Want a Condo Deed? Watch for a New Level of Scrutiny on Your Mortgage Application

Ever purchased a condo unit? You may recall the lender checking up on whether the condo association is keeping enough money in reserve, whether anyone might be suing the association over structural issues, and so forth. Cautious lenders scrutinize the desired property as well as the hopeful borrower.

Starting this year, this scrutiny is ramping up. Conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will only be issued if serious financial or structural problems can be ruled out.  

The new lender rules took effect in August at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under updated standards, lenders must scour the association’s financial condition and physical condition alike. Here’s what to expect when you go looking for a loan for a condo or co-op property.

First, Why Is This Even Happening?

It’s been five years now, but you might remember the Champlain Towers South condo disaster in Surfside, Florida. Ninety-eight souls perished when part of the 40-year-old building collapsed.

After the tragedy came a public outcry for new law and policy related to condo upkeep and purchases.

Federal and state officials responded:

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology has since determined that the design and construction of the building had problems from the outset, which got worse over time. The condo association was found to have known about but been too slow to remediate serious problems.

• Florida made changes to its condo law. The state now mandates focused inspections for older condo properties. It has a new set of standards dealing with discovering structural issues and keeping sufficient reserve funds on hand to head off delays whenever structural work may be necessary.

Then the finance industry regrouped.

Fannie and Freddie Reformed Condo Mortgage Standards to Cut Risks

“In response to industry feedback and an evolving market, we are implementing updates,” announced Freddie Mac. So, effective now, streamlined reviews are no longer available for certain condo applications.

Both Freddie and Fannie simultaneously published updated review requirements. Fannie and Freddie explained the goal: “to promote the financial resilience and long-term sustainability of condominium projects.”

Serious physical flaws or poor stewardship of funds can compromise the real value of a purchase, put buyers at risk of special assessments, and sometimes lead borrowers into default situations. Fannie and Freddie hope to cut the risk.

Fannie and Freddie also want to be able to buy home loans from lenders that don’t present too much risk. This is because they package these loans into mortgage-backed securities and market them to investors. So, the idea is to root out condo properties across the country with serious issues: deferred upkeep, critical repair needs, or certain financial risks. Where these issues are found, Fannie and Freddie simply won’t agree to buy or back the loans.  

Is the Condo Ready for the Unexpected? Note Also the Stricter Rule for Reserve Funds

Today, condo associations usually have to set aside 10% of their yearly budgets in reserves in order to meet a mortgage lender’s standards. In the coming year, that’s changing. If you turn in a loan application on or after January 4, 2027, in order to purchase a condo, the association will need to have 15% of its budget set aside. Applicants will come up against these stricter standards for conventional loans backed by Fannie or Freddie.

The point is to ensure an association has the money to handle emergencies and major unplanned repair needs. Freddie Mac notes a “correlation between condominium projects with underfunded reserves for capital expenditures and those in need of critical repair.”

Here again, the point, ultimately, is to prevent “mortgage default or foreclosure” and “promote long-term sustainable homeownership.”

The Federal Housing Administration keeps a list of approved condo properties. This can be the way to an FHA loan when a conventional loan (backed by Freddie or Fannie) can’t be approved.

What Happens to the Loan Application When Fannie Mae’s or Freddie Mac’s Standards Aren’t Met

Not all condos will need to be reviewed against the new standards. If the condo property has 5-10 units, all separately deeded and with their own specific legal descriptions, and has no master association, then that property fits an exemption to the full review process. The lender will then file a form for a waiver of the heightened review.

But say a full review is needed, and the condo property doesn’t meet the standards? Then what?

In such cases, the mortgage lender may turn down the application. This doesn’t always mean the building is unsafe or underfunded. And it doesn’t mean there’s no way to acquire the deed to the condo unit. There are lenders out there that will keep loans themselves, so that Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac isn’t needed.

But the lender could insist that the buyer put more money down or pay a higher interest rate. By keeping the loan in-house, the lender has accepted an opportunity cost. The lender could have brought in funds and worked with more borrowers if they’d been able to sell the loan to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.

Applicants: Anticipate Longer Waits for Condo Unit Mortgage Approvals

Four in every ten condo loan applications have typically sailed through underwriting with only limited reviews. Now, these applications face longer, stricter review processes before the borrowers can obtain approvals.

The new rule doesn’t just require more manual work from the lender’s point of view. It will also take more attention from the people in the condo association’s office. At least a lender will not have to repeat the full process for later applicants with the same condo office, once that property passes the full review.

The upshot? Watch for delays in the mortgage approval process for condo buyers. It’s possible that some applicants will lose out on a mortgage that they could have obtained under the old standards.

Condo Buyers Won’t Be Thrilled, but There’s a Silver Lining

Condo buyers: be aware. Your condo deed transactions will now require a heightened review of HOA finances, insurance, and the building’s physical condition before a mortgage backed by Fannie or Freddie is available. The potential slowdowns will not be kind to hopeful buyers competing against fast-moving, all-cash buyers.

Then again, once a condo property is vetted and approved by a lender, review can be streamlined.

And a loan that’s carefully vetted does give the successful mortgage applicant that much more confidence that the property is in acceptable physical and financial shape.