Free Tool · Miami-Dade & Broward
EN ES ¿Prefiere español?Check the building before you write the offer.
In Miami the building gets underwritten before you do. Answer the questions below and the screener tells you which items an underwriter will stop on, which ones just need documents, and which lane is realistic. It is a triage, not an approval: the definitive answer lives in the agency project systems and the association’s paperwork, which only a lender sees.
How the screen decides
The verdict is driven by the single worst answer, not a point total. One stand-alone disqualifier makes a project ineligible for a conventional (Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac) loan on its own, however clean everything else is. Softer factors trigger a project review and may still clear. Anything you do not know is left out of the verdict and turned into a document to obtain.
| Factor | What an underwriter checks | If it fails | Document that settles it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone inspection | Whether the required structural inspection is on file and any Phase 2 findings are closed. | Open Phase 2 finding: ineligible for agency financing until closed. | Milestone report + association response letter |
| Reserve study (SIRS) | Whether the structural reserve study exists and reserves are being funded to it. | Missing or underfunded: budget cannot be validated; project review. | SIRS + current reserve schedule |
| Special assessment | Purpose (repairs vs. upgrades), amount, and whether the work is complete. | Structural or safety repairs still open: treated as significant deferred maintenance; ineligible. | Assessment notice with purpose and funding status |
| Litigation | Type and exposure of any suit involving the association. | Structural, defect or safety claim: ineligible. Routine collections: usually fine. | Litigation disclosure on the questionnaire |
| Master insurance | Replacement-cost coverage, wind, and flood where required. | Any gap fails the project on its own. | Master policy declarations page |
| HOA delinquency | Share of units 60+ days behind on dues (roughly 15% is the commonly cited line). | High delinquency: project review; often fails. | Delinquency line on the questionnaire |
| Short-term rental use | Whether the building operates like a hotel (rental desk, rental pool, transient use). | Hotel-style operation: ineligible. | Rental rules from the declaration |
| Ownership concentration | Investor share and any single owner holding a large block (roughly 20%+). | Matters for investment and second-home loans. | Occupancy and single-entity lines on the questionnaire |
| Commercial space | Share of non-residential space (roughly 35% is the commonly cited limit). | Above the limit: ineligible. | Commercial share from the questionnaire or declaration |
Two rules that change which questions apply
- Under 3 stories: Florida’s milestone inspection and structural reserve study (SIRS) rules do not reach the building, so those questions are skipped.
- Under 30 years and 3+ stories: the milestone inspection is not yet due, but the reserve study still applies.
- Investment or second home: investor and single-owner concentration is reviewed; for a primary residence it usually is not.
Thirteen questions
Answer what you know. “Not sure” is a valid answer; it becomes a to-do item instead of counting against the building.
Send me the building and I will check it by hand
I run the project against the current lender project lists and the usual warrantability tests. Same day in almost every case. Free, and you do not have to be my client.
Straight answers
Is this an approval?
No, and be careful with anyone who tells you otherwise. This is a risk screen plus a hand check against the current lender project lists. Project status changes constantly — a building can move between reviews — so the only thing that ever counts is a written condition from the lender on your actual file.
What does it cost?
Nothing. It takes me a few minutes and it saves you from finding out at underwriting that the building was never financeable. I would rather tell you early than take a file that dies in week three.
What do you actually check?
Whether the project appears on current approved or rejected review lists, plus the standard warrantability tests: reserves and budget, investor concentration, commercial space, litigation, master-policy and insurance, and the status of the milestone inspection and structural reserve study.
How fast?
Same day in almost every case. If you are under contract with a deadline, say so when you send it and I will move it to the front.
Do I have to be working with you?
No. Send me a building even if you already have a lender. If the answer is that the building is fine, you have lost nothing and I have not asked you for anything.
What if the building does not qualify?
Then you find out before your deposit is at risk, which is the entire point. There are usually still options — non-QM condo programs, asset-based financing, or a different building — and I will tell you honestly which of those actually applies.