Lansing Condo Financing: An Agent’s Before-Offer Guide

Identify the development, not just the listing

Send the lender the exact condominium name, unit address and available association contact. Confirm the legal form of ownership rather than assuming an attached home or a property with dues is necessarily a condominium.

For a buyer comparing an East Lansing condo with a Haslett or Okemos property, put dues, owner responsibilities and assessments beside the payment. Ask what the association maintains and insures. For a Lansing or Grand Ledge listing, use the same document-based process rather than treating a recent sale in the building as current approval.

The Lansing mortgage partner for Realtors page gives you a place to start a project conversation before the buyer’s private records are needed.

Ask for a useful document packet

• The current operating budget and replacement-reserve contribution.
• The current reserve study and any updates, if available.
• Master insurance information and material changes at renewal.
• Current or planned assessments, with purpose, amounts and payment timing.
• Relevant board minutes and available structural or mechanical reports.
• Information about litigation, delinquent dues, rentals and concentrated ownership.

Ask the lender for its specific list and the manager for turnaround time and any questionnaire fee. A packet that answers the financing questions is more useful than a stack of unrelated association records.

Apply the current conventional review rules

Fannie Mae Limited Review and Freddie Mac Streamlined Review retired for applications dated or received on or after August 3, 2026. Eligible waiver or exempt options remain, including conditional small-project options; it is inaccurate to say every condo now requires the same review. See Fannie Mae LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-C.

For applicable reviews, the minimum annual replacement-reserve allocation rises from 10% to 15% of annual budgeted assessment income for applications dated or received on or after January 4, 2027. This is an annual funding calculation. Qualifying reserve studies and other provisions can affect the result. Do not tell a board that every project must simply hold 15% of its property value in cash.

Read the full Michigan Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condo guide for effective dates, exceptions and the twelve-question buyer checklist. FHA and VA have their own condo requirements; a conventional review does not establish eligibility for those programs.

Turn an assessment notice into specific questions

Ask what work the assessment funds, whether the cost is fully covered, what remains unpaid and whether the work is finished. A special assessment alone is not an automatic financing rejection. An unresolved critical repair can be a different matter under applicable project-review rules.

In an illustrative purchase, a seller may offer to pay the unit’s remaining assessment. That helps define the buyer’s cash obligation, but does not tell the lender whether the underlying repair has been completed. Keep those questions separate and request supporting records. See Fannie Mae’s project-condition guidance.

Leave time to review the answers

Ask the lender: “Do you see anything about this condo project that could prevent it from qualifying for my loan?” Confirm what remains unknown. Discuss document and financing protections with the buyer’s Realtor and, when needed, an attorney; exact contract language is a legal matter.

Use the affordability calculator with dues included, and budget separately for assessments and owner-paid repairs. Send Mike the development name and general question before the offer or as soon as the property is identified.