Condo & Unique-Property Financing
Sometimes the borrower is flawless and the property is the challenge. Condominiums, unusual homes and mixed-use buildings carry their own rules, and a lender who knows them is the difference between a smooth close and a dead deal.
The condo question: warrantable or not
A warrantable condo meets agency standards — healthy reserves, limited investor concentration, no major litigation, an owner-occupancy balance — and finances like any other home. A non-warrantable condo fails one of those tests and needs a specialized loan. The unit can be perfect; it is the project that is being judged.
What lenders review on a condo
- The homeowners-association budget and reserves.
- The share of units that are rentals versus owner-occupied.
- Any litigation involving the association.
- How much of the project a single owner controls.
Other unique properties
Manufactured homes, properties on significant acreage, mixed-use buildings and homes with unusual features can all fall outside standard guidelines. None of them is unfinanceable — each simply needs the right program and an underwriter who has seen it before.
Before you fall for a specific condo, ask us to check whether the project is warrantable. Finding out early saves you from a loan that falls apart late — and if it is non-warrantable, we will line up the right program from the start.