Are condos being blacklisted?
I guess the only thing tougher than trying to sell a condo these days is actually buying one.
Lenders are requiring nothing short of 20 percent down from condo buyers. And private mortgage insurance companies, which traditionally filled the gap for buyers unable to put up a big down payment, are also shying away.
And that’s just for starters.
In some cases, the mortgage insurers are asking for 10 to 15 percent upfront from buyers.
Lenders are even looking more skeptically at who your new neighbors will be.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now only lend on developments where at least 70 percent of the units are sold or under contract to owner-occupants, not investors. That’s up previously from 51 percent.
There’s also anger out there that condo buyer in the Boston areas are being penalized by lenders for problems that were much worse in other parts of the country.
The Boston area, or so goes this argument, has never become the hotbed for vast tracts of foreclosed condos like Miami or Las Vegas.
I don’t know if I totally buy that one. We may not be Miami, but we have our fair share of foreclosed condos to deal with.
