On Jan. 1, federally backed mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adopted new lending rules for buildings with significant deferred maintenance in response to last year’s tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Fla. When Crain’s Chicago Business needed expert sources ahead of the new year to discuss how the changes would impact Chicago-area condo buyers and the local market, we knew Taylor Johnson client Key Mortgage Services would provide invaluable and timely insight. Esther Phillips, senior vice president of Schaumburg-based Key Mortgage Services, explained how the increased scrutiny over a building’s maintenance history, deferred repairs and available funds were welcome and long overdue. “You don’t want to buy a condo and later find out it has this big safety issue that they don’t have the money to fix,” Phillips said in the resulting story. Read more in today’s TJ TALK.

Esther Phillips, senior vice president of Key Mortgage Services, discusses how new lending requirements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can impact Chicago condominium buildings with significant deferred maintenance.