Condo Rule Changes 2026 — Realtor Explainer (Script)

If you sell condos, 2026 is the year the financing rules quietly changed underneath you — and it's going to decide which of your condo deals actually close. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac just overhauled how condo projects get approved — the project review, the reserves, and the insurance. Some of it makes your life easier: small condo projects may now qualify for a project review waiver — Fannie for ten units or fewer, Freddie for two to ten. In Florida, the mandatory PERS review is retiring for new and newly-converted attached condos. The old fifty-percent investor-concentration limit is going away, and some insurance rules are more flexible. Now the part you have to respect. Limited Review — and Freddie's Streamlined Review — are going away; for applications dated August 3rd, 2026 and later, more established projects need a full review. Reserve requirements are going up: the budget must use the highest recommended reserve number, and required reserves jump from ten percent to fifteen percent. And here's the one most agents miss: a small condo isn't automatically easy anymore. A seven-unit condo may look simple, but if it belongs to a master community, that small-project shortcut may be off the table and the lender may need a fuller review plus the master association's budget, insurance, and reserves. So always ask: is there a master HOA? Four dates to circle: March 18th — waivers and Florida changes. July 1st — per-unit deductibles capped at fifty thousand dollars a unit, which triggers an HO-6 requirement. August 3rd — Limited and Streamlined Review retired and the enhance reserve study becomes a requiement. January 2027 — fifteen-percent reserves and insurance monitoring. So here's your move: ask for the HOA documents — and the master-association documents — early. Send me the condo's project name, address, and whether it has a master association before your buyer's under contract, and I'll help you pre-screen the whole thing — reserves, insurance, review path, and master-HOA issues. Full field guide and a copy-paste script for your buyers are linked below. I'm Todd Hanley. Let's keep your condo deals closing.