Occuancy Percentage_RedactedIn previous years, the percentage of units within an building that were owner occupied was a big factor when it came to buying or refinancing using a mortgage.  I wanted to clear up some recent confusion on this matter as the guidelines have changed.  As a snap shot, it no longer matters how high or low the percentage is of units that are owner occupied, so long as the condo unit you are buying or refinancing is an owner occupied unit.  However, if a buyer is purchasing the unit as an investment (rental unit) or they are buying it as a second home, then the rental percentage is still a very important factor.

Check with your mortgage loan officer for details, but it is no longer critical to have the owner occupancy percentage above 51% if you are buying a condo to live in.   This is good news as many condo buildings are still recovering from the recession, where they gained higher than normal percentages of rental units as many owners who were not able to sell ended up being “accidental landlords”. As the condo market continues to improve and values increase, I believe we will start to see to rental percentages come down and level off anyway as more owners will be able to afford to sell as equity returns to their condos.