If you’re an owner of a condo in the Austin area and are about to list your condo to sell, you may be surprised when you find out that your condo building isn’t FHA Approved. What does this mean to you as a seller? It means that any buyer who is looking to obtain FHA financing will not qualify, leaving you to only be able to sell to conventional buyers who have to make a large down payment (usually 20% or greater). This could seriously shrink your pool of potential buyers, making your visions of a quick sale slowly wither away.
What Can You Do To Get Your Condo FHA Approved?
You can contact your HOA and ask them to start filing the paperwork, but this probably isn’t the fastest approach unless you are on the board. Mortgage lenders also have the ability to file the necessary paperwork to apply for FHA approval for your building, but you’ll have to have your place under contract for the buyer’s lender to start the process. What if a buyer isn’t willing to write an offer on your non-FHA condo and “hope” that his/her lender can get it on the list in time for closing? You could pick up the phone and try calling a few lenders and ask if they will help you. But with nothing in it for them, there’s no reason for a stranger to do all of this legwork. Your best bet is to hire a Realtor who has a great working relationship with a lender who can handle this type of unique situation.
We have one of those great relationships with one such lender: Eric Silvas at Envoy Mortgage. He filed the initial paperwork for FHA approval for an older condominium complex in Central Austin for us (we are representing the seller), and after he jumped through several hoops, we are happy to say that the complex is now approved!
FHA approval helps everyone in the building, not just our listing. It’s the kind of value that hiring the right Austin Realtor and Austin Mortgage Banker can bring to the table.
We are fortunate to have a great relationship with an Austin mortgage banker like Eric Silvas. There aren’t many lenders who would be willing to put forth the efforts of doing something like this, especially on a complex that is already developed. Thank you, Eric!
