa Maria, Orcutt and Lompoc carry Santa Barbara County's own loan limits.
- San Luis Obispo
- San Luis Obispo
The county seat, Cal Poly, and Camp San Luis Obispo just up the highway.
- North County
- Paso Robles, Atascadero, Templeton
Inland and warmer, with rural parcels where a well or a septic system can come with the house.
- The coast
- Morro Bay, Los Osos, Cambria
Morro Bay, Los Osos and Cambria, where the fire and flood maps are worth checking parcel by parcel.
- South County
- Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, Nipomo
The beach towns and Nipomo, from beach condos in Pismo to acreage on the Nipomo Mesa.
- Santa Barbara County
- Santa Maria, Orcutt, Lompoc
Across the county line: Santa Barbara County's own loan limits apply, and Vandenberg Space Force Base is beside Lompoc.
What changes the loan from one parcel to the next
Four things a lender has to see before funding here. Three of them go into the monthly figure you are qualified on and the fourth into what the lender asks of the property.
Property tax resets at the sale
Under Proposition 13 the base tax rate is 1% of assessed value, plus the rates for voter-approved local bonds, which vary from one district to the next. The assessed value resets to market value when a home changes hands and then rises by at most 2% a year, so a buyer is taxed on a value set at the purchase, however long the seller held the house. The county sends a supplemental bill for the difference, mailed to you, and the county says to ask your lender who will pay it.
Fire insurance can decide the house
Parts of the county are mapped by CAL FIRE as fire hazard severity zones, though insurers decide coverage with their own risk models rather than the maps, and where a standard policy is not available the California FAIR Plan is the insurer of last resort. Every lender requires the policy to be in force before funding, and the premium counts in qualifying.
Flood zones along the creeks and the coast
A home inside a FEMA special flood hazard area has to carry flood insurance on a loan from a federally regulated lender, on an FHA, VA or USDA loan, and on any loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The zone is decided by FEMA's map for the exact location, and a town name tells you nothing about it.
Wells, septic systems and rural parcels
Outside the towns a home can be on its own well and its own septic system, and on a private road. The appraiser notes them, the lender can ask for them to be inspected or tested, and FHA, VA and USDA each have their own rules for them. Tell us about any of these on the first call.
Sources for the tax facts: California State Board of Equalization, Publication 29, California Property Tax: An Overview (Proposition 13; California Constitution, Article XIII A); County of San Luis Obispo Tax Collector, Property Taxes: Supplemental.
The programs with property rules of their own:FHA loansVA loansUSDA loans
Two calculators open with general property tax and insurance figures filled in:Mortgage payment calculatorAffordability calculator
Buying on the Central Coast starts here
A short set of questions, and a loan officer looks at which programs could fit and what the house will ask of you.
No credit pull to get started. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.