Condotel
Resort condos that agency lenders will not touch.
Financing for condo-hotel units with front desks, rental programs, and short-term occupancy, which are ineligible for conventional financing by definition.
What makes this loan different
- Units with rental programs and hotel services eligible
- Studios and units without full kitchens considered
- Typically 25% to 35% down
- Rental income can support qualification
Who this is built for
- Buyers of resort and ski-area units
- Investors in nightly-rental buildings
- Second-home buyers in managed properties
Why conventional says no
A condotel has hotel characteristics: a front desk, daily housekeeping, a central reservation system, or a mandatory rental pool. Agency guidelines exclude these outright, which is why buyers are so often told cash is the only option.
Portfolio and DSCR lenders will finance them, evaluating the building's operation and the unit's income rather than applying a blanket exclusion.
Terms to expect
Down payments from 25% to 35%, credit in the 700s for the best pricing, and reserves of six to twelve months. Units under a certain square footage or without full kitchens are eligible with some lenders and not others.
What lenders typically ask for
- A condo questionnaire confirming the hotel or resort characteristics of the project
- Rental program documentation, including any mandatory participation requirement
- HOA financials and master insurance
- Standard borrower income, credit, and asset documentation
Requirements vary by lender and by file. This is a general picture of what is commonly requested, not a checklist for a specific loan.
Worth knowing
What makes it a condotel is operational, not architectural.
An on-site rental desk, daily or weekly rentals, room service, or a mandatory rental program generally put a project in this category regardless of how it looks. A unit can be a condotel without the buyer realizing it.
Down payment is substantially higher.
Condotel financing typically requires considerably more equity than standard condo financing, and fewer lenders participate.
Mandatory rental programs restrict availability further.
Where the association requires units to participate in a rental pool, the lender list narrows again.
Usually treated as investment property.
Even where a buyer intends personal use, pricing and guidelines often follow investment-property terms.
See what this program would take in your case.
We are brokers — this program is shopped across hundreds of wholesale lenders, not quoted off one rate sheet. A short application gives us enough to compare real options.
Program availability, terms, guidelines, and documentation requirements vary by lender and are subject to underwriting and change without notice. This is not a commitment to lend.