FHA Won't Fund Thousands Of Condos Who Miss Key Deadline

If your condo association has missed a key FHA deadline, you won't be able to get FHA assistance if you sell your condo.

The key FHA deadline expired last year. There was so much clamor, the FHA agreed to put out new deadlines and to publicize the rules of eligibility for its assistance.

About 25,000 condo projects around the United States have missed this key FHA deadline.

Kenneth R. Harney writes:

What can owners do? Tops on the list, according to FHA officials, is to get in touch with the leaders of your homeowners association. Ask them to do what's necessary to get the project through the approval hoops. Large mortgage lenders can also get the ball rolling if they want to finance a unit in the project.

Costs for a recertification or approval can run from just under $1,000 to more than $3,000. Time for approvals may be a much more significant factor, however. Eberhardt says his firm can assemble documents and create a package for the FHA in about five days, but the process can extend for an additional 45 days to more than 60 days if the FHA staff is overwhelmed with applications. That just might happen in the coming weeks as unit owners begin learning about their financing cutoff deadlines.

Meanwhile, your sale or refinancing could be put on hold.