The Condo Board's Guide to Passing Fannie Mae Full Review (Updated August 2026)

Published August 10, 2026 · 6-minute read · By the CondoScores team at RentSpire

Since August 3, 2026, the Limited Review shortcut is retired, and on August 5, 2026 Fannie Mae updated the Selling Guide to match — the Full Review Process now sits at section B4-2.2-01, occupying the slot Limited Review used to hold (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process (08/05/2026)). Unless your project qualifies for the narrow waiver described below, every conventional loan in your building now runs through a Full Review. If your association can't pass it, your owners' buyers can't get Fannie Mae-backed financing — which in practice means fewer offers and lower prices.

This guide translates the current Full Review requirements into the specific numbers a board can check this week. We covered why Limited Review ended in our August 3 article; this is the what-to-do-about-it companion.

Every Loan Now Goes Through CPM

Under the current Guide, "Lenders must use CPM to assist in their Full Review of a condo project (except for projects containing manufactured homes)" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process). CPM — Condo Project Manager — is Fannie Mae's web tool, and it has teeth: "Loans secured by units in projects with a status of 'Unavailable' in Condo Project Manager (CPM) or on the DU Underwriting Findings report are ineligible for purchase by Fannie Mae" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03, Ineligible Projects (08/05/2026)). That "Unavailable" status is the same unpublished list buyers call the condo blacklist — we explain how to find out if you're on it in our blacklist guide.

The Numbers Lenders Will Check

Delinquencies — the 15% / 60-day test. No more than 15% of total units may be 60 or more days past due on regular HOA assessments, and the same 15% cap applies separately to each special assessment (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process). In a 100-unit building, 16 units at 60+ days past due fails the test.

Reserves — 10% now, 15% in 2027. The budget must allocate at least 10% of budgeted assessment income to replacement reserves, calculated by dividing the annual budgeted reserve allocation by annual budgeted assessment income — with special assessment income, reserve-allocated income, and owner-paid utility income excluded from the denominator (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process). A reserve study can substitute for the 10% line item only if the study is no more than three years old, the budget funds the study's highest recommended allocation, and the baseline funding method is not used (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process). And this floor rises: from January 4, 2027, the minimum reserve allocation doubles to 15% — see our deep-dive on the 15% rule.

Commercial space — 35% cap. "Fannie Mae requires that no more than 35% of a condo or co-op project or 35% of the building in which the project is located be commercial space or allocated to mixed-use," and "rental apartments and hotels located within the project must be classified as commercial space even though these may be considered 'residential' in nature" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03).

Single-entity ownership. One owner (individual, investor group, partnership, or corporation) may hold at most 2 units in projects of 5–10 units that are part of a master association, 2 units in projects of 11–20 units, and 20% of units in projects of 21 or more (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03). There is a purchase-transaction waiver when the entity holds no more than 49%, is actively marketing units to get to 20% or less, is current on assessments, and the project has no pending or active special assessments (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03).

Critical repairs and deferred maintenance. A project is ineligible while it needs critical repairs — including mold, water intrusion, advanced deterioration, a failed mandatory structural inspection, or "any unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit that should be undertaken within the next 12 months" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03). If a structural or mechanical inspection was completed within three years of the review, the lender must obtain and review it, and a report showing unaddressed critical repairs makes the project ineligible until repairs are completed and documented (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03). Florida boards: your state SIRS and milestone inspections feed directly into this — see our Florida deadlines guide.

Litigation. Projects where the HOA — or the sponsor/developer, in a matter relating to safety, structural soundness, habitability, or functional use — is a party to pending litigation are ineligible, and arbitration or mediation expected to become litigation counts too (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03). Minor matters can pass: for example, non-monetary disputes, claims fully covered by insurance where the carrier is defending, or anticipated damages and legal costs under 10% of funded reserves (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03).

Who Escapes Full Review

The waiver of project review is real but narrow: detached condos (including site condos), units in 2–4 unit projects, units in 5–10 unit projects only if the project "is not part of a larger development or master association," and Fannie-to-Fannie limited cash-out refinances at 80% LTV or less (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-02, Waiver of Project Review (08/05/2026)). Even with a waiver, the project still can't be "Unavailable" in CPM, can't be a condotel, houseboat project, or timeshare, and can't be terminating or insolvent (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-02). If your project is over 10 units — or 5–10 units inside a master association — there is no shortcut left.

A 30-Minute Board Self-Check

1. Pull your delinquency report: are 60+ day delinquencies under 15% of units, for regular dues and each special assessment separately?
2. Open your current budget: is the reserve line at least 10% of budgeted assessment income (excluding special assessments)? Will it survive the jump to 15% in January 2027?
3. Locate your newest reserve study: is it under three years old, and does your budget fund its highest recommendation?
4. List every inspection report from the past three years and every open repair item: is anything unfunded, over $10,000 per unit, and due within 12 months?
5. Ask your attorney for a one-paragraph litigation summary against the minor-litigation tests above.
6. Count units per owner against the single-entity limits.

If any answer is shaky, fixing it before a buyer's lender runs CPM is worth more than any marketing your building will ever do. Projects that fail don't get a warning letter — they get quiet "Unavailable" status and dead deals. Boards can also read what makes a condo non-warrantable for the full ineligibility list.

FAQ

Does Full Review apply to every condo loan now? For attached units in projects over the waiver thresholds, yes — Limited Review stopped being available for applications dated on or after August 3, 2026 (Lender Letter LL-2026-03), and Freddie Mac retired its Streamlined Review on the same date (Freddie Mac condo FAQ).

Who actually fills out CPM — the board? No. Lenders certify projects in CPM based on documents the association provides: budget, reserve study, inspection reports, insurance, and special assessment details (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process). The board's job is making those documents pass.

How long does a CPM certification last? The Guide requires the lender to "complete their own certification in CPM and document the loan file with the CPM decision by including the unexpired CPM Certification in the file" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Full Review Process) — certifications expire, so an association that stays clean makes every future loan in the building faster.

Want to know how your building scores against these exact tests before a lender runs them? Run a free CondoScores readiness check — it walks through the same delinquency, reserve, repair, and litigation criteria lenders use.