Four months after new Enterprise condominium eligibility standards raised concerns among lenders across the industry, AD Mortgage is taking those concerns directly to federal regulators.
The wholesale lender announced the launch of a Public Policy Initiative last week, using its first formal policy submission to urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to closely monitor the impact of updated condominium project eligibility requirements for loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The letter, submitted following a recent meeting between AD Mortgage leadership and FHFA officials, argues that early lending data supports continued evaluation of the new standards, particularly their potential effect on access to conventional condominium financing.
The company's recommendations are backed by proprietary lending data from its Florida business, where condominiums remain a significant source of attainable homeownership.
According to AD Mortgage, its internal analysis found:
- More than 750 Florida condominium loans originated since 2021 utilized the Limited Review process.
- 53% of the company's Florida conventional condominium originations during that period relied on Limited Review.
- Approximately 30% of manually reviewed condominium projects had reserve funding below the revised 15% threshold established under the updated Enterprise guidelines.
Based on those findings, AD Mortgage urged FHFA to monitor the implementation of the new standards and remain open to refinements if market data show that borrowers are losing access to conventional condominium financing.
Rather than asking FHFA to reverse the updated standards, AD Mortgage encouraged regulators to closely monitor implementation and remain open to future refinements if market data demonstrates a meaningful reduction in borrowers' access to conventional financing.
"Our objective is simple: bring practical market experience and real-world lending data into policy discussions," said Corey Chubner, senior vice president of government affairs and investor relationships at AD Mortgage. "The mortgage industry has an important responsibility to help policymakers understand how regulatory changes affect borrowers. We appreciate FHFA's willingness to engage with stakeholders and value the opportunity to contribute constructively to that conversation."
Chief Executive Officer Max Slyusarchuk said the initiative reflects the company's broader strategy to play a more active role in housing policy discussions affecting broker partners, borrowers and the mortgage finance system.
"As AD Mortgage continues to grow nationally, we believe we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to be an active participant in public policy discussions that affect our customers, broker partners, and the housing finance system," Slyusarchuk said. "Whether working with federal regulators, state policymakers, or industry organizations, our goal is to provide thoughtful, data-driven insights that support responsible lending and expand access to mortgage credit."
The Public Policy Initiative will focus on housing affordability, regulatory modernization, credit access, government lending programs, capital markets, state licensing modernization and other issues affecting residential mortgage lending. AD Mortgage said it plans to publish policy research, participate in regulatory comment opportunities and work with industry organizations on future initiatives.
The announcement is less significant because AD Mortgage launched a public policy initiative than because it represents one of the first lender-backed attempts to influence the ongoing conversation surrounding the Enterprises' revised condominium eligibility standards with production data rather than industry opinion.
When Fannie Mae announced changes to condominium project eligibility earlier this year — including eliminating the Limited Review process and increasing reserve funding expectations — many lenders warned the revisions could make financing more difficult for borrowers purchasing lower-priced condominium units. AD Mortgage's submission attempts to quantify those concerns by showing how frequently one wholesale lender relied on Limited Review before the changes took effect.
Whether FHFA ultimately revisits the standards remains uncertain. However, the letter reflects a broader shift in which mortgage lenders are becoming more active participants in federal housing policy discussions, particularly as affordability challenges increasingly stem from underwriting standards and property eligibility requirements rather than interest rates alone.
*This article was primarily written by a human author. AI tools were used in a limited capacity for research assistance or light editing.
