Congress Unanimously Agrees To Make FHA Financing Easier For Condo Buyers
October 31, 2016 by Lucas Lechuga
In a rare moment of solidarity, Congress unanimously agreed to pass the proposed changes to the FHA approval guidelines for condo purchases, opening the way for middle-income buyers to participate in the condo market once more.
Over recent years, the FHA has imposed nearly impossible guidelines for condo purchases that have left a large segment of buyers out of the market, particularly first time homebuyers. The problem has been that in order to secure an FHA loan for a property, the buyers must qualify (relatively easy), AND the building must qualify (almost impossible). The approval process was expensive and the costs were not refunded in the event that the project was rejected. The approvals had to be renewed every couple of years as well. Most condo associations opted to forego the application and just not have FHA as an option for purchasers in the building. With the new guidelines, the projects no longer need to go through the approval process. Buyers can now apply for a spot-approval on individual units and the owner-occupant vs investor ratios have been lowered. Bravo!
This is going to be a big help for actual residents of the Downtown Miami area who are ready to buy a condo, but maybe don't have the 20%-35% down payment that is currently required to buy a property. You can read more about the new guidelines here.
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