In Miami, the building gets approved too.

Warrantable vs. non-warrantable

A warrantable condo meets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac project guidelines. That opens the door to conventional financing with lower down payments. A non-warrantable condo does not, so it needs a portfolio or non-QM loan, usually with more down and different pricing.

Common reasons a Miami building is non-warrantable:

• One person or entity owns too many units
• Too many owners are behind on their HOA dues
• Too much of the building is commercial space
• Pending litigation, especially involving structural issues
• Hotel-style operations, such as a front desk and rental pools
• Critical repairs, unsafe conditions or significant deferred maintenance

FHA and VA keep their own condo approval lists, and many Miami buildings are not on them.

Post-Surfside rules and your loan

After the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida passed SB 4-D in 2022, and later laws refined it. For condo buildings three stories or taller, the rules require:

• Milestone inspections of the structure, generally when a building turns 30 (earlier where local officials require it), then every 10 years.
• Structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) that project repair and replacement costs for key components such as the roof, load-bearing walls and waterproofing.
• Funded reserves for those components. Associations can no longer waive them.

This affects financing. Buildings catching up on reserves may raise dues or levy special assessments. Buildings with unresolved critical repairs may not qualify for conventional, FHA or VA loans until the work is done.

The HOA questionnaire

Every condo loan requires the association or its management company to complete a condo questionnaire. It covers owner-occupancy, delinquencies, reserves, insurance, litigation, special assessments and inspection status. Lenders also review the budget, the master insurance policy and, increasingly, the milestone inspection and reserve study.

We request these documents early, ideally inside your inspection period, so you know whether the building is financeable before your deposit is at risk.

Second homes and investor units

• Second home: generally 10% down on a warrantable conventional loan, with occupancy rules.
• Investment unit: generally 15% to 25% down, plus reserves. Rental restrictions in the bylaws matter.
• Condo-hotels: usually non-warrantable and require specialized financing.

Dues, assessments and your HO-6 insurance count toward your qualifying ratios. Check your numbers with our affordability calculator, or request a quote with the building name and we will start the review.