Condo Project Advisor FAQ

It’s a Freddie Mac Loan Advisor^® tool that among other things allows Freddie Mac authorized Sellers, through Project Waiver Requests (PWRs), to easily request unit-level exceptions for established condominium projects early in the origination process. Unit-level waivers are for otherwise ineligible condo projects that require special review or examination for one or more eligibility criteria.

It also allows authorized Sellers, through Project Assessment Requests (PARs) or Project Certified Submissions (PCS), to obtain feedback (PAR findings) about a condo project’s compliance with the project review requirements assessed by Condo Project Advisor.

The PWR is a workflow-based capability which allows authorized Sellers to request and track unit-level condo project eligibility waivers for condo projects that need special consideration. Sellers enter required data elements and upload necessary documentation for each requested waiver submission. Each PWR is assessed, and if approved, that determination is provided in the Condo Project Advisor Feedback Certificate. 

The PAR allows Sellers to enter a condo project’s name and address to obtain feedback (PAR findings) about that project’s compliance with the project review requirements assessed by Condo Project Advisor.
The PCS is a workflow-based capability which allows authorized Sellers to submit condominium projects for a Project Certified review when specified on certain PAR findings. Sellers enter the required data elements and upload the required minimum documentation for each PCS request. If Condo Project Advisor finds that the condominium project complies with the requirements for Project Certified, the condominium project will be assigned a Project Certified status.

Freddie Mac will not exercise its remedies, including the issuance of repurchase requests, in connection with a breach of the Seller’s selling representations and warranties related to:

• For a mortgage with an approved PWR, the project review and eligibility requirements identified on the Condo Project Advisor Feedback Certificate; and
• For a mortgage with a PAR finding (including projects granted a Project Certified status through the PCS process), the project review requirement(s) assessed, if Condo Project Advisor found that the project complied with the requirement(s) and the PAR findings are detailed on the Condo Project Advisor Feedback Certificate.

See Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Section 5701.10 and 5701.11 on PAR and PWR for full details.
 

No. For PWRs, a waiver exception is for a specific mortgage secured by a condo unit within an established condominium project. For PARs,  Condo Project Advisor focuses on certain project review requirements. So, a PAR finding only covers a project’s compliance with the project review requirements that the tool assesses and that PAR finding is applicable only to the mortgage identified on the Condo Project Advisor Feedback Certificate. It is not transferrable to other mortgages secured by units in the same project. 

Refer to Q2 under the Green and Yellow PAR Status subhead for a list of requirements Condo Project Advisor does not assess for streamlined review and established condominium projects review types and Q2 under the Project Certified PAR Status for requirements for which  Sellers remain responsible for condominium projects with a Project Certified status.

Yes. Condo Project Advisor is only available to Freddie Mac approved Sellers. The tool is not available to correspondent lenders or mortgage brokers who are not Freddie Mac-approved Sellers. See Section 5701.1 for full details on PARs.

No, it’s free. There is no fee to use Condo Project Advisor.

It is not required that a loan be submitted through LPA to receive a PWR through Condo Project Advisor and be eligible for sale to Freddie Mac.

It is also not required that a loan be submitted through LPA to receive a PAR finding. However, it is required that it be assessed by and processed through LPA to be eligible for sale to Freddie Mac.

Yes. If the aggregator is a Freddie Mac authorized Seller and makes a decision to accept the mortgage, they can sell that mortgages to Freddie Mac using the PWR or PAR finding.

No. Approved PWRs and PAR findings do not affect delivery pricing.

No. Condo Project Advisor does not have system-to-system access.

Yes. Training is available via Freddie Mac Learning.

You can request provisioning for Condo Project Advisor through Freddie Mac Access Manager. If your company is already using Freddie Mac Access Manager, your executive administrator will need to use the Modify Administrator Access authorization workflow to update the existing company administrator’s access authorization to allow provisioning for Condo Project Advisor. Once they’ve done that, they can use the Create New User with Access or Add User Access workflows to edit/add users to allow use of Condo Project Advisor. For more information, view the Condo Project Advisor Access job aid or visit the Freddie Mac Access Manager Help Center.

No. If you can already access Condo Project Advisor, there are no additional steps you need to take to be able to submit PARs.

Condo Project Advisor is accessible through the Loan Advisor portal. 

Information on how authorized representatives of HOAs can submit information requests will be posted to the Condominium Unit Mortgages webpage by Feb. 26, 2024.

A PAR finding consists of the status Condo Project Advisor assigns to the project (Green, Yellow, Incomplete Assessment or Project Certified) and related feedback messaging.

• Project Certified – Condo Project Advisor finds the condominium project complies with the requirements it assesses for this status. See Section 5701.1(e) for applicable requirements.
• Green – the condominium project complies with all requirements assessed.
• Yellow – the condominium project does not comply with one or more of the requirements assessed.
• Incomplete Assessment – unable to perform the assessment.
• Not Eligible – (effective 2/26/2024) the condominium project does not meet certain project review and general eligibility requirements.

We are continuously reviewing established projects for updates and additions to Condo Project Advisor. We do not accept requests to add projects to Condo Project Advisor.

Condo Project Advisor assesses only the project review requirements in the following Guide Sections for condominium projects with a Project Certified status:

See Q2 below for requirements for which Seller remains responsible when Condo Project Advisor assigns a Project Certified status to an Established Condominium Project.

When Condo Project Advisor assigns a Project Certified status to the project, the Seller must ensure compliance with the general condominium project eligibility requirements in Section 5701.2(b).

Sellers must also comply with the owner occupancy requirements for investment property mortgages in Section 5701.5(b)(2) when specified on the Condo Project Advisor feedback certificate.

The provisions of Section 5701.10 applicable to projects with a Project Certified status are also applicable to projects with a Project Certified status obtained through a PCS review.

Condo Project Advisor assesses only a limited number of projects for this status.

Condo Project Advisor assesses the following project review requirements for the streamlined review (Guide Section 5701.4) and Established Condominium Projects (Guide Section 5701.5) project review types.

Condo Project Advisor DOES NOT assess the following project review requirements for the streamlined review (Guide Section 5701.4) and Established Condominium Projects (Guide Section 5701.5) project review types for a Green or Yellow PAR. See Q2 under the Project Certified PAR Status subhead when Condo Project Advisor assigns a Project Certified status to an Established Condominium Project.
 

Condo Project Advisor also DOES NOT assess the following project review requirement for the Streamlined Review (Section 5701.4) project review type. See Q2 under the Project Certified PAR Status subhead when Condo Project Advisor assigns a Project Certified status to an Established Condominium Project.
 

Condo Project Advisor DOES NOT assess the following project review requirements for the Established Condominium Projects (Section 5701.5) project review type. See Q2 under the Project Certified PAR Status subhead when Condo Project Advisor assigns a Project Certified status to an Established Condominium Project.
 

Condo Project Advisor DOES NOT assess the general condominium project eligibility requirements in Section 5701.2(b).

When Condo Project Advisor assigns a Green status to the project, the Seller does not need to ensure compliance with all project review requirements assessed by Condo Project Advisor. The PAR findings will include feedback that identifies those requirements.

Sellers must also ensure compliance with the project review and general eligibility requirements that Condo Project Advisor does not assess.

When Condo Project Advisor assigns a Yellow status to the project, the condominium project does not comply with one or more of the requirements assessed by Condo Project Advisor. The PAR findings will include feedback that identifies those requirements, and the Seller must ensure compliance with them. Since the loan must be secured by a condo unit in an established condo project, if one of the identified requirements is that the project may not be an established condo project, the Seller must first determine that the project meets the Glossary definition of an Established Condominium Project in the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide.

Sellers must also ensure compliance with the project review and general eligibility requirements that Condo Project Advisor does not assess.

When Condo Project Advisor assigns an Incomplete Assessment status, the Seller must ensure compliance with all project review requirements (Guide Section 5701.2(a)) and general eligibility requirements (Guide Section 5701.2(b)). If the Feedback Certificate message also indicates that the condo project may be in need critical repairs, the project may be an ineligible project under the requirements of Guide Section 5701.3(n). You must determine that the condominium project is NOT in need of critical repairs, and comply with Guide Section 5701.3(n), as well as all other project review and general eligibility requirements in Guide Section 5701.2(a) and 5701.2(b). 

The PAR findings will return an Incomplete Assessment when Condo Project Advisor is unable to perform the assessment.

Additionally, if Condo Project Advisor identifies the condominium project as one that may need critical repairs, the PAR findings will return an Incomplete Assessment and state “This Condominium Project may be in need of Critical Repairs.”
 

Unless the project receives a Project Certified status PAR finding, Condo Project Advisor doesn’t assess compliance with our requirements for projects in need of critical repairs. The new Condo Project Advisor PAR feedback message is not an assessment or determination that the specific condo project needs critical repairs. It’s a notice that the project MAY need critical repairs.

Effective Feb. 26, 2024, Condo Project Advisor will assign a Not Eligible status PAR finding when it finds that the project does not meet certain project review and general eligibility requirements.

When Condo Project Advisor assigns a Not Eligible status to a condominium project, Freddie Mac will not purchase any mortgage secured by a condominium unit in such condominium project.

Note: Effective Feb. 26, 2024, Condo Project Advisor will return feedback messages indicating why the project has a Not Eligible status and that a mortgage secured by a unit in the project is not eligible for sale to Freddie Mac. LPA will return feedback messages indicating why the project has a Not Eligible status and that Freddie Mac will not purchase a mortgage secured by a unit in the project.  Loan Quality Advisor^® and Loan Selling Advisor^® will return a message that the mortgage is not eligible for sale to Freddie Mac.

Information on how appeals (with supporting documentation) can be submitted by Sellers or Authorized Representatives of the homeowners association (HOA) will be posted to the Condominium Unit Mortgages webpage by Feb. 26, 2024.

Condo Project Advisor will specify on certain PARs if the condominium project may be submitted for a Project Certified review.

Seller must submit all the following documents to Freddie Mac for review:

• Seller full review questionnaire dated within 120 days of PCS request date
• Condominium Project Addendum Form 476A or similar documentation to determine if a project is in need of Critical Repairs
• Any structural and/or mechanical inspection that has been completed within three years of the Seller’s PCS request date
• Current approved budget
• Such other documentation/information as Freddie Mac may request from time to time

No. The form may be a proprietary questionnaire specific to your firm.

No. However, you must provide documentation that contains information relating to the physical condition of the project. Some examples of documents include but are not limited to:

• Homeowners association board meeting minutes
• Engineer’s reports
• Structural and/or mechanical inspection reports
• Reserve studies
• List of necessary repairs provided by the HOA or management company
• List of special assessments provided by the HOA or management company
  Other substantially similar documentation

Incomplete PCS requests will not be reviewed until the Seller has provided all the required documents.

We will make every effort to respond with a decision on your PCS within five business days of your submission of all required documentation listed in Guide Section 5701.10(f)(ii).

Yes, provided the mortgage meets the requirements of one of our condominium project review types and all other applicable requirements of the Purchase Documents. See Guide Chapter 5701 for details.

Yes. Mortgages with approved PWRs or PAR findings must be delivered to Freddie Mac within 120 days after the Note Date. For PARs with Green or Yellow status findings, the Note Date of the applicable mortgage must be within one year of the issue date of the Condo Project Advisor Feedback Certificate. 

For PARs with Project Certified status findings, the Note Date of the applicable mortgage must be within 120 days of the issue date of the Condo Project Advisor Feedback Certificate.

Because the expiration is triggered by the Note Date, there is no notification within Condo Project Advisor if a PWR or PAR has expired. Sellers are responsible for monitoring expiration dates.

If your PWR expires, you must submit updated project information to Condo Project Advisor. If your PAR expires, you must submit the project’s name again for a new PAR finding.

Sellers may request unit-level waivers for condo projects in the following categories:

• Delinquent Assessments – condo projects where more than 15% of the total number of units are 60 or more days delinquent on HOA Assessments.
• Excessive Commercial Space – condo projects with excessive commercial or non-residential space.
• Leased Amenities – condo projects in which the unit owners do not possess sole ownership of the common elements.
• Pending Litigation (including Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) proceedings) – condo projects with pending litigation (involving non-minor matters, etc.) or ADR proceedings.
• Project Unit Occupancy (Investment Properties) – condo projects in which more than 50% of the project units are used as investment properties.
• Reserves – condo project budgets with less than 10% allocated to replacement reserves.
• Single Entity Ownership – an individual/single entity (e.g., investment group, Housing Finance Agency (HFA), partnership or corporation) that own more than a certain number of units in the condo project (e.g., for projects that have 21 or more units, a single-entity that owns more than 25% of the units).

No, PWRs that are submitted for requirements outside of the designated categories will be cancelled.

You should upload the questionnaire that you are using to underwrite the loan. This may be a proprietary questionnaire specific to your firm, or the Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) questionnaire.

Yes. You should upload the required documents based on the waiver category to help with our decisioning process. Information on both required and recommended documents is available on the applicable data entry screen and in the Condo Project Advisor Project Waiver Request user guide.

A Loan Advisor portal notification alert and email (if you select this option) will be sent so you know whether your request has been approved or denied. If your request is approved, the tool will issue a Condo Project Advisor feedback certificate that summarizes your exception request and indicates that your request was approved. The feedback certificate is available in PDF format and may be printed or saved. You must keep the feedback certificate in the loan file in the event it is selected for quality control or otherwise requested by Freddie Mac.

We will make every effort to respond with a decision on your PWR within two business days of your submission, complete with all necessary information and documentation.