Great news for buyers and sellers in the downtown Miami and Brickell condominium market: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced that they have revised some of their requirements for condominium recertification. According to their “Mortgage Letter 2015-27“, “It is anticipated that the issuance of these additional temporary provisions will increase the pool of condominium projects eligible for FHA approval, thus increasing affordable housing options for first-time and low to moderate income homebuyers.”
In plain English, these changes should allow more condominium buildings/communities to be approved for FHA loans, which in turn means that more buyers will be able to purchase the condominium apartments using lower FHA down payments. As those of us who live and work in downtown Miami & Brickell know, almost no condominium towers have previously been approved for FHA, which meant buyers had to come up with 25 to 30 percent down payments.
Sellers will benefit as well. As more buildings are approved for FHA loans, the pool of potential buyers will increase for the sellers. Although the FHA loan limit in Miami-Dade County is currently set at $423,750, this amount still allows more than 100 buildings from Midtown to Coconut Grove to potentially qualify if they meet these new HUD certification requirements for FHA condominium financing.