Guides · Buying
FHA-approved condos in Seattle: how to check a building before you offer
In most cases, an FHA loan on a Seattle condo needs the building on HUD's list of approved projects, or a single-unit approval for your unit. A project approval lasts three years, and on October 20, 2026 HUD's search showed 77 approved projects with a Seattle address. Single-unit approval needs a building of at least five units, at least half of them owner-occupied, with FHA loans on no more than 10% of the units, or no more than two in a building under 20 units. It matters because FHA needs only 3.5% down, on loans up to $1,063,750 in King County in 2026.
What FHA approval is#
The numbers, October 2026#
Seattle's list. On October 20, 2026, HUD's FHA list showed 77 approved condo projects with a Seattle address, out of 702 entries. That day 232 projects were approved in King County and 101 in Snohomish County.
The loan limit. The 2026 FHA limit for a one-unit home, condos included, is $1,063,750 in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.
Down payment and insurance. The minimum down payment is 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher. FHA mortgage insurance costs 1.75% of the loan up front. On a 30-year loan up to $726,200 with less than 5% down, it also costs 0.55% a year for the life of the loan. These are national rules.
How long approval lasts. A project approval lasts three years. The association can renew from six months before it runs out.
Sources
- HUD: FHA condominium search, the list itself
- HUD: FHA mortgage limits, 2026 limits by county
- HUD Handbook 4000.1 (August 12, 2026), down payment, mortgage insurance and condo approval rules
Wondering what this means for your budget?
Book a 30-minute buying callWhy an FHA loan depends on the building#
The guide to buying a condo in Seattle covers the resale certificate, the reserve study and your five business days to cancel. This one covers the question that comes first with an FHA loan: will FHA insure a loan in this building at all?
For an ordinary purchase, it will in three cases: the building is on HUD's list of approved condominium projects, your unit gets a single-unit approval, or the project is a site condominium, which needs neither. FHA is part of HUD, so FHA-approved and HUD-approved condos are the same list.
The reason to care is the down payment. FHA's minimum is 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher; between 500 and 579, the loan can cover no more than 90% of the value. In King County, the 2026 FHA limit for a one-unit home, condos included, is $1,063,750, which with 3.5% down covers a price up to about $1,102,000.
On a $450,000 condo, 3.5% down is $15,750 and the loan is $434,250. Closing costs come on top, and the down payment guide covers the programs that can reduce what you bring.
Sources
- Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, August 12, 2026, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- FHA mortgage limits lookup, King County, 2026, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- FHA condominiums, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
How to check a building on HUD's FHA condo list#
HUD's FHA condominium search is public and needs no login. Set the state to Washington and enter Seattle as the city, or search by ZIP code. Leave the status on All, so you see a building's history as well as any current approval.
Search on a short, distinctive part of the name. HUD lists projects by legal name, which is not always the name on the listing, and many small ones by street address.
For each project the results show the status, the date it was entered, the expiration date, and the FHA concentration: the share of units with FHA loans or pending FHA case numbers. HUD flags approvals nearing expiration.
Read the Composition of Project note as well, because it says what the approval covers. On October 20, 2026, one approved Seattle entry covered 36 units of a planned 62, and another noted a HUD exception for 47% commercial space, with only the residential units approved.
The status that counts is the one on the day your lender orders the FHA case number. Check when you first find the building, and again once you are under contract.
Sources
- FHA-approved condominium search, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Condominiums list, field descriptions, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Handbook 4000.1, section II.A.8.p, condominiums, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
What the statuses mean, and how Seattle's list looks#
A project approval lasts three years from the day the building goes on the list. The association can renew it, which HUD calls recertification, from six months before it expires until six months after. After that, the building needs a full new review.
Here is HUD's list for Seattle addresses on October 20, 2026. The counts change, so search the building itself.
| Status | Entries |
|---|---|
| ApprovedFHA loans can be processed. Check the expiration date, and that the approval covers your unit | 77 |
| ExpiredThe three years ran out without a renewal. FHA loans need a new approval, or a single-unit approval | 427 |
| WithdrawnApproved once, but FHA loans cannot currently be processed there | 19 |
| RejectedNot approved. HUD also lists single-unit approvals under this status: 29 of these are labeled Rejected Single-Unit Approval | 179 |
| All statusesExpired entries outnumber approved ones more than five to one | 702 |
Expired is common, and it can be fixed. Recertification updates the earlier submission rather than starting over. The association, its manager or a lender, among others, can file it, and FHA does not pay the costs. If a building you like shows Expired, ask the manager whether the board plans to renew.
Rejected Single-Unit Approval means a unit in that building was approved on its own. The building is still not approved, so your unit would need a single-unit approval of its own.
Sources
- 24 CFR 203.43b, FHA condominium eligibility, Code of Federal Regulations
- Condominiums list, field descriptions, including each status, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Handbook 4000.1, section II.C, condominium project approval, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
FHA condo requirements: the whole building, or just your unit#
HUD's 2019 condo rule, in force since October 15, 2019, lengthened project approval from two years to three and created single-unit approval: an FHA loan on one unit in a building that is not on the list. Mortgagee Letter 2019-13 set out how lenders request a case number for one.
Your lender does the single-unit work, filling in HUD's form HUD-9991 with figures no more than 90 days old, from sources such as the association or its manager. The main tests in the current Handbook:
To approve the whole building
- Owner-occupied units: at least 50%. A building over a year old can qualify with 35% to 49% through HUD's own review, if no more than 10% of units are behind on dues. A newly completed building needs 30%.
- Two to four units: 75% owner-occupied, and no one behind on dues.
- FHA loans: HUD can suspend a building once more than half its units have them.
- Commercial space: up to 35% of the floor area, or up to 49% with an exception.
- How long it lasts: three years, then recertification.
To approve only your unit
- Size: at least five units, all complete.
- Your unit: a certificate of occupancy at least a year old, or the unit already lived in.
- Owner-occupied units: at least 50%.
- FHA loans: in no more than 10% of units in a building of 20 or more, and no more than two in a smaller one.
- Commercial space: no more than 35% of the floor area.
- Your loan: an Accept from FHA's automated scorecard, or at least 10% down if it is underwritten by hand.
- How long it lasts: that loan only. The next FHA buyer's lender starts again.
Both routes also need reserves of at least 10% of a year's dues, unless a reserve study supports less; no more than 15% of units over 60 days behind on dues; no single owner holding more than 10% of the units, or more than one unit in a building under 20; insurance that meets FHA's standards; and no lawsuit over the building's safety, structure, habitability or use, or one that insurance would not cover.
One change since 2019. The two-loan cap for smaller buildings used to apply below 10 units. HUD's Handbook update of November 18, 2020 moved the line to 20 units, for case numbers assigned from February 16, 2021. The latest update, issued August 12, 2026, left these figures as they were.
Sources
- Handbook 4000.1, sections II.A.8.p and II.C, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Project Approval for Single-Family Condominiums, final rule, August 15, 2019, Federal Register
- Mortgagee Letter 2019-13, single-unit approval case numbers, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Handbook 4000.1 as issued November 18, 2020, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Form HUD-9991, the single-unit approval questionnaire, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Small condos and townhouse-style condos#
Small condos are common on HUD's Seattle list. On October 20, 2026, 11 of the 77 approved projects had fewer than 10 units and five had three or four, one of them a house, an attached ADU and a backyard cottage set up as a condominium.
Under five units, single-unit approval is not an option. The whole project needs approval, which for two to four units means 75% owner-occupied and no one behind on dues.
The exception is a site condominium: detached homes with no shared garages or other attached buildings, or detached or townhouse-style homes where each unit is the home and its land. If each owner insures and maintains their own home, landscaping aside, FHA needs no approval. Whether a Seattle townhouse is legally a condo at all is covered in townhouse or condo in Seattle.
Conventional loans treat small projects differently. Fannie Mae waives its project review, apart from a few basic requirements, for a unit in a two- to four-unit condo, or in a five- to ten-unit condo that is not part of a larger development or master association. Where FHA does not work on a small building, ask your lender whether a conventional loan does.
Sources
- Handbook 4000.1, site condominiums and two- to four-unit projects, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- General information on project standards (B4-2.1-01), Fannie Mae Selling Guide
What non-warrantable means for your loan#
Lenders call a condo non-warrantable when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not buy loans on units in it. It is industry shorthand: Fannie Mae's guide calls these ineligible projects. FHA runs its own tests, so a building can pass one set and fail the other.
From Fannie Mae's list, these are the ones I would look for first in a Seattle building.
Hotel-style operation. Run as a hotel or motel, or with hotel-type services such as a registration desk, daily or short-term rentals, daily cleaning, central key systems or rental pooling.
Commercial space. More than 35% of the project, or of the building it sits in. Rental apartments and hotels in the building count as commercial.
One owner with too many units. More than two in a project of 11 to 20 units, or more than 20% of a project of 21 or more. Freddie Mac's limit for the larger projects is 25%.
Litigation. The association named in a pending lawsuit, or the developer named in one over safety, structural soundness, habitability or functional use, unless it is a minor matter that fits Fannie Mae's exceptions.
Critical repairs. Such as water intrusion, advanced deterioration, or unfunded repairs of more than $10,000 per unit needed within 12 months.
A non-warrantable condo can still be financed, just not with a loan the agencies will buy. Some banks and credit unions keep such loans on their own books as portfolio loans. Other lenders offer non-QM loans, which must still meet the federal ability-to-repay rule but fall outside the definition of a Qualified Mortgage. Expect a larger down payment and often a higher rate. On the $450,000 condo above, 20% down would be $90,000, against FHA's $15,750.
Sources
- Ineligible projects (B4-2.1-03), Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- Section 5701.3, ineligible projects, Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide
- What is the ability-to-repay rule?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
VA-approved condos are a separate list#
VA runs its own condo approval. Before it guarantees a loan on a unit, VA has to approve the legal documents that set up the condominium, and it keeps its own list, searchable on VA's condo report page. The state is required, and you can limit the report to approved condos.
The two approvals are separate, so a building on HUD's list is not automatically on VA's, or the reverse. Check the list that matches your loan.
It is worth the check: for eligible veterans and service members, a VA-backed purchase loan can need no down payment, as long as the price is not above the appraised value.
Sources
- 38 CFR 36.4360, condominium loans, Code of Federal Regulations
- VA-backed purchase loan, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Request a customized condo report, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
What I would check before writing an offer#
Look the building up before you tour. If you plan to use FHA or VA, a two-minute search saves you from getting attached to a unit your loan cannot buy.
Ask your lender to screen the building early. A single-unit approval runs on figures only the association has: owner-occupancy, late dues, reserves, insurance and lawsuits. I would get the manager's contact from the listing agent as soon as you are serious and pass it to the lender. If you want a lender recommendation, I can refer you.
Watch the expiration date. If an approval runs out before your lender orders the case number, the loan would need a single-unit approval instead. Ask whether the association has already filed to renew.
Read the documents anyway. An approval means the building met FHA's tests when it was reviewed, possibly nearly three years ago. The resale certificate, budget and minutes show how it is doing now, and the condo guide walks through them.
Common questions#
How do I find out if a condo is FHA-approved?
Search HUD's FHA condominium list, which is public, by state and city, ZIP code or name. Approved means FHA loans can be processed there; check the expiration date too. If the building is not approved, ask a lender whether your unit could get a single-unit approval.
How long does FHA condo approval last?
Three years from the date the building goes on HUD's list. The association can recertify from six months before the expiration date until six months after it. After that, it needs a full new approval.
What is FHA single-unit approval?
A way to get an FHA loan on one unit in a building that is not on HUD's list. The building needs at least five units, at least 50% of them owner-occupied, and FHA loans on no more than 10% of units, or no more than two in a building under 20 units. Your lender handles it, and it covers that loan only.
What does Rejected Single-Unit Approval mean on HUD's list?
That a unit in the building was approved on its own. HUD lists single-unit approvals under the Rejected status. The building itself is not approved, so another unit there would need its own single-unit approval.
What is a non-warrantable condo?
One in a project that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not buy loans in, for reasons such as hotel-style operation, more than 35% commercial space, one owner holding too many units, litigation or critical repairs. It can still be financed through portfolio or non-QM lenders, usually with a larger down payment.
Are VA-approved condos the same as FHA-approved condos?
No. VA approves a condominium's legal documents separately and keeps its own list, which you can search on VA's condo report page. Check the list that matches your loan.
What is the FHA loan limit for a condo in King County?
$1,063,750 in 2026, the limit for a one-unit home, which includes a condo. With FHA's 3.5% minimum down payment, that covers a price up to about $1,102,000.
Related guides
- What buying in Seattle actually costs: the Seattle buyer's guide
- Townhouse vs condo in Seattle: what you actually own
- Pre-qualified, pre-approved or fully underwritten: which one a Seattle offer needs
- How much down payment do you actually need in Seattle?
