From the RatesQ team · Sample question

Florida condo financing — why are some condos harder to approve?

This educational scenario and its sample explanations are not posts from real users.

I found a condo in Tampa I love but my lender said the building isn't 'warrantable.' What does that mean and is there any way to still get financing on it?

Quick Summary

  1. Condo financing includes review of the project as well as the borrower.
  2. Insurance, reserves, structural issues and litigation can affect eligibility.
  3. Different loan programs may have different project-review requirements.

Sample explanations

From the RatesQ team

Update: I asked my lender and the issue is that the building has more than 50% investor-owned units. Apparently that's one of the Fannie Mae disqualifiers.

From the RatesQ team

Yes, that's one of the most common reasons. Fannie and Freddie don't want to insure buildings where more than half the units are rentals because it changes the risk profile. Other common disqualifiers: active HOA litigation, less than 10% of dues in reserves, single entity owns 10%+ of units, the building is a hotel/resort hybrid, or it has incomplete construction. After Surfside, Florida buildings also face enhanced scrutiny on structural reserves.

From the RatesQ team

Non-warrantable doesn't mean unfinanceable. You have a few options: portfolio lenders (banks that keep the loan on their books and don't need GSE approval), non-QM lenders, or sometimes FHA (FHA has its own condo approval list but the building must apply). Rates will be higher — typically 0.5–1.5% above conventional — and down payment requirements may be stricter (20–30%+). The first step is getting the HOA's condo questionnaire and financials to understand exactly why it's non-warrantable. That determines which path makes sense.