Owners, agents, and board members ask the same question in different words: Will this building’s reserves clear conventional financing? The honest answer is that only a lender’s project review decides eligibility. What you can do in advance is compare the association’s budget and reserve study to the published numerical tests Fannie Mae uses inside Full Review — the same figures ReserveGap’s free check runs in the browser.
What people mean by “the reserve test”
In Full Review, lenders evaluate whether the condo project meets Fannie Mae’s project standards. Reserves are one piece. For the reserve math, conversations usually collapse into two comparisons:
- Study pathway: Is this year’s budgeted reserve contribution at least the reserve study’s highest recommended annual contribution?
- Percentage pathway: Is this year’s budgeted reserve contribution at least 15% of annual budgeted assessment income (for applications on or after January 4, 2027 — 10% before that change)?
Other project issues (insurance, critical repairs, delinquencies, litigation, and more) can still block a deal even when these two comparisons look fine.
The two dates that change the answer
Summarized from Lender Letter LL-2026-03:
| Date (loan application date) | What changed |
|---|---|
| August 3, 2026 | Limited Review retired for many established projects → more Full Reviews; study pathway must use highest recommended contribution; baseline funding not accepted for that pathway |
| January 4, 2027 | Percentage floor for replacement reserves rises from 10% to 15% of annual budgeted assessment income when that pathway is used |
Always confirm the application date the lender is using — not only the closing date.
The four numbers you need
From the adopted budget and the reserve study (and a stated cash date):
- Budgeted assessment income for the year (the base; lender-permitted exclusions may apply in underwriting — ReserveGap uses the base you enter and does not auto-calculate exclusions).
- Budgeted reserve contribution (the reserve line — what you are putting in this year).
- Highest recommended contribution from the study (highest recommendation for the budget year being evaluated).
- Reserve cash on hand (all reserve accounts, as of a date you can defend).
Add the property state. The free check does not establish a state funding result from four amounts alone. The paid Florida projection also needs the study’s component schedule and applicable building details.
Who usually runs this check
- Board treasurers and presidents before budget adoption or a capital vote
- Property managers assembling a lender questionnaire packet
- Listing agents and buyers who want an early read before a deal depends on conventional financing
- Association counsel who need a clean numerical exhibit beside the legal analysis
The current free-check form requires all four amounts and the property state. Obtain the missing documents before entering figures; do not substitute zero for an unknown study recommendation.
What an indicative result means
- Indicative Met result on a numerical comparison: the figures you entered clear that published benchmark. It is not project approval, not a CPM status, and not a promise a particular loan will close.
- Indicative gap: the contribution sits below the benchmark by a dollar amount per year. It is not a fine. It is a clear input for a board discussion about raising the reserve line or costing a special assessment, loan, or hybrid.
A lender’s eligibility decision covers more than reserves alone. Read our project-review article for that distinction.
The other conventional lending guide
Freddie Mac updated condo project standards on a parallel 2026 timeline (including Streamlined Review changes and reserve-study expectations). In board practice, the same packet — budget, study, contribution math — is what managers assemble for either GSE path. Confirm the guide your lender is underwriting to; do not assume the letters are word-identical.
Read alongside
- Limited Review is over — Full Review and condo reserves
- The 15% condo reserve rule
- The reserve budget in a condo project review
For Full Review budget and reserve-study conditions, see the Selling Guide. The parallel changes are documented in Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-C.
Reports are prepared after checkout and emailed within 1 business day. Not an instant download. Results are indicative; only a lender’s project review decides eligibility.