Which banks are giving mortgages for Manhattan condos?

If we're talking condos, lending has tightened up but not gone away. The major banks like chase & wells fargo are lending. If you stay under Fannie limits that will make things much easier as the lender can sell to the GSE'S. You may have difficulty with new developments where less than 70% of units have sold(there's a few other rules but this is the biggest). If your borrowing more than 700K it will be tougher.

you need to make sure that your condo is approved- ask a mortgage broker- most of them aren't (at least in battery park and midtown east, which is where i was looking).

I think the better question might be, which manhattan condos are banks lending to?
Its irrelevant whether its a fannie loan or a jumbo. Banks will lend there if the condo is warrantable (approved according to fannie guidelines). But getting a building approved now has gotten much more difficult but NYC is better off than the rest of the country. Fannie does allow exceptions more so in NYC for buildings less than 70% in contract, more than 20% commercial, or more than 10% owned by a single entity.
Most of the buildings not getting approved are ones that have sold less than 51% or condo conversions with rent controlled/stabilized units.
sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com

"condo is approved"

is it public info which buildings are or which ones not?

unfortunately, there is no public info on approved condos. Every bank has their interpretation of an approved condo (even though theyre all pretty much following Fannie guidelines). When looking to purchase in a new development condo one should always ask these key questions: 1. How many units in contract to non-investors and how many units in the project? 2. Is there more than 20% commerical? 3. Does anyone single entity (besides sponsor) own more than 10% of the project? And for condo conversions, it is important to ask if there are rent stabilized/controlled units. Finally, ask the banks if a certain project has been approved with them.

How would you rate the chances of the follow condo getting approved: pre-war East Village walk-up with 24 units total. Building is kept very clean and runs to the "premium" side -- for the east village.

Chase and Wells r very active in NYC. Go direct, don't use a mortgage broker.

Chase and Wells (and apparently B of A too) are applying new Fannie Mae rules in NYC. So, read shong's message above, and apply rules whenever you look at a condo. "1. How many units in contract to non-investors and how many units in the project? 2. Is there more than 20% commerical? 3. Does anyone single entity (besides sponsor) own more than 10% of the project? " These rules also seem to apply to re-sales and re-finance. shong - can you verify that rules also apply to resale and re-fi?

If you need a mortgage, don't look at condo apartments without first verifying the building; save yourself the head ache and the heart ache.

The new question is "Are there any banks providing condo mortgages in NYC that are not applying the Fannie Mae rules?"

Hello everybody,
I am new to street easy but I'm a loan officer for a good number of years.
Here is my input on the discussion:

1) Definately the biggest problem is new construction and condo conversions. Those are normally less than 70% sold, and will not be approved by your "regular" lenders. The only way to get a mortgage in a building like that is throught a broker connected to smaller more "niche" like banks - yours truly being one of those brokers....:)

2) on an established condo building there is no more a "data base" of approved buildings, since the lenders are worried things will deteriorate quickly and the info will not be accurate. Therefore they want a questionnaire filled out with each new purchase,with the guidelines being similar - owner occupancy concentration, people being on time on the HOA dues etc....

Hope I helped everybody and good luck!
Shai.

"Chase and Wells r very active in NYC. Go direct, don't use a mortgage broker."

Bad advice.

A well-established mortgage broker can usually get you a better deal with the same institution than you could get on your own, since they have a proven track record of bringing business to that institution.

my experience has been that I got a better rate myself.

Good for you. That's unusual. It certainly can't hurt to try both a broker and yourself for trying to get the best rate.

Sometimes brokers are being paid a % of the interest. Make sure to ask the broker for a full disclosure of how they get paid through the interest rate charged to you by the bank. Most will eventually respond to direct questions. Keep insisting and you might get the truth. However why bother... I initially used a broker and at the same time went directly to the bank. The difference was substantial in favor of direct dealing with the bank. BA, Citi,Chase and Astoria were my choice. I closed on refinancing Jumbo in mid June

I have come to the conclusion that brokers, of just about any kind, are fun, and they might go do some work for you, but to rely on them solely, whether selling/buying or getting a mortgage is a costly mistake.

It's very tough to compare apples to apples in terms of price because mortgage brokers have to disclose what they're getting paid on the loan, but banks do not. I have bought both ways, and in general I agree with the wisdom that going to the bank is cheaper but you risk incompetence, and going to a mortgage broker you get competence but risk getting ripped off. (this is a rough paraphrase of something a mortgage broker said in the Times recently).

Our most recent purchase of a co-op -- my fifth but hubby's first -- we checked out both the direct-to-bank route and the mortgage broker route, and went with a mortgage broker because the bank seemed to be in a shambles, and we wanted to be sure we closed.

ali r.
Ask the Agent: http://bit.ly/12afCB

Brokers are doing much better in purchase market, since they can shop the deal to many different places.
It is a more secure option, since the down payment is at risk.

On a refinance the bank itself will sometime promote refinancing of it's existing mortgages at reduced prices.Other than that, very tough for the bank to beat the broker.

We are closing on a condo in the next 2 weeks, it is a new development & ours is the last apartment to sell - after we close the sponsor will not own any apartments. There is a retail space, but it does not take up 20% of the building & nobody owns more than 1 apartment, so all of these problems are not something we ran into.

How does a building get to 51% of units sold if the buyers can't get financing? Are the first 51% of the sales all cash? What happens in smaller developments with 10 apartments or less - wouldn't everyone own 10% or more?

"How would you rate the chances of the follow condo getting approved: pre-war East Village walk-up with 24 units total. Building is kept very clean and runs to the "premium" side -- for the east village."

Bernie, it is impossible to determine the chances of a condo getting approved based on it being pre-war, 24 units, clean, etc. See my comments above about what you should find out about that condo.

new2brooklyn - the 51% sold actually should be 51% "in-contract." Once there are 51% of the units in-contract to owner occupants or 2nd home owners then the building is eligible for condo approval (although not guaranteed).
Great question about the single entity owning more than 10%. In smaller buildings that doesnt apply.

Also, would like to make a comment on the bank v.s. mortgage broker. Ive been on all sides, retail bank, banker (correspondent lender), broker. In the end, I think it comes down to the loan officer and not the name he/she has behind them. Nonetheless, I think you will start to see more and more mortgage brokers transferring to retail banks. Mortgage brokers get paid several ways, by charging an origination fee, getting paid by the bank that theyre brokering to (by increasing the rate), or both. But starting 2010, mortgage brokers wont be able to get paid both. It will have to be one or another.
Bank loan officers depend on volume of business and mortgage brokers depend on the volume of their commission. Thats the truth. However, I am not siding with one or the other as both have their own perks. There are some very good bank loan officers and some very good mortgage brokers that know what theyre doing, they know who to talk to if there are issues, and they do it as a career. Where they work is less important.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to which banks are giving condo mortgages to buildings requiring an exception? I am a seller in SoHo who's building is 35% commercial owned. 4 banks have declined the Buyer's mortgage application (HSBC, TD, Chase, Wells). At this point I dont know if the building will be 'approved', and feel like I'm stuck waiting for a cash-only buyer