Does the 10% Down Funding still exist for the Panama City Condos? or has the new Fannie Mae Regulations stopped all of them?

@Abhi Jain I am actually in the process of looking for a condo in PCB right now and may offer some insight. In my recent experience going through this it depends on if the condo is considered "warrantable". Most in resort areas are now going to be non-warrantable and not eligible for financing backed by Fannie Mae. There is a good list of guidelines on the Fannie Mae website, but let's just say it is going to be hard to find any loopholes with this one. Best lending I've found so far for a non-warrantable condo is 20% down 4.65% interest rate (with great credit) and a 30 yr fixed term. Other lenders in the area have multiple 5-7 year ARMs with 20-30% down at around 5%. Definitely hurts the CoC return that you can get with a 10% vacation home loan.

If anyone else out their knows a Florida lender that will do better, I would love to talk and am all ears!

@Abhi Jain , 10% is feasible for a second home, if and only if the condo can meet full review guidelines. I have a list of condos in the area that have been approved for full-review eligibility. Feel free to reach out and I will share the information with you both. @Joshua Strickland . 

If you are looking at condo hotels, then expect what @Joshua Strickland mentioned above. He knows what he’s talking about. 

Hi Abhi,

There are still many great options in the area.  Feel free to reach out and we can chat about it.  It is one of the strongest short-term rental markets in the country.  

Best wishes,

Chris

@Joshua Strickland What bank quoted you the 20% down. I have been talking to several for a condo I am wanting purchase in Destin and the lowest I have seen is 25% with a 5.5% interest rate. Wishing I would have bought sooner!!! 

@Katie Christian and @Abhi Jain - As a realtor and investor in the area, this question comes up all the time with my clients. The answer is 'it depends' -- The December 7th Fannie Mae changes did make it more difficult to justify warrantability of condos, but some banks read these regulations differently than others.  All that to say, if you have a solid agent, who understands the market, they should be have some lenders they use for specific towers.  I don't have a lender that will lend 10% down on every tower, but Lender A may do 10% down at Surfside, while Lender B may do 10% down at Ariel Dunes, but you'll be hard pressed for find a lender for Alerio.  

Best of luck!!!

@Katie Christian It was either Blissful Mortgage in Panama City or RK Mortgage Group. Sorry I probably spoke to 20 different lenders over the past 2 weeks but those were the 2 that stood out. Those were by far the best options. Due to that I’ve turned my attention to beach houses or townhomes that can get the traditional 10 or 15% down on.

Out curiosity what developments are available for a min (2) bedroom unit? With reasonable fees, insurance, & taxes?