Is the Condo Market Ready for the New Fannie Mae Rules? LA’s Leading Condo Brokerage Says Most Buildings Are Not

Even fully funded HOAs are failing lender review, pushing buildings into non-warrantable status and putting owners’ property values at risk

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 6, 2026): Since Fannie Mae’s updated condo requirements took effect on August 3, The Condo Experts, one of Los Angeles’s leading condo brokerages, says most buildings whose owners call to list are not ready for the new lending standards. Some buildings with reserves funded at 100%, which are rare, are still failing and falling into non-warrantable status.

“We’re talking to agents and mortgage brokers all over the city, and it’s a disorganized mess,” said Brian Maser, founder and broker of The Condo Experts, which has closed more than $1 billion in condo sales across nearly 700 Los Angeles buildings. “Buildings that are beautifully run are failing, and many board members still believe they’re fine.”

What’s happening on the ground

• Well-run buildings are failing. Many are contributing too little of their gross income to reserves for lender requirements. The current standard is 10%, rising to 15% in January.

• Details are decisive. Lenders are reviewing deferred maintenance, reserve levels, and insurance coverage closely. A single incorrect checkbox on an insurance document can trigger a hard fail.

• Waivers are limited. Banks can sometimes grant exceptions for exceptionally well-funded buildings, but those are the minority.

• Some boards are resisting. Instead of acting, some boards are assigning blame, even though updating the reserve allocation may require a board vote and, in some cases, higher dues.

Why it matters to owners

A warrantable building qualifies for standard conventional financing and tends to hold its value. A non-warrantable building can still sell, but typically with more expensive financing and a lower sale price. Some buildings may qualify for neither.

Buyers are affected too. Highly qualified buyers can spend time and money on inspections, only to learn three weeks into escrow that the building doesn’t qualify for a loan.

The documents lenders need

Owners and board members have the right to request the records lenders review, including:

• Reserve study (required every three years)

• Financial budgets

• CC&Rs and bylaws

• Board meeting minutes

• Master insurance policy and certificate of insurance

• Other supporting records

Gathering these piecemeal after a property is listed is slow and inefficient.

A proposed solution

Each building needs an updated assessment against current lender standards before listing. The Condo Experts built CondoNAV.com so homeowners, listing agents, mortgage brokers, and HOA boards can upload and organize the documents banks require. The platform analyzes them, gives a warrantability score and an indication of the type of loan a building is likely to qualify for, and prepares a package that can go to a lender for faster review. The company is working with Chase and other partner banks on this process.

This builds on The Condo Experts’ Pre-Packaged Condo Sale™ approach, in which HOA documents, seller inspections, and title disclosures are gathered before a property is listed. “Most agents list first and discover the building’s problems later,” Maser said. “We do the work up front. We’ve added a lending review, and we’ve built a tool that the entire Los Angeles and California market can use.”

“This is going to get difficult, and we need to get ahead of it as an industry,” Maser added. “The earlier a building knows where it stands, the more options its owners have.”

About The Condo Experts

The Condo Experts is a Westside Los Angeles condo and townhome brokerage led by Brian Maser, with 25+ years of condo specialization and more than $1 billion in closed sales. Learn more at condosalesexperts.com.

About CondoNAV

CondoNAV (CondoNAV.com) helps sellers, agents, lenders, and HOA boards organize and analyze the documents required for condo financing and assess warrantability before listing.

Media Contact:
Brian Maser, Founder & Broker, The Condo Experts
[email protected]  | (310) 460-7917