Yes, you can finance a condo with FHA, VA, or a conventional loan, but the building has to pass a project review on top of your own approval. You qualify for the loan, the unit gets appraised, and then the lender or the agency decides whether the condominium project as a whole is acceptable for that program. A great borrower and a nice unit can still hit a wall if the project fails, so the time to check is the option period, not the week before closing.
Here's what a condo is in Texas, how each program reviews projects, what trips projects up, and what to ask for early.
A condominium is a form of ownership, not a building style. You hold title to your unit, usually the space inside the walls, plus an undivided share of the common elements like the roof, exterior walls, grounds, hallways, and amenities. The owners' association manages and insures the common elements and charges dues to pay for them. In Texas, condos whose declaration was recorded on or after Jan 1, 1994 are governed by the Uniform Condominium Act, Chapter 82 of the Property Code, along with the project's declaration, bylaws, and rules (Sec. 82.002). Each unit is taxed separately, and the homestead exemption applies to a condo the same way it does to a house (Sec. 82.005).
That shared structure is why lenders look past your unit. If the association is underfunded, underinsured, tied up in a major lawsuit, or dominated by one investor, every unit's value is exposed. A loan on one unit is also a bet on the whole project.
FHA insures condo loans in three ways: units in an approved project, units approved one at a time through Single-Unit Approval, and site condominiums that meet FHA's definition (HUD Handbook 4000.1, II.A.8.p).
For Single-Unit Approval, the project also has to meet conditions like these (II.A.8.p.iii(C) and (D)):
The completed FHA questionnaire, form HUD-9991, goes in the file either way. FHA Streamline Refinances don't need project or single-unit approval (II.A.8.p.i). My FHA loans article covers the borrower side.
VA approves condo projects, not individual units. A condo has to be VA-approved before any unit in it is eligible for a VA-guaranteed loan, while planned unit developments don't need that approval (VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 16). Lenders check VA's online Condo Report. If a project isn't approved, it can be submitted to VA for review with the association's documents, but that takes time, so I check the list the day a VA buyer gets serious about a building.
For conventional loans, Fannie Mae mostly relies on the lender to review the project. The review method depends on the project (Selling Guide B4-2.1-01, Aug 5, 2026):
In a Full Review, Fannie's guide includes checks like these (B4-2.2-01, Aug 5, 2026):
Fannie also lists project characteristics that make a project ineligible (B4-2.1-03, Aug 5, 2026), including:
Freddie Mac has its own parallel project standards.
New construction and buildings recently converted from apartments get extra scrutiny. While the developer still controls the association, the review looks at how many units have actually sold, whether the developer is paying dues on unsold units, whether the building and common elements are finished, and whether the budget holds up once owners take over. Texas law ends developer control no later than 120 days after 75 percent of the units that may be created are conveyed to owners other than the developer (Property Code Sec. 82.103(c)). Agency presale and completion thresholds change, so the questionnaire for that project is the real answer. Early buyers in a new building may find some programs unavailable until more units close.
In Texas, the association has to carry property insurance on the insurable common elements, to the extent reasonably available, for at least 80 percent of replacement cost or actual cash value, plus general liability insurance (Sec. 82.111(a)). When the declaration defines units with horizontal boundaries, like a stacked building, that policy generally has to include the units too, though not owner improvements (Sec. 82.111(b)).
You'll still usually need an HO-6 policy for the interior: your improvements, personal property, liability, and often loss assessment coverage. The master policy deductible matters. In North Texas, many master policies carry a large wind or hail deductible, and Texas law says the declaration, or a board resolution if the declaration is silent, decides who pays the association's deductible when a covered loss exceeds it (Sec. 82.111(k)). Loss assessment coverage on your HO-6 can help with that exposure. My homeowners insurance article covers how coverage fits into the loan.
A Texas condo resale comes with an association resale certificate under Property Code Sec. 82.157. It discloses dues, assessments, known lawsuits, reserves, insurance, and other association details. It's a different document from a subdivision HOA certificate under Chapter 207, even though people use one name for both. The TREC resale condominium contract (Form 30) sets how and when the buyer gets the certificate and gives the buyer a window to back out after receiving it. Underwriters often ask for parts of it too, along with the questionnaire, budget, and insurance certificates.
This example is made up to show how the review plays out.
Marcus is under contract on a Fort Worth condo and wants FHA. The unit appraises fine, but the project isn't on FHA's approved list, and more than half the units are rentals. That rules out Single-Unit Approval. The building has a healthy reserve budget, low delinquency, and no litigation, so a conventional Full Review looks workable, and Marcus decides to pursue that during his option period. If the project had failed conventional review too, the next question would be whether a portfolio or non-QM investor would take it, with its own terms. Knowing early let him decide while his earnest money was still protected.
An association may have rules about leasing, pets, or move-ins, and you agree to follow them. That's the association's business. Project approval is the lender's or agency's decision about the project as collateral. And conventional loans have project rules too. Buyers sometimes assume only FHA cares about the project, then a conventional file runs into the same questions.
Condo dues count in your housing payment for debt-to-income purposes, along with principal, interest, taxes, the HO-6 premium, and any mortgage insurance. A unit with low taxes and high dues can carry a higher monthly housing cost than you'd expect. Special assessments already approved can count too, and the resale certificate is where you'll see them.
Send me the building name and address before your option period runs out, and I'll check the FHA and VA lists, ask for the budget and insurance, and tell you which programs are realistic there. Book a call, or when you're ready, start an application.
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026