FHA approval is required in order for an FHA loan to be possible in a given condo development, but it is eligibility that ultimately determines whether an FHA loan will be funded by a lender and insured by FHA. “We have invested countless hours designing and building a cutting edge technology platform from the ground up which provides users with a detailed report for a given condo address, showing FHA approval status as well as eligibility statistics,” says Eric Diamond, CEO of the company. “In essence, we wanted to make life significantly easier for everyone involved in the search for and sale of an FHA-approved condo.”

Resources for identifying and obtaining information about FHA-approved condominiums have traditionally been scarce and difficult to navigate, requiring paper trails, legal names of properties and significant investments of time, according to the company. With a street address, the new online tool can immediately identify whether a property has the FHA approval status. It also provides users with a wealth of eligibility information. The report includes: approval status—indicating whether the address searched is located in a condo on HUD’s approved roster and therefore whether an FHA loan is possible; eligibility status—noting whether certain criteria have been satisfied and therefore whether an FHA loan will likely be funded by a lender and insured by FHA; FHA concentration percentage—the percentage of mortgages in a development that are FHA insured. Concentration is relevant because current HUD rules allow only up to 50% of a development’s mortgages to be FHA; owner occupancy percentage—reflecting whether a condo project has the minimum 50% owner occupancy rate (a required eligibility criterion); investor Ownership (10% Rule)—indicating whether one investor owns more than 10% of the units within an association; if such is the case, an FHA loan will not be funded or insured; maximum FHA loan amount for the area; number of units in the association; decertification date; and pending litigation information.

“The FHA Pros platform is an especially useful resource in today’s real estate market where an increasing number of prospective homebuyers are faced with challenges in obtaining financing,” says Richard Swerdlow, CEO of Condo.com. “The new tool removes the frustrations from the opaque FHA approval hunt, which will allow our users to direct their attention to finding the property that’s right for them through the seamless search experience provided on Condo.com,” adds Swerdlow.

The website launches on Monday, with FHA search capabilities available in 11 states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New York, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. FHA Pros will be adding additional states on a regular basis, with full national search capabilities expected within six months.