Choose the lender who underwrites your file before you shop and can tell you, before you write an offer, whether the property itself will pass. In Tempe that second half decides more deals than your credit score does, because the city ran out of land decades ago and most of what a first-time buyer can afford here is either a 1970s resale or a condo near ASU with an ownership problem.
That makes Tempe a different buy from Gilbert or Chandler. There is almost no new construction to fall back on. You are competing for older stock and attached housing, and both carry financing risk that lives in the property, not in you.
The five questions that separate lenders
Rate is the easiest thing to quote and the easiest thing to walk back. These tell you more.
- "Will you underwrite me before I shop, or just pre-qualify me?" A pre-qualification is someone typing your numbers into a calculator. A fully underwritten pre-approval means an underwriter reviewed your income, assets and credit before you toured anything. Ask which one you are getting.
- "Will you review the condo project before I write?" In Tempe this is the highest-value question you can ask. More below.
- "Are you a broker or a single lender?" A bank sells its own products. A broker places your file with multiple investors, which matters when the property is old, attached, or unusual.
- "Who answers the phone when my offer is due on a Saturday?" Find out whether you get a call center or a specific person.
- "Will you put cost to close in writing today?" Down payment plus closing costs, prepaid taxes and insurance, and reserves. Not a rate sheet.
Why Tempe condos fail financing when the buyer does not
A large share of the accessible entry point in Tempe is condos and attached townhomes, much of it within a few miles of ASU. That is a reasonable way in. It also means the building gets underwritten, not just you.
Lenders look at the project:
- What share of units are non-owner-occupied?
- Is any single owner holding too large a share of the units?
- Are HOA dues delinquent across the project?
- Is there litigation involving the association?
- Are reserves funded, and is a special assessment coming?
Near a large university, the first two are the ones that bite. Buildings that have drifted toward investor and rental ownership can fall outside conventional and FHA project requirements, and requirements around project eligibility and reserve adequacy have tightened in recent years. The practical result: you can be fully approved and still be unable to buy that specific unit. Two condos on the same street can finance completely differently.
What to do:
- Have your lender review the project before you write, not during the inspection period.
- Ask for the HOA budget, reserve study and recent meeting minutes. Minutes are where a special assessment shows up first.
- Set your timeline so project review finishes before your earnest money goes hard.
If nobody on your side can answer "is this building financeable for my loan type?", you are not ready to write.
The other Tempe problem: the house is fifty years old
Tempe's single-family stock skews heavily to homes built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Well built, often well located, and frequently carrying deferred maintenance that matters to an appraiser.
Condition issues that can stall or kill a loan:
| Issue | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Roof at end of life | Appraisers call it out; some programs require remaining life |
| Original electrical panel | Certain panel brands draw insurer and lender scrutiny |
| Evaporative cooling only | Can affect appraised value and marketability |
| Peeling paint on a pre-1978 home | Triggers lead-based paint requirements on FHA |
| Unpermitted additions | Square footage may not count toward value |
Government-backed programs carry minimum property requirements that a tired 1974 ranch can fail. That does not mean avoid FHA in Tempe. It means know before you offer whether the house clears the bar for the program you are using, and know what the fallback is if it does not. A renovation loan is sometimes the right answer rather than walking. See FHA loans in Tempe and conventional loans in Tempe for how the programs differ on this.
Do not let anyone rule you out of assistance
Arizona's Home Plus program gets dismissed for reasons that are not true.
- "It is only for first-time buyers." It is not. Repeat buyers qualify too.
- "My income is too high." The borrower income limit was $155,386 as of April 6, 2026, higher than most people assume.
Home Plus pairs a 30-year fixed mortgage with up to 4% in down payment and closing-cost assistance, structured as a forgivable second. It is fully forgiven after 60 months, and a sale or refinance inside that window means the DPA second has to be repaid. Available statewide, and one borrower must complete a homebuyer education course before closing. Terms verified against the program's official site on September 5, 2026, and they do change, so confirm current guidelines rather than planning around a number you read once. A lender who never raises it is telling you something.
Protect your file until you close
You are underwritten continuously, not once. Between approval and closing, do not open a credit card, finance a car, take a "same as cash" furniture offer, move large sums without a documented trail, change how you are paid, or co-sign for anyone. Every one of those has killed a closing that was otherwise done.
So who should you choose in Tempe?
Run any lender through the five questions. Here is how we answer them, and every line is checkable.
- Underwritten pre-approvals are the default here, not an upgrade.
- Condo project review before you write. Given how much of Tempe's entry-level inventory is attached housing near ASU, this is a standard step in our process rather than a scramble in week two.
- Broker model. We place files with multiple investors instead of selling one bank's shelf, which is what you want when the property is fifty years old or the project is borderline.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
- Written cost to close before you shop.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. That is the standard to hold any lender to, including us.
Send me the address you are considering and I will tell you what the financing risk is before you write the offer.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Rates, terms, and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal, and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify.
Written by Ricky Khamis, President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, Scottsdale, Arizona. Cite as: Khamis, R. (2026). "How to Choose a First-Time Buyer Lender in Tempe (Old Housing Stock, Investor-Heavy Condos)." rickykhamis.com.
