What if your community could attract more homebuyers, maintain strong property values, and offer easier financing options—all with just a few strategic certifications? That’s exactly what FHA and VA certifications can do for your community. These certifications help expand financing options for a broader range of buyers, boosting your community’s value and ensuring long-term financial […]
4 changes Fannie and Freddie have made on condo building policy
Three years after a condominium building collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people, policies have changed regarding the safety of condo buildings — as well as mortgage lending for residents within these buildings. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both updated policies, especially as condo living is on the rise due to a recent lack […]
Number of Mass. condo developments on Fannie Mae’s still secret blacklist triples
In one year, Fannie Mae’s secret blacklist of condo developments nearly doubled, and part of that surge can be attributed to the rising cost of insurance premiums. In Massachusetts alone, the number of blacklisted properties more than tripled. Read the article…………………………….
Freddie Mac Provides Condo Associations Access to Loan Eligibility Status
While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have developed lists of condo associations that are ineligible for participation in their mortgage programs, the challenge for associations begins with their inability to learn from the government-sponsored entities whether their communities are on the lists. In response to widespread calls to provide associations with access to the information […]
Is your condominium project on Freddie Mac’s Not Eligible List?
Freddie Mac opened access to the list of condominium and housing projects it categorized as “not eligible status.” Condominiums and housing cooperatives may be placed in this category due to potential noncompliance with lending guidelines. Access is restricted to an authorized representative of a condominium association or housing cooperative. Read the article…………………………….
Shedding light on a spate of condo loan rejections
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac intensified their scrutiny of condominiums after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South complex in Surfside, Florida, which killed 98 people in one of the worst tragedies of its kind. Shortly after the disaster, the GSEs revised their policies on loans purchased in condo developments, with an aim to […]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to add transparency to condo lending blacklists
The article on the front page of the Miami Herald on Dec. 17, revealed some welcome news for the thousands of condominium communities that have been placed on confidential blacklists by the government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage buyers and backers behind more than 70 percent of all U.S. residential loans. Read the article……………………………….
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: A New Era of Transparency for Homeowners
In a significant shift towards transparency, Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, has recently announced that it will make its once-secret “Condo Unavailable Projects and Phases Report” accessible to the public. The decision to make this report publicly available reflects a broader industry trend towards transparency, acknowledging the pivotal role that information plays in […]
Fannie Mae to make its secret condo blacklist public
But the information will be available only to homeowners’ associations. Move follows Globe story on how unsuspecting buyers and sellers were left in the dark. Read the article……………………..
Condo originations ‘streamlined’ through project advisor tool: Freddie Mac
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac on Wednesday announced further enhancements to its Condo Project Advisor tool that are designed to “streamline” such loan originations and to offer lenders “greater security” through a new designation, according to an announcement. Read the article…………………………..
Condo Column: Forced savings – for a good reason
It’s budget season. That means you have to start worrying about next year. But one thing that should worry you, and which is directly related to your association’s budget, is the fact that Fannie Mae is tightening its requirements for lending. Read the article……………………………
Condos and Coops are Impacted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Changes
Government backed mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, issued temporary project review requirements relating to significant deferred maintenance in condominiums, co-ops, and similar developments. To assess a project’s eligibility, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each promulgated a standardized “Condo Project Questionnaire Form” to obtain information related to significant deferred maintenance, the plan for addressing […]
Condo Column: A Hidden Danger
About two years ago in Michigan, which becomes relevant to New Hampshire by the end of this column, there was damage to a condominium that was covered by the Association’s Master Policy. After the deductible, the check to be paid by the carrier to the Association was $40,000.00. All was going to be good. Then […]
Modernized Lending Standards: New Fannie Mae Requirements in the Wake of the Champlain Towers Tragedy (CO)
Following the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, Fannie Mae took a significant step to modernize lending requirements. These new requirements place a greater emphasis on the property condition and the strength of the community’s reserves. In response to growing concerns about aging infrastructure and extensive deferred maintenance in certain buildings, […]
Luxury Condo Feels the Sting of Fannie Mae’s New Guidelines (NY)
When buyers at 75 Wall St., a luxury condo in Manhattan’s Financial District, were denied residential mortgages earlier this year, it became clear the building was a casualty of stricter enforcement of Fannie Mae’s new lending guidelines. Read the article……………………………..
Update on New Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Condominium Seller Guidelines
Following the collapse of the Champlain Towers South Condominium in Surfside, Florida, in 2021, government backed mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, issued temporary project review requirements relating to significant deferred maintenance in condominiums, co-ops, and similar developments. Read the article……………………………..
Modernized Lending Standards: New Fannie Mae Requirements in the Wake of the Champlain Towers Tragedy
Following the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, Fannie Mae took a significant step to modernize lending requirements. These new requirements place a greater emphasis on the property condition and the strength of the community’s reserves. In response to growing concerns about aging infrastructure and extensive deferred maintenance in certain buildings, […]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Release Lender Bulletins for Condo and Coop Mortgages
Within the past few weeks, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released lender bulletins as a step toward making temporary requirements permanent. The temporary requirements addressed issues of structural safety in condominium and housing cooperative buildings in response to the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse. Read the article………………………..
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac update condo and co-op unit policies
Fannie Mae on Wednesday released criteria for loans on apartments within condominiums and cooperatives that will replace stop-gap measures for buildings with significant deferred maintenance or public repair directives for unsafe conditions. Read the article (PDF) ………………………..
California’s FAIR Plan may save condo associations blacklisted by Fannie Mae
Dear Fannie Mae: I might have found a unicorn for all the California condos you’ve blacklisted. Please meet the fine folks at the California FAIR Plan, a home insurance association. And please meet the fine folks at the California Department of Insurance, including Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. They just might have a novel idea to […]
Condominium Housing Leaders Urge Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to Modify New Lending Requirements
Updated lending questionnaires introduced last year by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have resulted in restricted access to mortgages and created condominium building “blacklists,” impacting thousands of affordable housing units in the U.S., Read the article………………………..
There’s a semi-secret list of NYC co-op and condo buildings that are off limits to certain mortgage lenders (NY)
Imagine a New York City co-op or condo building that certain lenders won’t touch: It could be a nightmare situation for a buyer, seller, and the building in general. That scenario is the new reality for nearly 40 apartment buildings in NYC that appear on a list putting them off limits for Fannie Mae lenders […]
Fannie Mae Shakes Up the Co-op and Condo Lending Game (NY)
In the past, Fannie Mae bought apartment loans based on a building’s financial health,” says Jerry Niemeier, an authority in co-op lending. Then came the deadly Florida condo collapse. “Now Fannie Mae is asking lenders to essentially certify that there are no significant deferred maintenance issues or unsafe conditions in the building. And if repairs […]