Don’t Let This Happen on Your Non-Warrantable Condo Deals!

This morning, I got pretty frustrated, and I want to explain why.

A friend of mine, a great real estate agent, accepted an offer on a non-warrantable condo from a lender who "said they could do it." Now the escrow is extended, no contingencies have been removed, and in a few days, that lender will probably say, "Sorry, we can’t do it because of Insurance issues."

This happens all the time, and it’s painful for everyone! Sellers, buyers, and agents alike.

Here’s the truth: 99% of lenders cannot close a non-warrantable condo loan.

If a lender says they can do it, please let me cross-qualify them first. They may have the needle in the haystack, and if so, great! But if not, at least you don’t give your seller false hope, lose weeks of escrow time, and end up with a worse backup offer.

Just yesterday, I spoke with a loan officer who had already tried 16 lenders without success. By the time she reached me, the buyer was frustrated, the agent was discouraged, and the deal had fallen apart. Nobody wins, except maybe the appraiser.

So, here’s the Golden Rule for Non-Warrantable Condos:

Do not accept an offer until I've cross-qualified the lender.

I’ve been doing this for 35 years, 30 of them at Augusta Financial, and my team has personally closed 15,000 to 20,000 loans. My office has likely closed another 30,000 - 40,000. We see these challenges every day. Most loan officers don’t, because they only handle a handful of loans each year.

Imagine for a moment that you are a buyer on a property, and you know nothing about real estate!  You go to lender "A" and they tell you that they can do the loan and get you a rate of 6.50%!  They can’t get you qualified in 3 weeks, and they said, "I tried with four lenders and they won’t do the loan!" Now you want to bail because there must be something wrong with the property! You have paid for a Home Inspection and an appraisal, and now you are mad at the whole process and decide to rent!  YUP!  They finally come to us, find out the rate is higher, and want the seller to pay down two more points, or they bail out!

Imagine you are the seller, and you finally sell the property after 64 days, with a buyer who loves the house and is aware of the Insurance issues. Still, they went with the lender that doesn’t know anything about non-warrantable condos, and they bail after 21 days, cancel the listing, and talk bad about you all over town, and you lose their sister’s listing and their best friend!

We’re here to help you save time, protect you and your clients, and make your life easier (or at least less stressful).

All of this could have been solved if you just let us cross qualify the lender!

If you don’t want to work with me personally, I have excellent loan officers on my team and in my office who can help. The goal is the same: Get your deals closed.

Thank you for all the business you send our way. I genuinely appreciate it.

I’m trying to keep you and your clients from learning the hard way.

Oh yeah, and one more thing! Please RSVP to Oktoberfest!

Please let me know if you have any questions or if a client needs my guidance. I’m just a call, text, or email away.

📞 Direct Line: 661-291-2222 – Text OK

📞 Cell: 661-714-6258 – Text OK

📞 Office: 661-260-2970 ext. 2222 – Text OK

📧 Email: Mike@AugustaFinancial.com

But wait, there’s more…

Interest Rates

Interest rates were slightly better yesterday and are getting beaten up a bit today! Tomorrow will be a better day, I hope!

Loan Programs

• We do loans on Non-warrantable condos!
• We offer 12-day escrows for pre-approved buyers, including conventional FHA/Jumbo/Bridge loans.
• We provide loans in all 50 states, so call me with anything you need.
• Government loans (FHA/VA/USDA) are in the 5s.
• Conventional loans up to $806,500 are in the high 5’s and low 6s.
• High-balance loans from $806,501 to $1,209,750 are also in the 6s.
• Jumbo loans above $1,209,750 are in the 6’s.
• ARMS in the 5’s and some in the 6’s
• Bank statement loans are available with 10% down again, with larger down payments in the 6’s++.
• Profit and Loss Statement loans require 20% down - no bank statements needed, only a profit and loss statement!
• 0 down loans are available in the high 6s, with a minimum credit score of 620, up to $1,300,000.
• Private Money lenders offer Hard Money Loans with 35% down.
• No-Ratio Loans require a 30% down payment.
• DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loans are available with as little as 15% down.
• Bridge Loans typically have an interest rate of 7.99% with limited fees, helping you get where you need to go!
• 3/2/1 Buydowns, 2/1 Buydowns, and 1/0 Buydowns are available at great starting rates!

Please note that interest rates are subject to change without notice, and the information above reflects LA County Loan Limits.

**Good News for Condos:**   

NONE

**Bad News for Condos***     

Nothing New!

CONDO HELP!!!

If you have a listing or a buyer interested in a specific condo and are unsure whether it is warrantable or Non-warrantable, please call me, and we can look up Fannie’s list in real-time. I have already done that on three condos today, and my list was accurate on all 3. We don’t know when something has changed, and it would be impossible to track everything on a day-by-day basis, but we don’t mind looking up a few items each day.

The full state of California’s naughty list has been added to: MikeMeena.com! See the link below:

https://mikemeena.com/non-warrantable-condos/

Let me know if you hear anything new about condos or townhouses.

I am available every day if you need anything.

📞 Direct Line: 661-291-2222 – Text OK

📞 Cell: 661-714-6258 – Text OK

📞 Office: 661-260-2970 ext. 2222 – Text OK

📧 Email: Mike@AugustaFinancial.com

Have a great day and an even better tomorrow! Please call me when you have a client who needs to borrow!