A rule set to take effect in 2027 will make conventional apartment mortgages much more expensive, or unavailable, for middle-class buyers in Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Día reported on Oct 24.^[1] The agencies behind it are not local: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are raising the minimum reserve a condominium project must fund from 10% to 15% of assessment income for loan applications dated on or after Jan. 4, 2027.^[2] The trigger is the application date, not the closing date, so a buyer whose application is dated before Jan. 4 is underwritten under the current 10% standard.^[3] Puerto Rico's own Condominium Act sets the local reserve floor at 5%,^[4] and between 3,000 and 3,400 condominiums on the island fall under DACO's jurisdiction.^[5] The tightening arrives in steps. Limited review, the streamlined process that let lenders skip examining a project's budget and reserves, was eliminated for new applications on Aug. 3, 2026.^[6] Since July 1, 2026, Fannie Mae has also capped the master policy per-unit deductible at $50,000.^[7] The industry wants it slowed. The Community Home Lenders of America, the Community Associations Institute and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers sent a July 8 letter to FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac asking for at least a one-year delay of the 15% reserve requirement.^{[8] [9]} Projects can alternatively qualify with a valid independent reserve study,^[10] and the GSEs retired the 50% investor concentration limit for established condo projects in March.^[11]