Warrantable Condos in Florida: What Lenders Check in 2026

In September 2026, Lee County's condo and townhouse market showed a $255,000 median, a median 86 days to contract, 3,005 active listings and 6.6 months of supply, according to Florida Realtors' data released in October 2026. NABOR's October 23, 2026 report counted 2,168 condos for sale in Collier County excluding Marco Island, at a $400,000 condo median. A warrantable condo is one in a building that meets Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac project standards, so a lender can sell the loan to them.

For the rest of the purchase, from documents to insurance, see our guide to buying a condo in Florida. This post goes further into lending: the rule text, the 2026 changes, the lender's questionnaire, and how to test a building before you offer.

What makes a Florida condo warrantable or non-warrantable?

A Florida condo is warrantable when its project passes Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac review, and non-warrantable when the project fails one or more tests. The test belongs to the building, not to your credit, so every unit loan in that project gets the same answer until the association fixes the problem.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

Fannie Mae calls a project established when 90 percent of units are conveyed, everything is complete, no phases remain and owners control the association. Each project carries a Condo Project Manager status, such as Certified by Lender, Approved by Fannie Mae, Unavailable or Guide Ineligible.

Reviews expire. A Full Review of an established project must fall within one year before the note date, and a new project's within 180 days; an "Approved by Fannie Mae" status must be valid on the note date. A building that passed last year is not automatically fine today.

If you are comparing buildings with one of the best real estate agents in Naples, ask them to send the building name to your loan officer before you write, because cash closes in a non-warrantable building and a mortgage often cannot.

What changed for condo loans in 2026?

Condo lending changed in 2026 through Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-C, both issued March 18, 2026. They widened the small-project waiver to projects of up to 10 units, retired Florida-specific limits, made Full Review mandatory from August 3, 2026, and raise the reserve line to 15 percent from January 4, 2027.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

LL-2026-03 lets lenders waive project review for projects of up to 10 units, though 5 to 10 unit projects must sit outside a master association. Fannie Mae retired its separate review of new Florida attached projects and its 50 percent investor concentration limit; applications dated before August 3, 2026 under Limited Review keep the old Florida limits.

Freddie Mac's bulletin no longer requires Fannie Mae approval for new Florida attached projects, retired Florida loan-to-value limits for established projects, and dropped their 50 percent owner-occupancy requirement. Both agencies now cap the master policy's per-unit deductible at $50,000 and reject baseline-funded reserve studies.

Which building problems make a condo ineligible?

Under Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, a condo project is ineligible for critical repairs, failed mandatory inspections, an evacuation order, structural or habitability litigation, too much single-entity ownership, more than 35 percent commercial space, hotel-style operation, or delinquency above 15 percent. Unfunded repairs above $10,000 per unit due within 12 months count as critical.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

The Guide defines critical repairs as work that "significantly impact[s] the safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability" or financial viability, such as sea walls, elevators, balconies or parking structures. Damage confined to a few units, or routine replacement, does not count, and a jurisdiction's "safe" rating does not cure open critical repairs.

Ownership limits differ by agency, a real conflict between the two Guides. Fannie Mae caps one entity at 20 percent of a project of 21 or more units; Freddie Mac allows 25 percent. Illustrative: in an 80-unit building, 20 percent is 16 units and 25 percent is 20, so an investor with 18 units fails Fannie Mae and passes Freddie Mac.

Litigation counts when it involves safety, structure, habitability or functional use, including arbitration headed to court; minor matters within 10 percent of funded reserves survive. Hotel indicators disqualify a project too: rental pooling, daily cleaning or registration, owner-occupancy blackout dates, or marketing as a hotel.

Delinquency is measured per charge. Illustrative: in a 40-unit building, 7 units 60 or more days behind on regular dues is 17.5 percent, over the 15 percent line, while 5 units behind on a separate special assessment is 12.5 percent, inside it. Fannie Mae calculates each one on its own.

What does the lender's condo questionnaire ask?

The lender's condo questionnaire is one shared five-page form, Fannie Mae Form 1076 and Freddie Mac Form 476, completed by the association or its manager, plus an addendum, Form 1076A or 476A, on inspections, deferred maintenance, reserves and special assessments. Neither form uses the words "milestone" or "SIRS," so the manager's answers decide what the lender sees.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

The main form asks about rental pooling, turnover, units 60 or more days delinquent, litigation, the owner-occupant and investor mix, anyone owning several units, commercial space, flood coverage and reserve controls. The addendum asks the date of the last architect, engineer or inspector review, its findings, and unfinished repairs.

It adds known deficiencies, code violations, any reserve study within 3 years, the reserve balance, special assessments and association loans. Florida's milestone and SIRS findings reach the lender only through those generic questions; see our post on milestone inspections and SIRS.

Two answers in Fannie Mae's Project Standards FAQs help buyers. Question 26 says that if the association will not provide inspection reports, the lender may get them from the buyer, seller or agent, and otherwise the loan is ineligible. Question 28 says a special assessment cannot replace the 10 percent budget reserve line.

Illustrative: a 50-unit building collects $500,000 a year in regular assessments and budgets $40,000 for reserves while levying a $2,000,000 special assessment. $40,000 is 8 percent, below the 10 percent line, so the budget fails unless a qualifying reserve study supports it. For applications dated on or after January 4, 2027, the line becomes 15 percent, or $75,000.

How can you check a building before you make an offer?

Before you make an offer on a Florida condo, check the two public lists, HUD's FHA condominium search and VA's condo report, then ask your loan officer to run the building through Fannie Mae's Condo Project Manager and Freddie Mac's Condo Project Advisor. Those two agency tools are for lenders; buyers cannot search them directly.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

HUD's condominium search shows anyone whether a project is Approved, Expired, Rejected or Withdrawn. VA's public condo report form needs only the state. Fannie Mae's Condo Status Finder is for associations, managers and authorized advisors, and "No findings" there is not an approval.

Since October 26, 2026, Freddie Mac's advisor gives lenders detailed comments on Not Eligible results, and associations can appeal through its Not Eligible Status Data Form. Ask the manager about delinquencies, the reserve share, the last inspection and any planned assessment, which our post on special assessments and HO-6 covers.

Can you use an FHA or VA loan on a Southwest Florida condo?

An FHA or VA loan works on a Southwest Florida condo only when the building clears that agency's own approval, separate from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. FHA approves whole projects or, through Single-Unit Approval, one unit at a time. VA approves only whole projects, though a project already approved by HUD can be added with that evidence.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

HUD Handbook 4000.1 uses three owner-occupancy numbers. Project approval needs at least 50 percent for existing buildings, or 35 to under 50 percent by exception for projects older than 12 months with no more than 10 percent of units in arrears. A unit in an already approved project needs the project at 35 percent or more. Single-Unit Approval needs 50 percent.

Seasonal and investor-heavy buildings often struggle with those tests, and FHA also limits its loans per project. HUD's May 20, 2026 notice streamlined single-unit case numbers but "does not represent an expansion of FHA's condo program." If a building is missing from VA's list, the lender or association must submit a project package.

What are your options if a building is non-warrantable?

If a Florida condo building is non-warrantable, your options are paying cash, a non-QM or portfolio loan that the lender keeps, an FHA or VA route if that agency approved the project, or waiting while the association fixes the issue and the lender asks Fannie Mae to remove an Unavailable status. Each option costs money or time.

Data updated: November 2026 (sources named, retrieved 4 November 2026).

Non-QM terms come from lenders, not us. NSM, a Jacksonville broker, wrote in November 2026 that down payments "often start around 20%." A Sarasota-area broker told Mortgage Professional America on October 29, 2026 that no non-QM condo financing allows 3 to 5 percent down.

Lenders can also ask Fannie Mae for an exception when a project falls short but "has merit," and Freddie Mac's advisor takes lender requests for unit-level waivers for delinquent assessments, excess commercial space or pending litigation. The table compares the main routes as of November 2026.

Before our clients offer, we search HUD and VA, ask the loan officer for both agency statuses, and read the manager's questionnaire answers ourselves. For Naples buildings, the monthly fee and reserve share are explained in our post on Naples condo fees, and the 2025 law behind SIRS funding is in our HB 913 explainer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Warrantable Condos

Does non-warrantable mean the condo is unsafe?

Not necessarily. A project can be non-warrantable for reasons unrelated to safety, such as too much ownership by one investor, more than 35 percent commercial space, hotel-style rental operations or a weak reserve line. Critical repairs and failed inspections are common causes, though, so ask the manager which test the building failed and whether it is being fixed.

Can a non-warrantable condo become warrantable again?

Yes. Once the association completes the critical repair, raises reserves, fixes insurance or resolves the litigation, a lender that has finished its review can send the documentation to Fannie Mae through Condo Project Manager and ask to remove an Unavailable status. Freddie Mac takes appeals through its Not Eligible Status Data Form.

Can I see Fannie Mae's Unavailable list myself?

No. Condo Project Manager is a lender application, and Fannie Mae's Condo Status Finder is limited to associations, managers and authorized advisors. A buyer can search HUD's FHA list and VA's condo report directly, then ask a loan officer to check the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac status before writing an offer.

Does a special assessment make a condo non-warrantable?

Only in some cases. Fannie Mae requires lenders to review every current or planned special assessment, and a project is ineligible when an assessment is tied to a critical repair that has not been remediated. A special assessment also cannot stand in for the budget's reserve line, which must reach 10 percent today.

How much do I need to put down on a non-warrantable condo?

There is no official figure, because each non-QM or portfolio lender sets its own terms. One Florida mortgage broker wrote in November 2026 that down payments often start around 20 percent, and another said no non-QM condo product allows 3 to 5 percent down. Get written terms from your lender before you offer.

Every rule and figure in this post is listed with its source on our Florida condo buyer guide.

Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and Gulfshore Life Five Star award winners for 21 consecutive years, lead Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012. Brokered by Domain Realty. Call Jesse McGreevy at (239) 898-6072.

Updated November 2026. General information, not legal, tax, insurance or lending advice.