Before Aug. 3, 2026, a lender approving a conventional loan on a condo in Stuart, Jensen Beach or on Hutchinson Island could often take a short route through the association's paperwork. That route is gone. For loan applications dated on or after Aug. 3, Fannie Mae retired its Limited Review process and Freddie Mac retired its Streamlined Review. A financed purchase in an established condo project now goes through a full look at the association's finances unless it qualifies for a waiver or exemption.
For anyone shopping Martin County condos this fall, the lender is now underwriting two things, you and the building. The building's budget, reserves and repair history now help decide who can buy a unit and on what terms. September's market report already shows that sorting.
What the lender checks now
Fannie Mae set out the change in Lender Letter LL-2026-03, issued March 18, 2026. Freddie Mac made matching changes in Bulletin 2026-C the same day. Under Fannie Mae's Full Review process, the lender has to certify the project through a web tool called Condo Project Manager and keep that certification in the loan file.
The review covers ground a buyer may never have looked at:
- The budget and reserves. Until Jan. 4, 2027, the standard reserve floor is 10% of budgeted assessment income. If a lender relies on a reserve study instead, the budget must fund the study's highest recommended allocation. The lender also cannot accept a "baseline" funding plan that lets the reserve balance fall close to zero.
- Delinquencies. No more than 15% of units can be 60 or more days behind on association dues or on any special assessment.
- Inspection reports. Lenders must get and review any structural or mechanical inspection report completed within the past three years, including inspections the law did not require.
- Critical repairs. Under Fannie Mae's ineligible-projects rules, a failed mandatory inspection for structural safety, soundness or habitability counts as a critical repair. A project with unaddressed critical repairs is ineligible until the work is finished and documented.
- Special assessments. For every current or planned assessment, the lender looks at its purpose, approval status, original and remaining balance, and expected payoff date. If an assessment pays for an unresolved critical repair, the project is ineligible.
Each item on that list describes the building. None of it describes the unit. Two units with the same layout, the same view and the same asking price can now face very different financing paths if they sit in associations with different records.
Some Florida buyers gain from the change
Rep. Byron Donalds called the change a win for Florida condo borrowers in a March 19, 2026 statement. He said it ends Florida-specific lending limits that had tied some borrowers to a 25% down payment, and opens access to the 3% to 5% down payments common elsewhere in the country. Those are his figures. Freddie Mac's bulletin does remove specified Florida LTV limits for established projects that lenders certify in Condo Project Manager.
Both things are true at once. In a building that passes Full Review, financing may now be easier than before. In a building that does not pass, the conventional loan route can close. The Real Deal reported on Aug. 5 that the change could slow loans and kill some deals. A follow-up in The Real Deal on Aug. 9 quoted Robert Smith, a regional president at FirstService Residential. He said older buildings still working through reserve funding or big capital projects, such as roofs, concrete restoration, hurricane windows and elevators, will be harder to finance. He also said associations that kept their finances current would be in a stronger position. "The biggest difference is that buyers now need to evaluate the financial health of the condominium association just as carefully as they evaluate the home itself," Smith told the outlet. The same article suggested proactive associations could see that advantage reflected in their prices.
September's numbers point the same direction
The first full month of data after the switch is September 2026. MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld released it on Oct. 16.
| Martin County, September 2026 | Condos | Single-family homes |
|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $237,500, up 7.95% from Sept. 2025 | $600,000, up 5.26% |
| Closed sales | 90, up from 79 | 168, down from 175 |
| Active listings | 463, down from 616 | 682, down from 833 |
| Months of supply | 5.1 | 3.6 |
| Median days, listing to contract | 68, down from 125 | 39, down from 62 |
| Median share of original list price received | 92% | 95% |
| Share of sales paid in cash | 58.9% | 33.3% |
On its face, the condo column shows a recovery. Martin County's condo median rose in September while the statewide condo-townhouse median fell 1.8% to $293,500. Condo sales were up, and median time from listing to contract dropped by nearly two months.
Two numbers in the same column point somewhere else. Condo sellers received a median 92% of their original list price, three points below single-family sellers. And nearly six in ten condo sales closed in cash. A cash buyer never goes through a lender's project review. The release ties the high cash share to foreign buyers and to people moving from more expensive markets. Mortgage rates also matter. The release puts them at 7.46% as of Oct. 13, 2026, up nearly 0.6 points since Sept. 1. One month of data cannot separate those causes from the new review. Still, a market where most condo buyers skip financing is one where a building's loan eligibility can decide who is able to bid on a unit at all.
Applied to a single listing, that means a unit in a building that passes Full Review can draw both cash and financed buyers. A unit in a building that does not pass may draw mostly cash buyers, and a smaller pool of buyers gives each one more room to negotiate. The 7.95% gain in the countywide median blends both kinds of building into one figure.
Florida's own deadlines run alongside the lender's
The lender's checklist sits on top of a state system that has been tightening since the post-Surfside laws. The Florida Division of Condominiums explains that residential condo buildings of three or more habitable stories need milestone inspections at 30 years and every 10 years after. A local building official can move the first inspection to 25 years where local conditions warrant it. Those buildings also need a structural integrity reserve study, or SIRS, at least every 10 years.
Under Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, most existing owner-controlled associations had to finish their SIRS by Dec. 31, 2025. An association with a milestone inspection due on or before Dec. 31, 2026 may complete the study along with that inspection, but no later than Dec. 31, 2026. For budgets adopted after Dec. 31, 2024, owners generally can no longer vote to waive or underfund reserves for the components the SIRS covers. Once a milestone inspection report calls for Phase 2 structural repairs, the work must start within 365 days, according to section 553.899.
There is a detail where the state and lender rules interact. HB 913, which the Governor's office announced as signed on June 23, 2025, lets a qualifying association that had a milestone inspection in the prior two calendar years vote by majority to pause or reduce reserve contributions. The pause can cover up to two consecutive annual budgets adopted on or before Dec. 31, 2028, and the money goes to the recommended repairs. State law allows the pause. Fannie Mae's Full Review still measures the budget against its own reserve floor or a reserve study's highest recommended allocation. A building that uses the state's flexibility could therefore have a harder time meeting a lender's reserve test while the pause lasts.
The repair pipeline behind all of this is large. A July 2026 report from Florida's legislative research office, OPPAGA, counted 8,736 completed Phase 1 milestone inspections and 1,575 completed Phase 2 inspections statewide for 2024 and 2025. Not every local jurisdiction had reported its data.
Jan. 4, 2027 raises the reserve floor
The August switch was the first step. For loan applications dated on or after Jan. 4, 2027, Fannie Mae's standard replacement-reserve floor under Full Review rises from 10% to 15% of budgeted assessment income. For this post's readers, that date falls about ten weeks out, in the middle of the winter selling season.
There is an early read on how many buildings that could affect. A National Mortgage Professional report from July 24, 2026 cited AD Mortgage data. About 30% of the Florida projects that lender had reviewed by hand fell below the 15% reserve level scheduled for 2027. The same data showed that more than 750 of its Florida condo loans since 2021 used Limited Review, or 53% of its Florida conventional condo production. That is one lender's portfolio, not a count of Martin County buildings. It does suggest a building that clears the 10% floor this fall may not clear the higher floor after the new year.
What to request before you write an offer
If you plan to finance a Martin County condo, the building's paperwork deserves the attention you give the unit. Ask the seller or listing side for these documents early:
- The current budget, so you and your lender can see the line for reserve contributions.
- The most recent SIRS and any milestone inspection report, with the date each was completed.
- A list of any current or planned special assessments, with the amount, purpose and payoff schedule.
- Board minutes covering any vote to pause or reduce reserve contributions under the 2025 law.
- Your lender's answer on project eligibility, as early in the contract period as you can get it.
On the selling side, a well-funded association is now something to put in the listing. A seller who can show a completed SIRS, a fully funded reserve line and no open critical repairs is offering a unit that both cash and financed buyers can pursue.
Fannie Mae's Condo Status Finder is open to associations and their authorized advisors. It is not a public lookup for buyers, and Fannie Mae says it does not share individual project decisions with other parties. Your lender's review is where a building's status gets settled.
Quick answers
Does every condo loan now need a Full Review? No. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac kept waiver routes, and Freddie Mac expanded its "Exempt From Review" option to projects of two to 10 units, subject to its conditions. Your lender can tell you which path a specific building takes.
Does the rule affect cash buyers? The project review applies to conventional loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Cash buyers do not go through it. That is why the cash share in the September 2026 figures is worth watching.
Is a building's milestone inspection status public? Florida law requires local building officials to report annual counts of buildings that need milestone inspections to the state. For a specific building, ask the association for its report directly.
This post is general information about lending guidelines and Florida condo law. It is not legal or financial advice. Please confirm how these rules apply to your purchase with your lender and a Florida real estate attorney.
If you are weighing condos in Stuart, Jensen Beach, Palm City or on Hutchinson Island and want to know how a building's reserves and inspection history could affect your financing or your sale price, The Cuomo Team can help you gather the association documents and compare recent sales building by building. Request your free market analysis, and we will start with the building you are considering.
