Condo Association vs HOA

[Louis Mannikko]

Hey Everyone, 

Talked to my mortgage broker today to see what kind of property i would qualify for with a conventional mortgage, and she said something that I wanted to verify with everyone.

A couple of properties I am looking at are Condos, and they have an association fee associated with them.

My broker pretty much cut me off and said, any unit that is part of a "Condo Association" will not qualify for a convention mortgage on an investment property. If its a HOA, thats fine, but its all in the wording of the association, if it says Condo Association, its a no go, if it says Home owners Association, its perfectly fine.

Just curios, has anyone else heard of this?  Any more information as to why that is the case?  She said it had something to do with rights of ownership that the banks didn't like.

Thanks in advance for your time!!

[Cris Johannsen]

Just my opinion but if you can avoid it stay away from HOA or association. It takes away from your profit potiential for an investment and as far as I know you can not debduct the cost in your taxes. The other thing I steer clear of is melo roos.

I have never been told this by a lender and I have a conventional on an income property with an association in CA. Best of luck. Cris