HOA loan questions, answered.

We arrange financing for projects from $100,000 with no set maximum. We’ve closed single loans as large as $50 million, and larger projects are within reach. Most associations we work with borrow between $500,000 and $5 million, and we regularly arrange loans both larger and smaller.

Most of the loans we arrange fall between $500,000 and $5 million, and the median sits near $1.5 million. That said, the average is a poor guide for your board. A 60-unit community re-roofing and a 600-unit community rebuilding balconies are both typical, and they are nothing alike. The number that matters is what your project costs and what your assessment income supports.

We do not quote rates, because any number published on a website is wrong by the time you read it. HOA loan rates move with the broader credit market, but the spread your association is offered is driven by things your board controls: how current your reserve study is, your delinquency rate, your assessment history, and how well the project is documented. Two associations applying the same week can be offered meaningfully different rates for those reasons. The calculator lets you model a range of rates to see what your payment would look like; once we know your numbers, we bring you real quotes from the lenders that will look at your project.

The loans we arrange typically run 5 to 20 years, depending on project scope and your association’s financials. Every loan we arrange is fully amortizing, with no balloon payment. We don’t place associations in balloon loans, and we help refinance associations out of them.

Typically, no. Across the lenders we work with, an association loan does not usually require a down payment, so the project can be funded without first collecting cash from owners. Many lenders allow loan proceeds to fund or replenish reserves directly, including reserves that were drawn down for project costs. Policies vary by lender, so ask.

Most lenders allow an association to pay ahead or pay off early from its own funds without penalty. Refinancing with a different lender is treated differently and often carries a fee, so ask how each offer handles both before you sign.

Most do. We arrange financing for HOA and condo associations in all 50 states. Lenders review your operating budget, reserve study, delinquency rate, and the borrowing authority in your governing documents, not any individual owner’s personal credit.

Across the lenders we work with, five things matter: borrowing authority in your governing documents, the last 3 years of financial statements, a reserve study generally within the past 3 years, delinquency under control, and a defined project with contractor bids. Exactly when each document is requested varies by lender. In the loans we arrange, no individual’s credit is pulled.

A reserve study more than three years old is generally considered outdated. It still shows which projects are coming and how long each component should last, but construction and material costs change. Get current estimates and bids within a few months of the planned work to know what it will actually cost.

An HOA loan is financing your association borrows as an entity to pay for a major capital project, then repays out of the assessments you already collect. It is underwritten against the association’s finances and its authority to levy assessments; not against individual homes.

They fund the same project and feel completely different to owners. A lump sum special assessment asks every owner for a large payment at once, which is where boards meet the hardest resistance and where owners on fixed incomes get hurt. A loan spreads the same cost over years, so the monthly impact per unit is far smaller, and it does not depend on every owner having cash available. The tradeoff is interest: over the life of the loan you pay more in total. Some communities are better served by a phased project or a smaller assessment paired with a smaller loan. We model all of them side by side so your board decides with the same numbers in front of everyone.

To fund major capital projects, cover emergency repairs, or avoid a lump sum special assessment that asks every owner for a large payment at once. Waiting is also a decision. Deferred work rarely gets cheaper, and an unsafe condition can force the timeline for you.

Yes. We are advisors, not a lender; we work with lenders across all 50 states and match your community with the ones actively underwriting associations where you are.

Five steps. You tell us about the project and send your financials; we review what your association can realistically support and confirm your borrowing authority; we take your project to the lenders most likely to approve a community like yours and bring back what they offer; your board selects one and completes the approval process your documents require; the loan closes. From application to closing it usually runs 30 to 90 days, and some loans take longer for a variety of reasons.

From application to closing, most HOA loans take 30 to 90 days, and some loans take longer for a variety of reasons. The timeline moves with project complexity and how ready your documentation is. If you don’t have a current reserve study, start one 6 months to a year before you need the money.

Nothing up front. No retainers, hourly charges, or cancellation fees. The association pays our fee at closing, and it can come out of the loan proceeds. The fee is quoted up front in our engagement letter and doesn’t change based on which lender wins. If the loan doesn’t close, there is no fee. We work for the association and are never paid by lenders.

We get your association ready to borrow, professionally package the request, and take it where it’s most likely to be approved on the best terms. We have placed 300+ loans since 2016, and your board is probably doing this for the first time. A competitive process can improve on the first offer. We get an indicative yes or no from lenders before a full submission, so a decline doesn’t damage your association’s standing with other lenders.

We maintain relationships with multiple lenders who specialize in association financing, so we know which of them will look at your project. Where more than one will compete for it, we bring the offers side by side.

We provide unbiased analysis so your board can weigh all the options (a loan, a lump sum special assessment, or phasing the project) and make the decision together with the same numbers in front of everyone.

A declined application can close that lender to you for a while, and boards often approach the obvious bank first. We position your project for the lenders most likely to approve a community like yours, so your first application is not a wasted one.

Yes. We're happy to work with your property manager, your board, or both; whatever your community prefers.

No. The association is the borrower. In the loans we arrange, board members sign on the association’s behalf, not personally: there’s no personal guarantee, and their credit isn’t pulled. The loan does not appear on any individual’s credit or affect their mortgage.

In the loans we arrange, no individual’s credit is pulled: not board members, not homeowners, not the property manager. Associations do not have credit scores in the consumer sense either. What stands in for one is your financial record: assessment collection history, delinquency rate, reserve balance, and whether past obligations were met. That is the association’s credit, and unlike a personal score, your board can improve it deliberately.

The honest answer is that this is uncommon, because lenders underwrite against your assessment income rather than a project’s success, and they typically decline associations that cannot carry the payment. If an association does fall behind, the lender’s remedy runs against the association: it can enforce its right to the assessment stream and, in most structures, compel the board to levy assessments sufficient to cover the debt. No individual home is foreclosed on for the association’s loan, and no owner is personally pursued. The practical risk is not that owners lose their homes; it is that the board loses control of its own budget. Which is the real argument for borrowing an amount your income comfortably supports rather than the maximum you can qualify for.

No. There is no security interest in any home and owners keep clear title. The loan is secured by the association’s right to collect assessments, which is why lenders underwrite your budget and delinquency rate so closely.

It depends on your CC&Rs and state law. Many boards can borrow without a full membership vote; some require one. We help you read your documents and plan the approval path before you commit.