What warrantability is measuring
Condo review looks at the project, not the buyer, how much of the building is investor-owned, whether reserves are funded, whether there is litigation, whether a single owner controls too many units, whether a commercial component is too large.
A buyer can be immaculate and still be declined on any of those. That is what makes it feel arbitrary: nothing about you changed, and the answer was still no.
Where the belief comes from
From how the news usually arrives. The project review happens well into the process, so the decline often lands weeks in, close to a contract deadline, with no time left to start over. In that moment "this can’t be financed" is what it feels like.
What it actually means is that this agency channel will not take it. A non-warrantable condo lender underwrites the same building knowing exactly why it failed.
Ask the question earlier
Most of what decides warrantability is knowable up front, the HOA questionnaire, budget and reserve study, and whether there is active litigation or a pending special assessment. That information exists before you are under contract.
Resort units with a front desk and a rental programme are a separate case again: the features that make them attractive are frequently the ones that put them outside agency guidelines entirely.
What to send
The building, the unit, and the HOA documents if you have them. If a review has already failed, say what it failed on. That goes straight to which lender fits.
Where this is a consumer mortgage I originate it in select states. Eligibility and terms vary by scenario and by lender guidelines; nothing here is a commitment to lend.