Florida leads the nation with more than 2,800 properties
Champlain Towers South Condominium, Surfside, FL, June 25, 2021. Credit: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
It’s no secret that Florida’s condominium communities are struggling – a growing, once invisible mortgage blacklist has led to widespread loan denials statewide for some would-be buyers. They include people like Susan Boshers, a condo owner in the Hidden Village complex on the outskirts of Orlando, who according to WKMG-TV News 6, have gotten to the final steps of a sale only to find that their properties are on Fannie Mae’s infamous list, meaning they don’t meet federal lending standards. While Fannie doesn’t make the loans, any condo property that finds its way onto the list means Fannie won’t buy the mortgage, which heavily influences the primary lender market. Very recently, Fannie Mae made good on its promise to release the list, which sheds a lot of light on the situation.
This website hosted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will show you if your condo property is on the dreaded list and for what reason – and includes properties across the nation. (Please contact us at LMA if you need assistance on how to navigate the website.) For Boshers, concerns about Hidden Villages’ reserve funding for future maintenance and repair flagged her condo community – making it ineligible for FHA or VA loans. If she wants to move forward under the current conditions, she will have to find a cash buyer or someone who can make a large down payment. Fannie Mae, together with its sister mortgage agency Freddie Mac, comprise around 70% of federally-backed condo loans in the U.S.
Responders rush to evacuate the South Beach Condo III on Cedar Key Beach in Clearwater, FL, following the discovery of potential structural issues, May 7, 2025. Courtesy, WFTS-TV
The resulting landscape has been tough on everyone. Sheena Tapia, Boshers’ Realtor®, said she’s lost 10 deals in 2025 alone because of the issue, which she said affects 88 different communities in Seminole County. Across the Sunshine State, 2,810 different condo communities are listed as rejected – concentrated heavily in counties like Broward (480), Miami-Dade (482), Palm Beach (350), and Pinellas (238). In fact, Florida leads the nation in rejections, with California (2,563) in a close second, and Texas (591) and New York (545) far behind. Reasons for ineligibility generally fall into one of three categories: structural issues, poor maintenance, and reserve funding concerns.
It was problems like these, brought to light by the deadly collapse of the Surfside Condominium Tower in 2021, that prompted the Florida Legislature in 2022 to enact tough new statewide condo regulations on building inspection, maintenance, and reserve rules.
The Legislature’s effort this past May to bring “critical flexibility” to condo owners and associations through relaxed deadlines for maintenance and repair could help ease the financial strain and get condo associations off the blacklist. The key is striking a balance between safety and flexibility for residents − and this boost in transparency is certainly a step in the right direction.
LMA Newsletter of 9-8-25
