Say you're buying a condo this fall. You've got your pre-approval, you've made an offer, and your lender tells you the closing timeline just doubled. As of August 3, Fannie Mae requires a Full Review of every condo project over 10 units before it will back a conventional mortgage. The old shortcut, Limited Review, is gone.
What Full Review means in practice: the lender sends a questionnaire to the HOA board, and the building's reserve fund, insurance coverage, maintenance history, and dues collection rate all get examined. If the building doesn't pass, conventional financing isn't available for any unit in it. In January 2027, the threshold tightens again, requiring buildings to put at least 15% of annual dues toward reserves.
The logic makes sense. Underfunded buildings deteriorate, and owners get hit with emergency assessments they can't absorb. But consider who actually feels this first. Older buildings with years of deferred maintenance, where monthly dues stayed low because nobody wanted to raise them. The families in those units may open their next HOA notice to find that catching up costs thousands. Buyers looking at those same buildings will need 60 to 90 days to close instead of 30, and sellers there will watch their pool of qualified buyers shrink to cash offers and higher-rate non-conventional loans.
The buildings that kept up with maintenance won't notice much. The ones that didn't are the ones where people could least afford the gap.
Now in effect (Aug. 3, 2026): All condo projects over 10 units need Full Review for conventional loans. Limited Review is retired.
Coming Jan. 4, 2027: Minimum reserve allocation rises from 10% to 15% of annual budgeted assessment income.
If you're buying: Request 60–90 days to close in the purchase contract before you sign. Review the reserve study, board minutes, annual budget, and master insurance policy before committing.
If your building fails review: Conventional financing is unavailable, but the deal isn't dead. Non-conventional loans typically run a quarter- to half-point higher in interest rate, with added inspection costs.
If you're a current owner: Your board may raise monthly dues or levy a special assessment to meet the new reserve floors. Ask whether the building's reserve study is less than three years old.
Not affected: Cash buyers, jumbo loans, FHA and VA borrowers (separate approval rules), and projects with 10 or fewer units (eligible for a streamlined waiver).