Blog Category: condo financing

It has been established, for as long back as my 25 year mortgage career goes, that if a condo has a high investor level, you were going to have a hard time getting a mortgage. The investor level of a condo is how many units of the total investors own. For example, if a condo has 100 units, and 60 are owned by investors to be rented out and 40 units are owned as primary residences, then the condo has a 60% investor level. Read More

A Non-Warrantable Condo is not a new style of condo, it is a condominium that does not meet the minimum standards set by Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac. In other words, the condo cannot be warranted to meet Fannie/Freddie guidelines. Most lenders will want a condo to be warrantable to Fannie or Freddie so that the loan can be sold to Fannie or Freddie, especially now that most banks and mortgage lenders are only selling to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If a condo is not able to be warranted to Fannie/Freddie guidelines, it is usually due to the fact that the condo has a high investor level. Lenders prefer to see that a condo has 51% or more owner occupants with no more than 49% rentals, and in actuality they really prefer 60% owner occupied, or higher. Read More