Non-Warrantable Condos in Florida: Why Some Buildings Are Ineligible

What does non-warrantable mean for a condo?

When you buy a condo, the lender looks at two things: you, and the project the unit sits in. "Warrantable" is industry shorthand for a project that meets an agency's project standards. A condo in a project that does not is called non-warrantable. The term is informal; the standards themselves are what matter, and each agency publishes its own.

That means Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA do not share one list. A project can be acceptable under one program and not another, and each has its own approval process. This page describes the Fannie Mae Selling Guide because we read it directly; we do not summarize the other programs' rules here. Ask us about your specific building and program.

What makes a condo project ineligible for Fannie Mae?

Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, section B4-2.1-03, lists characteristics that make a project ineligible ^[1]. Among them are timeshare or fractional ownership, projects managed and operated as a hotel or motel, projects where the homeowners association is named in pending litigation relating to safety, structural soundness, habitability or functional use, projects where too much is owned by one entity, projects in need of critical repairs, and projects that are terminating or in insolvency proceedings ^[1]. The guide also sets a limit on nonresidential space: the total used for nonresidential or commercial purposes may not exceed 35 percent ^[1].

"Critical repairs" is defined broadly. The guide describes repairs that significantly affect safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability, or the financial viability or marketability of the project. It lists conditions such as material deficiencies that could lead to system failure within one year, water intrusion or damaging leaks, advanced physical deterioration, failing a mandatory state, county or other jurisdictional inspection or certification on structural safety, and unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit that should be done within the next 12 months ^[1].

Special assessments matter here too. The guide requires the lender to review the purpose, timing, amount and expected payoff of each special assessment to decide whether it addresses a critical repair, and says a project is ineligible if the assessment is tied to a critical repair that has not been remediated ^[1]. We read the version of this section dated 08/05/2026 on Fannie Mae's site. The guide is updated over time, so your lender will apply the current text.

• Pending litigation involving the association about safety, structural soundness, habitability or functional use ^[1].
• Critical repairs or significant deferred maintenance ^[1].
• Hotel or motel operation, and timeshare or fractional ownership ^[1].
• Single-entity ownership above the guide's thresholds ^[1].

How do Florida's milestone inspection and reserve study laws affect condo financing?

Florida law sets inspection and reserve requirements for condominium buildings above a certain height. Under Florida Statutes section 553.899, condominiums and cooperatives three habitable stories or more in height must have a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, based on the certificate of occupancy date, and every 10 years after that ^[2]. The statute sets transitional deadlines: a building that reached 30 years of age before July 1, 2022 must have its initial milestone inspection before December 31, 2024, and a building that reaches 30 years of age on or after July 1, 2022 and before December 31, 2024 must have it before December 31, 2025 ^[2]. The local enforcement agency may also determine that local circumstances, including environmental conditions such as proximity to salt water, require the inspection by December 31 of the year the building reaches 25 years of age, and every 10 years thereafter ^[2]. A licensed architect or engineer performs a visual examination, and if substantial structural deterioration is found, a second phase of more intensive testing follows and repairs must begin within 365 days of the report ^[2].

Section 718.112(2)(g) requires residential condominium associations to obtain a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years for buildings three or more habitable stories in height, and to maintain reserves for the items it identifies ^[3]. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, unit-owner-controlled associations generally cannot waive reserves for those items ^[3].

These statutes do not themselves make a project non-warrantable. But the results can bear on lender standards. For instance, Fannie Mae's critical-repairs text treats a project that failed a mandatory inspection or certification on structural safety, and a special assessment tied to a critical repair, as matters to review ^[1]. Whether a given building is affected depends on its own reports, budget and litigation status, which we cannot assess from this page.

Can a non-warrantable condo still be financed?

Often the answer depends on the lender. A loan the agencies cannot buy is not automatically a loan nobody will make. Some portfolio lenders keep loans on their own books, and some non-QM investors set their own project criteria. Those rules differ from lender to lender, and there is no primary source we can cite for them, so we do not list down payments, credit scores or reserves. We will tell you what our lending partners require for your unit.

Expect the file to be more project-specific than a typical purchase. Lenders may want to see documents about the association, such as reports, budgets and minutes. Fannie Mae's own guide gives examples of the kinds of documents lenders review on physical condition: board minutes, engineer reports, inspection reports, reserve studies and lists of special assessments ^[1]. A non-agency lender has its own list.

Pricing and terms for these loans are set by the lender, and we cannot promise approval. Ask for the project's documents early, before you are far into a contract.

What should I ask before I put a condo under contract?

Ask the association for its current inspection and reserve study status, any pending or planned special assessments, and whether it is a party to litigation. Ask whether units are offered for short-term or hotel-style rental. Those are the areas Fannie Mae's ineligibility list focuses on ^[1], and they are also the areas other lenders tend to ask about.

Then ask your lender which program it would use and whether the project has been reviewed under it. Because each program has its own rules, a building declined by one lender may be reviewed differently by another. Our loan officers can coordinate that conversation with our lending partners.