It is often the assumption that if a buyer has good credit , that getting a loan–albeit a lengthy process–won’t be nearly as difficult as picking out the tile and paint color for their condo purchase.

That, however, isn’t always the case. Just ask Lisa Carroll, who recently decided to forgo renting an apartment in Austin (as the rent continued to increase) in order to invest in purchasing a condominium:

“I knew my credit was good. I found a beautiful and affordable condo I wanted to purchase. I didn’t, however, know about the phrase ‘non-warrantable condo’ until now. I am well-versed in the term currently, to my dismay.”

Lisa, unfortunately, became part of the “chicken/egg” scenario that can happen to buyers. With some lenders, if 50 to 70 units of a new condominium project are not already sold to buyers, they cannot fund a loan to a buyer, considering it a risk. Yet, how can 50 to 70 units get sold if no one funds them? Lisa adds: “My lease was expiring and if I bought immediately I received some bonus upgrades so I didn’t want to wait. I had 3 mortgage companies tell me I could not receive a loan but my realtor remembered someone who did have the power to fund non-warrantable condos and finally all my pieces fell into place so that I could be approved and plan my move.” Luckily for Lisa, she is now happily settled in and in the midst of choosing window coverings. But what do you do if you find yourself in the same situation?

Select mortgage lenders can provide this type of condo financing to their brokers with no pre-sale requirements and, believe it or not, it can oftentimes be a more simpler process than traditional financing. It merely depends upon whether or not a lender provides this type of financing and what loan options they carry. We suggest you contact your mortgage professional for their specific requirements and services. Buffington Mortgage, a Texas lender specializing in Non-Warrantable Condo sales was able to help Lisa. In fact, she even qualified for a low paperwork loan with a lower verification process than the original loan she had planned for which, she says, in the end actually made her condo purchase…smoother than she expected.

Smoother, perhaps, but a far greater learning experience.