Condo Questionnaires: The Lender’s Financing Checklist

A condo questionnaire is a form the lender sends to the HOA or property manager to verify details about the building before approving a mortgage — things like insurance coverage, reserve funding, pending litigation, owner-occupancy ratio, and whether any single entity owns a large share of units. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have specific guidelines buildings must meet for conventional financing — see our 2026 Fannie Mae condo rules guide for the latest update.

I had a client buying specifically for the short-term rental opportunity. Before we ever made an offer, I reviewed the condo docs myself to confirm short-term rentals were allowed. Then, during lending, the HOA filled out the condo questionnaire with the wrong information — checking “no” on short-term rentals when the actual condo docs said yes.

The lender called the buyer straight to flag it, and the buyer called me in a panic. It turned out to be a building error on the questionnaire, not a change in the actual rules, and we got it corrected.

💡 Jason’s Tip: The condo docs tell you what’s allowed, but the questionnaire is what the lender actually acts on — and buildings get it wrong more often than people think.

• ⚠️Assuming the condo docs and the questionnaire will automatically agree.
• ⚠️Not catching a questionnaire error until late in the loan process.
• ⚠️Buyers assuming a “no” on the questionnaire is final without checking accuracy.
• ⚠️Sellers not realizing a sloppy questionnaire can tank an otherwise smooth sale.

Miami’s high volume of investor-owned and rental-heavy buildings means condo questionnaires here get more scrutiny from lenders than in many other markets. Buildings that actively market to short-term rental investors (common in Miami Beach, Brickell, and Edgewater) should have their questionnaire responses double-checked.

A buyer is under contract on a unit specifically because the building allows short-term rentals. The lender’s condo questionnaire comes back with an error, marking rentals as restricted. If nobody catches this and pushes back, the loan could be denied or delayed — even though the actual condo documents say otherwise.

Lenders typically order the condo questionnaire early in underwriting, once you’re under contract. Turnaround time from the HOA/property manager can range from a few days to a few weeks. If an error appears, expect a follow-up conversation (and sometimes a corrected form) — budget extra time in your closing timeline.

What if the questionnaire and the condo docs disagree?

The condo docs are the actual governing rules — a questionnaire is just the building’s representation of those rules, and can contain errors.

Who fixes a questionnaire error?

Usually the HOA or property management company needs to submit a corrected form directly to the lender.

Does a “non-warrantable” answer always kill the loan?

Not necessarily — see our Warrantable vs. Non-Warrantable Condos guide for financing options.