/PROGRAM
Non-warrantable condo financing
A traditional lender underwrites the building, not the borrower, so a perfectly good buyer gets killed by someone else’s reserve study or a lawsuit they never knew existed, often two weeks before closing.
- Scope
- Available as a business-purpose loan in any state; the consumer version I originate in select states. Outside those states I can introduce you to a licensed colleague at NEXA Mortgage, LLC.
- Best if
- the building failed review, not you.
- Not for
- a condo that already clears agency warrantability.
- First step
- Send the purchase contract and the condo documents, plus the specific reason the project review failed, if you have it.
Portfolio and non-QM financing for condos that fail Fannie and Freddie’s warrantability checklist: investor concentration, HOA litigation, commercial square footage, developer-held units, low reserves, condotel status. The problem is the building, not you.
Who non-warrantable condo financing is for
Denied on a contract deadline
Under contract, closing in weeks, when the lender’s project review fails warrantability.
Investor in a high-concentration building
Targeting the softer price that investor concentration creates, and needing a lender who underwrites cash flow instead of declining for the same reason.
Buyer in a building with litigation
Active or settled HOA litigation, defect claims, or a pending special assessment that triggers an automatic conventional decline.
Second-home or condotel buyer
A resort unit with a front desk and a rental program, the features that make it work are the ones that fail the checklist.
Downsizer on a timeline
House already sold, moving into a newer amenity building, and needing this handled without drama.
How non-warrantable condo financing works
- 01
Send the purchase contract and the condo documents, plus the specific reason the project review failed, if you have it.
- 02
Portfolio lenders evaluate the building’s actual risk instead of running the agency checklist.
- 03
Occupancy and title decide the lane: owner-occupied is a consumer loan in my licensed states; investor-titled is business-purpose, available in any state.
- 04
I tell you quickly whether it pencils rather than let it become a timeline problem.
Questions about non-warrantable condo financing
My lender said this building can’t be financed at all.
Their investor can’t finance it. That’s different from the building being unfinanceable. Portfolio and non-QM lenders underwrite the building’s actual risk instead of running the agency checklist. Let me look at the specific reason it failed before we call it dead.
The other lender said any litigation is an automatic decline.
That’s true for Fannie and Freddie. It’s a hard rule for them. Portfolio lenders evaluate the litigation itself: the claim type, the dollar amount, whether the HOA has insurance or reserves behind it.
My bank said condotels aren’t financeable.
Not through the conventional route. Portfolio and non-QM lenders finance condotels regularly. The building type does not disqualify you; it puts you in a different lane.
Why would a building this nice not qualify for a normal loan?
It is usually a technical trigger: the developer still holding too many units, too much commercial square footage, reserves not fully funded yet. None of that reflects on the building itself.
What if the litigation gets worse after I close?
That is a real risk and I will not tell you it is not. I would rather you went in with your eyes open on what the suit is actually about, so I will point you to the HOA documents and you can read them yourself.
Related reading
All guides →Why a condo fails warrantability, and what to do about it
You can have flawless credit and still be declined for something happening three floors down.
Myth: if a condo project fails review, the unit can’t be financed
It can’t be financed that way. Non-warrantable is a category with lenders in it, not a verdict.
Send this scenario
Tell me the property and the plan and I’ll come back with what’s eligible. Eligibility and terms vary by scenario.