New rules take effect January 4, 2027

Is your condo still warrantable?

‘Warrantable’ is the industry word for mortgage-ready: whether a buyer can finance a home here with an ordinary loan. In 2027 the rules that decide it get stricter, and a building that falls short loses buyers, and value. This free check shows where you stand against the criteria lenders actually use.

Written for the volunteer board member or treasurer, not the mortgage professional. Every term is explained the first time it appears.

In about three minutes, see where your building stands: free, with no sign-up to read the result.

About 3 minutesFreeNo sign-up to see your result
The check

Where your building stands

Answer what you know. Your verdict assembles on the right as you go, drawn from your own numbers, not a generic profile. Every factor is something a lender weighs when it decides if your homes are warrantableWhether a building’s homes qualify for a standard mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. A "non-warrantable" condo needs a specialty loan, which shrinks the pool of buyers..

Nothing you enter is saved or sent. It stays in your browser.
1Your building
2Money set aside
$
Your yearly assessment income, your yearly assessment incomeThe share of units behind on their dues. Lenders focus on units 60 or more days late..
Not set
0%10% floor today15% from 202730%
3Make-up & balances
Not set
0%15% cap40%

Does any single owner or entity own a large share of the units?

Not set
0%35% ceiling60%
4Condition & cover
Your verdict
Answer the check

Your verdict assembles here as you answer, drawn from your own numbers, and nothing is saved or sent.

0
Pass
0
Needs work
0
Blocker
Ready for 2027?
Set your reserve share above to see where you land against the 15% bar that takes effect January 4, 2027.

A pre-screen, not an official answer. It reads the published criteria; a lender’s review and a reserve study give the binding answer.

The report card

Factor by factor, in plain English

Nine things decide whether a building’s homes qualify for a standard mortgage. Each one is a sentence about where you stand: open a row for what it means and what to do. The thread warms as your answers come in.

What 2027 would take

What it would take to be ready for 2027

From January 4, 2027, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raise the reserve minimum from 10% to 15% of your annual budget. Drag your reserve contribution and watch the gap close.

Your reserve contribution
11%
of the annual budget
= $0 / yr · $0 / unit / mo
TODAY 10%
2027 15%
0%25%
To close the 2027 gap
$0
/ unit / mo

That's about $0 a year across the building. Reaching 15% would move Reserve funding to ready for 2027.

Today's floor
10%
2027 floor
15%
You
11%
The 15% rule is the share of your annual budget set aside for reserves, a budgeting figure, separate from “percent funded,” which measures how full the reserve fund is against a study’s target. Calculate yours.
What it means

“Warrantable,” in plain English

A building is warrantable when its homes meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s criteria, so a buyer can finance one with a standard, conventional mortgage. Those two are the government-sponsored companies (the GSEs) that buy most U.S. mortgages, and their rules set the baseline lenders follow.

When a building falls short on even one rule, it’s non-warrantable. Buyers then need specialty financing (fewer lenders, larger down payments, higher rates) or they pay cash. That shrinks the pool of buyers, which pulls down what every home in the building is worth.

That’s why a board cares. Warrantability isn’t paperwork. It’s whether your neighbors can sell, and for how much.

Plain-English glossary
Reserves
The savings a building sets aside for big future repairs.
Special assessment
A one-time charge to owners for a large expense the reserves don’t cover.
Reserve study
A professional plan of future repair costs and how much to save each year.
Percent Funded
How full the reserve fund is versus the level a study says it should hold.
GSE
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: the two companies that buy most U.S. mortgages.
The 2027 change

What changes, and when

Warrantability isn’t fixed: the criteria behind it are tightening, and the changes are already on the calendar.

A handful of dates change the math between now and 2027: all confirmed, public, and close enough to plan around now. The 15% reserve rule is the one most likely to move a building.

Minimum reserves
10%15%
of annual assessment income, from Jan 4, 2027
Jul 1, 2026
Fannie Mae
now in effect
Insurance
Updated master-insurance requirements take effect for affected files, including a per-unit deductible capped at $50,000 on required property perils.
Aug 3, 2026
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
in ~4 weeks
Project review
The Limited Review and Streamlined Review shortcuts are retired. A reserve study used in place of the budget test must reflect the highest recommended funding. The baseline method is no longer accepted.
Aug 12, 2026
Colorado
in ~5 weeks
A state example
Colorado’s HB26-1099 takes effect: new communities need a developer reserve study and a 1.5% initial contribution at transition. State rules move too, not just the GSEs.
Jan 4, 2027
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
in ~6 months
The reserve rule · the headline change
The reserve minimum rises from 10% to 15% of budgeted assessment income: the change most likely to move a building from warrantable to not, and the bar the readiness check above measures you against.
Your state

What your state requires

Some states mandate a reserve study on a schedule; many have no confirmed statewide rule. Here is the rule where you are: stated confidently where we’ve verified it, and honestly where we haven’t. State law is separate from the lender rules above, and a building usually has to satisfy both.

Pick your state above to see its reserve-study rule.

Verified here: California, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Nevada, Washington, Delaware, and Utah, with New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, and Hawaii close behind, and Colorado’s new rule arriving August 2026. For every other state we say “not confirmed” rather than “no requirement,” because the absence of a rule is something we won’t assert without checking your code directly.

Frequently asked

Questions boards ask

Where the official answer comes from

A pre-screen isn’t the official answer. Here’s who gives it.

This page reads the published rules and tells you where you likely stand. The binding answer comes from the people and tools below. Send your building to them.

Start upstream. If you haven’t sized your reserves yet, our Reserve Fund Calculator estimates your percent funded first. That figure flows straight into the reserve factor in this check. Like this page, it’s an estimate, not an official determination.

A lender, via CPM

Fannie Mae’s free Condo Project Manager (CPM) lets a lender determine whether a project meets Fannie Mae requirements. The lender remains responsible for the project review and insurance compliance.

The project questionnaire (Form 1076)

The standardized condominium project questionnaire collects the facts behind the review from your association. (Fannie Mae retired the old Form 1077 short form in 2021. Form 1076 is the current one.)

A credentialed reserve study

For a real reserve picture (true Fully Funded Balance and Percent Funded), a study by a Reserve Specialist (RS) or Professional Reserve Analyst (PRA), or one required by your state’s law.

FHA & VA are separate tracks

FHA (HUD Handbook 4000.1, Form HUD-9992) and VA condo approval are their own systems, distinct from Fannie/Freddie warrantability. VA no longer accepts FHA approvals in its place.

Free PDF report
Take the full report to your board

Your verdict, every factor in plain English, your 2027 dollar-gap, and the special-assessment estimate, formatted to forward. Preview it and save it as a PDF — no email, no sign-up, nothing saved.

Optional · go deeper

Refine this same report with a few more questions. It sharpens this one result: owner-occupancy turns from conditional into a real read. No monitoring, no account.

Want a heads-up when the rules move again?

Ongoing monitoring is the future paid product, not part of this free pre-screen. Leave an email to hear when it ships.

General information only, not legal, accounting, engineering, or lending advice. No affiliation with, approval by, or endorsement from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, the VA, CAI, APRA, RS, or PRA is claimed. This page is an informational pre-screen only, not legal, accounting, engineering, or lending advice, and not an official reserve study or warrantability determination.

Rules current as of June 26, 2026.

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