How Will Fannie/Freddie Resort Condo Guidelines Impact Market?

How Will Fannie/Freddie Resort Condo Guidelines Impact Market?

Real Estate Agent · Destin, FL · Member since 2016 · 57 posts · 45 votes

As of today, Decempber 7th, 2020, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac put out new Resort Condo Guidelines that determines if a condo project will be considered ineligible for their standard financing options.  From the rough outline that I have been provided, it appears that a condo complex will be ineligible if any of the following apply:

- Is transient in nature, offering hotel type services (including those offered by the HOA or management company) such as registration services, rentals on a daily or short-term basis, daily cleaning, central key systems, etc.

- Is professionally managed by a hotel or resort management company that also facilitates short term rentals for unit owners

- Has obtained a hotel or resort rating for its hotel, motel, or resort operations through hotel rating providers including, but not limited to, travel agencies, hotel booking websites, and internet search engines.

- Projects or HOAs that are licensed, or have a designated licensed agent, have a permit to operate, or are registered, as a type of transient housing for the rental of non-HOA owned units.

- The HOA receives revenue from, or pays expenses for, hotel type services including a registration desk/rental registration desk, or an onsite rental operator's desk, or a rental website/hosting platform

I would imagine, just like in Destin, FL, that there are plenty of cities across the country where there are front desks and management companies running a large majority of the STRs in their complex. Am I reading this correctly that if the owners of these condos decide to sell, that their buyer will either have to pay cash, get private financing, or use a local bank with a portfolio loan? Fannie and Freddie won't allow an FHA or Conventional loan on them? If so, how much do you think that will impact the market for any/all condos, whether short term rentals or private residences?! This could be huge... :(

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  • Real Estate Agent · Tampa, FL · Member since 2018 · 464 posts · 452 votes
    5y

    @Jennifer Wilson - It'll have an impact, but I don't see it impacting much more than it already does (in my non-lender humble opinion). Finding warrantable condos is already like searching for a needle in the haystack.  There will still be lenders that will underwrite favorable loans in certain non-warrantable condos, just as there are now.  For example, Calypso Tower III in PCB or Ariel Dunes in Destin -- Some lenders won't touch them while others will offer 10% down as a 'second home'.  

    The other big thing to remember is that this doesn't affect the VA-approved guidelines. I continued to be amazed by which condos are VA approved but definitely not warrantable. For example, Sundestin Condos (which has a check-in desk and is managed by Vacasa) can be bought with 0% down payment via a VA loan; however, you'll have to throw down 20-25% if you're not using a VA loan (even purchasing it as a primary residence). It's bananas!

    All that to say, continue to use your local agents who know the areas well and the loop holes to save you the most money and will help avoid wasting your time! :)

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