Full Review: what a lender asks your HOA before a condo loan closes

The condo questionnaire is how a lender learns about a building it has never seen. Since August 3, 2026, Fannie Mae has required a Full Review for established buildings over 10 units, so in most LA mid-rise and high-rise buildings a conventional loan now runs through this form and its addendum. We read both, section by section, so a buyer knows what is being asked and a seller knows which answers will draw a follow-up.

Why every larger building gets one now

Until this summer, many established buildings qualified for a Limited Review, which asked for much less. Lender Letter LL-2026-03 retired it for loan applications dated on or after August 3, 2026, and Freddie Mac retired its Streamlined Review the same day. What remains for an established building is the Full Review, or a Waiver of Project Review for buildings of 10 or fewer units.

In our database, 2,278 LA buildings with a known unit count have 11 or more units (as of October 27, 2026), from a 117-residence low-rise like Montana Terrace in Brentwood to Marina City Club (600 residences). Trade groups estimated in July 2026 that the Full Review can add more than $1,000 in borrower costs (Scotsman Guide).

The questionnaire, section by section

The standard form is the Condominium Project Questionnaire, Full Form (Fannie Mae Form 1076, Freddie Mac Form 476; the version on Freddie Mac's site is dated December 2021). The lender fills in a return date and sends it to the association or its management company.

I. Basic project information

Names, addresses, tax IDs, any master association, and a checklist of features lenders treat carefully: hotel or resort activity and rental pooling, deed or resale restrictions, mandatory paid memberships for amenities, and non-incidental business income. A building with a hotel component or a mandatory club membership will get questions here.

II and III. Completion and conversions

Whether the project is complete, whether the developer has turned over control to owners, and, for a conversion within the past three years, the engineer's report and whether reserves fund the improvements. For an established resale building these are usually short answers.

IV. Financial information

How many owners are 60 or more days behind on assessments, and whether the HOA is in any active or pending litigation, with the attorney's contact and documents. Under the Full Review rules, no more than 15 percent of units can be 60 days late on regular dues, or on any special assessment. Litigation about safety, structure or habitability generally makes a project ineligible, with narrow exceptions in B4-2.1-03.

V. Ownership and other information

Total units, how many are owner-occupied, second homes or investor-owned, and a table of anyone who owns more than one unit. In a building of 21 or more units, one owner holding more than 20 percent is a problem. The section also asks whether owners have sole rights to the amenities and common areas, and how much square footage is commercial. The limit is 35 percent.

The investor table matters less than it did: Fannie retired its 50 percent investor concentration limit for established projects in March 2026. Lenders still ask.

VI. Insurance and financial controls

Flood zone and flood coverage, the carriers and policy numbers for hazard, liability, fidelity and flood insurance, and whether the association keeps separate operating and reserve accounts, requires two board signatures on reserve checks, and bars the manager from drawing on reserves. The lender then checks the policies against Fannie's insurance rules, including the $50,000 cap on a per-unit deductible for applications from July 1, 2026.

The addendum: where the hard questions are

The Condominium Project Questionnaire Addendum (Form 1076A, Form 476A) must be completed by an authorized representative of the association. It asks:

• When the last building inspection by a licensed architect, engineer or other inspector took place, whether it found anything affecting safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability, and what repairs remain and when they will be done. It asks for the inspection and the board minutes.
• Whether the association knows of any such deficiencies, and any outstanding code or zoning violations, now or anticipated.
• Whether there is a funding plan and a schedule for deferred maintenance.
• Whether a reserve study was done in the past three years, and the current reserve balance.
• Current and planned special assessments: total amount, terms and purpose.
• Any loans the association took for improvements or deferred maintenance.

In California, an SB 326 balcony report is a building inspection by a licensed engineer or architect, so its findings belong in the first answer. An open City of LA seismic retrofit order could fall under the question on jurisdictional requirements. Our post on reading the SB 326 report covers that document.

What the lender does with the answers

The questionnaire is only the start. The lender also reads the budget for the reserve line (10 percent now, 15 percent for applications from January 4, 2027), checks any reserve study it relies on, and screens the answers against Fannie's ineligible project rules: critical repairs, unfinished work behind a special assessment, litigation and the rest. Our explainer on the reserve calculation shows the budget math, and what happens when a building fails covers the next steps.

What buyers and sellers can do

• Buyers: ask the lender to send the questionnaire on day one of escrow, and ask the manager for the return time and charge. Read the same documents yourself: the budget, the reserve study, the latest inspection report and 12 months of minutes. Our buyer checklist lists them, and if you are moving to LA from elsewhere, our sister site's moving to Los Angeles guide covers the rest of the move.
• Sellers: ask the manager what the answers will look like before you list. If an addendum answer will be "yes, repairs remain," get the schedule and funding in writing. Our seller checklist and Tyler's pre-sale checklist cover the rest.

The 2027 condo loan rules pillar explains how the review differs by loan type. To see what we know about a building before the questionnaire goes out, request a building check.

Common questions

What is a condo questionnaire?

It is the form a mortgage lender sends to a condo association or its management company to collect the facts needed to review the building for a loan. The standard version is the Condominium Project Questionnaire, Full Form (Fannie Mae Form 1076, Freddie Mac Form 476), with an addendum on building safety, deferred maintenance, reserves and special assessments.

Who fills out the condo questionnaire?

The association or its management company completes it, and the addendum must be completed by an authorized representative of the association. The lender fills in its own contact details and a return date. Buyers and agents do not complete it, though they can ask the manager when it will be returned and what the charge is.

Which condo buildings need a Full Review?

For conventional loans, established buildings of 11 or more units generally need a Full Review for applications dated on or after August 3, 2026, when Fannie Mae retired the Limited Review. Buildings of 10 or fewer units can usually use a Waiver of Project Review instead, if they meet its conditions.

This article is general information, not legal, tax, insurance or lending advice. Laws and bill statuses change, and how a rule applies depends on the building and its governing documents. Confirm anything that affects a decision with your association’s counsel, a CPA, an insurance broker or your lender. Building figures are from the Condos of LA database.