Talk to any mortgage broker around Seattle right now and they will tell you they are doing way more FHA loans than they did before. Many mortgage people are doing exclusively FHA. Why? Because of low-down payments, less restrictive credit requirements, and increased loan limits that finally work in our market.
Now if only agents realized that Buyers are actively looking for FHA approved properties. Many condos are not approved for FHA and that can kill the option. Spot checking can work for up to about 10% of units in a non-approved condo project, but requirements might make that impossible as well.
I think it's amazing how many agents do not know if their condo listings are FHA approved or not. We used to just enter “cash out” or “conventional” for financing options in the listing and not worry about it. No one was doing FHA loans so we didn't need to bother. But times have changed and now it matters. ANYTHING you can do to promote and market your listings that might create a sale MATTERS.
Just for fun I just did a search of the Northwest Multiple listing Service area 390 condos actively for sale under $567,500 (the current FHA loan limit) and came up with 275. Only 75 listed FHA financing as an option. So I did some random searches of buildings that I know are FHA approved. Within a couple of minutes I came up with a half a dozen that were approved, but not listed in the NWMLS with FHA as a financing option. What a missed opportunity for those Sellers!
To find out if your condo is approved, go to the HUD website below, enter the city, and then enter the condo name. If it doesn't come up, it's not been approved. Many condos have not bothered with this process because it is costly and has a lot of bureaucratic red tape involved.