Battery Park City is home to some of the most impressive new condominiums in Manhattan. You probably already know this. The condominiums for sale in Battery Park City are also some of the greenest condos for sale in Manhattan. You may already know that, too. But something you might not know -- and which the New Construction Manhattan blog didn't know, either -- is that the condominiums for sale in Battery Park City are also kinda-sorta rentals. It's complicated, but condo buyers in Battery Park City are paying not just for those LEED-certified condos, but for the land on which those condos sit. No, not in a location-location-location sense. More in a "ground lease" sense. Again, it's complicated. But with ground leases set to spike in 2011, it has suddenly become difficult to buy a condominium in Battery Park City.

The current real estate market is all the more frustrating for how tantalizing it is -- the market for new condominiums and apartments in Manhattan (and elsewhere) is full of great deals, but the still-struggling credit market has made it harder than ever to get financing for condominium purchases. New guidelines issued by the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae clear things up somewhat, though, and are good news for home buyers in New York -- very friendly financing and government-backed loans are available for those buying condos in FHA-approved developments. The question, then, is this: what makes a Fannie Mae/FHA-approved condo project an FHA-approved condo project?