Can You Get a Reverse Mortgage on a Condo?
Yes. A condominium can carry an FHA-insured reverse mortgage if the project is FHA approved. Since October 2019 there has also been a second route: FHA Single-Unit Approval, which allows an individual unit in a non-approved building to qualify on its own. That change opened the HECM to a large number of California condo owners whose associations had never pursued project approval. A stock cooperative is a different matter and does not qualify at all.
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Route One: The Building Is Already Approved
FHA maintains a public list of approved condominium projects. If your building is on it and the approval is current, your unit is treated like any other property.
Approvals expire. A building that was approved years ago may have lapsed, which is one of the most common surprises in a condo file.
Route Two: Single-Unit Approval
If the project is not approved, an individual unit may still qualify. Single-Unit Approval looks at the building's overall health rather than asking the association to complete a full project application: owner-occupancy levels, the share of units already FHA insured, financial condition and litigation status.
The practical advantage is that it does not require your HOA board to do anything. Many boards will not take on a project approval; this route does not ask them to.
What Tends to Block a Condo File
- Active litigation involving the association, particularly construction defect claims.
- Low owner-occupancy, where too many units are rentals.
- Inadequate reserves or an association in poor financial condition.
- A single owner holding too many units.
If FHA Will Not Work
Proprietary jumbo programs set their own condominium rules and are sometimes more flexible, particularly on higher-value units. That is a real alternative worth pricing before giving up.
What will not work is a co-op. That is a separate problem entirely.
