The Biltmore area runs along 24th Street and Camelback in Phoenix, anchored by the Arizona Biltmore hotel that opened in 1929 and the shopping at Biltmore Fashion Park. It is one of the few genuinely urban luxury pockets in the Valley, and the housing reflects that: a high concentration of condominiums, townhomes and patio homes alongside the larger single family homes in Biltmore Estates.
For a self-employed buyer, that housing mix is the story. Attached housing means your loan has two approvals to clear instead of one, and the second one has nothing to do with you.
The hurdle most buyers do not see coming
On a condominium, and frequently on attached townhome product, the lender underwrites the project as well as the borrower. You can have a 790 credit score, three years of clean returns and forty percent down, and still be declined because of the building.
What the review looks at:
Owner occupancy ratio. The share of units occupied by owners rather than tenants. A building that has drifted heavily toward rentals becomes ineligible for some financing, and in the Biltmore corridor, where short and long term rental use is common, this is a live issue rather than a theoretical one.
Budget and reserve adequacy. Associations are generally expected to fund reserves at a minimum share of the operating budget. An association that has deferred that in order to hold dues down can fail review.
Insurance coverage. Master policy limits, deductibles, and in some cases fidelity coverage. Insufficient coverage is a common and fixable finding, but fixing it takes the association's cooperation and time.
Litigation. Pending litigation against the association can stop a loan outright depending on its nature. Construction defect litigation is the usual culprit.
Single-entity concentration. One owner holding too large a share of the units fails many programs. In smaller buildings, which the Biltmore area has plenty of, one investor owning a handful of units can be enough.
Special assessments and deferred maintenance. Both get scrutiny, and a pending assessment also affects your qualifying ratio.
The practical instruction: get the project's financing status before you write the offer. Your agent can ask the association or the listing agent whether the project has recent approvals and whether any litigation or assessment is pending. Finding this out in week three of escrow is how buyers lose earnest money and six weeks. See Condo and Project Approval and Non-Warrantable Condo Financing.
Non-warrantable is not the end of the road
If the project fails conventional review, it is called non-warrantable, and portfolio and non-QM investors lend on them. Pricing is higher, down payment requirements are frequently higher, and the universe of investors is smaller. It is a real path, not a consolation prize, and it is worth knowing it exists before you walk away from a building you want.
Here is the interaction to watch: a non-warrantable project plus a self-employed income file is two non-standard items in one transaction. The set of investors willing to do both is meaningfully smaller than the set willing to do either. Raise both on the first call.
How your income gets rebuilt
Two years of filed returns, run through Fannie Mae Form 1084 or Freddie Mac Form 91.
- Schedule C: net profit from line 31, plus depreciation, depletion and business use of home added back, minus non-recurring income, divided by 24.
- 1120S and K-1: W-2 wage counts; K-1 ordinary income counts where distributions are documented and the entity has liquidity.
- 1065 and K-1: same, with guaranteed payments included.
- Schedule E: rental net with allowable add-backs, minus full PITIA.
Every dollar of aggressive deduction costs roughly four to five dollars of buying power. A declining year two generally becomes your qualifying income rather than the average.
When the returns do not support it: bank statement, asset depletion, or no-ratio financing, each proving repayment capacity differently and priced differently than agency money.
Two other Biltmore specifics
Association dues here can be substantial, covering amenities, grounds and in some buildings significant services. Every dollar is in your debt-to-income calculation, and on a self-employed file where income was already rebuilt downward, high dues eat approval capacity fast. Get the real number plus any pending assessment. See HOA Dues in Your Ratio.
Some properties sit on land that is leased rather than owned. Where that is the case it is a material financing issue with its own requirements, including remaining term relative to the loan term. Confirm fee simple ownership for the specific property rather than assuming it.
Before you write in the Biltmore
- Confirm the project's financing status first, before anything else.
- Ask about pending litigation and special assessments specifically.
- Ask whether the land is owned or leased.
- Get the full dues figure including anything pending.
- Have your lender run both an agency and a bank statement analysis to see which approval is stronger.
- If the project is non-warrantable, line up the investor before you write, because the overlap with a self-employed file narrows the field.
- Get fully underwritten, not pre-qualified.
Why bring this file to us
- We read the documents ourselves, rather than handing them to a processor and waiting.
- Broker model. An unusual file needs multiple investors, not one bank's shelf.
- The full toolkit, agency and jumbo through bank statement, asset depletion, DSCR and no-ratio non-QM.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999 and a 2025 Presidents Club Winner at CMG Home Loans. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
Send me the file before you write an offer, and I will tell you what it actually supports.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Program guidelines, eligibility requirements and documentation standards vary by investor and change over time. Rates, terms and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. Non-QM financing carries different pricing and terms than agency financing. Consult your tax advisor regarding your own situation.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
