Fannie Mae is a mortgage investor, but they have programs that are intended to help everyone from home buyers to current homeowners and even renters.
HomeReady®
Available for both first-time and repeat home buyers, the HomeReady® program allows you to buy a home, refinance to lower your rate and/or change your loan term with as little as 3% down or in existing equity.
Because it’s intended to help clients with low-to-moderate incomes, those on the loan can’t make more than 80% of the area median income between them. Fannie Mae does have an option to have 3% down without income limits, but at least one client must be a first-time home buyer.
HomePath® is the site where Fannie Mae features foreclosures that it’s taken possession of to resell, also known as real estate owned (or REO) properties. You have to know what you’re getting into when buying a foreclosed property because they’re typically sold as is and they often require some work. However, you may be able to get a good deal.
Additionally, first-time home buyers who choose a Fannie Mae-owned property can spend as little as 3% down and get up to 3% back in closing-cost assistance in the form of seller concessions from Fannie Mae through the company’s HomePath Ready Buyer™ program. You’ll also have to take a homeownership education course that costs $75. This cost can be reimbursed as part of your closing assistance.
97% LTV Program
The 97% LTV program allows home buyers to put as little as 3% down on a home, resulting in a loan-to-value ratio of 97%. These loan options are available to first-time home buyers and those refinancing a Fannie Mae loan. Requirements for income limits and home buyer education must be met in order to qualify.
The RefiNow™ program offers options for homeowners who have experienced difficulty qualifying for a refinance to lower their mortgage payments in the past. RefiNow™ has looser requirements around DTI and home equity, which serves homeowners who meet certain low-income thresholds.
Eligible homeowners for the RefiNow™ program need to see at least a 0.5% reduction in their interest rate and their overall mortgage payment has to decrease. There are other benefits of the RefiNow™ program, including that those who qualify will receive a $500 credit toward a home appraisal, if the appraisal is mandatory.
It's important to note that when qualifying for RefiNow™, the lowest median credit score is used for qualifying even when there are multiple clients on the loan. The lowest median FICO® Score among all borrowers on the loan can't be lower than 580.
HFA Preferred™
HFA Preferred™ is an affordable lending product that Fannie Mae issues in conjunction with Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs). These loans feature flexible underwriting requirements such as LTV ratios of up to 97%, borrower income limits set by the HFA and reduced mortgage insurance coverage for those at or below 80% area median income.
Mortgage Help Network
If for any reason you’re struggling with your monthly mortgage payment, homeowners with Fannie Mae-owned loans can utilize the Mortgage Help Network. This program allows homeowners to work with a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing counselor in order to go over the situation, look at options and serve as a liaison between homeowners and a mortgage servicer.
If you’re a Rocket Mortgage client who’s having or may soon be having payment trouble, please feel free to reach out to us by filling out our Application for Success. We’re here to help!
Tenant-In-Place Rental Program
If you’re a tenant in a Fannie Mae-owned property that’s currently being foreclosed upon, you may be able to continue renting at current market rates with the Tenant-In-Place program.
In certain cases, you may be able to keep your current lease. In others, you may be given the option to sign a new lease agreement. Fannie Mae offers include month-to-month leases as well as those that are good for a specific term.
Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association or FNMA) is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) established in 1938 to expand the liquidity of home mortgages by creating a secondary mortgage market. Fannie Mae always ranks in the top 25 U.S. corporations by total revenue.
Fannie Mae guidelines require a search of your property's title history to ensure it's free of any ownership claims from previous owners or any judgments or liens, such as unpaid property taxes. Title insurance is required to cover the sales price on a purchase or the loan amount on any Fannie Mae refinance loan.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created by Congress. They perform an important role in the nation's housing finance system – to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the mortgage market.
Also known as a “conforming” loan, a conventional mortgage loan is any type of home loan that is guaranteed by a private lender or a government-sponsored enterprise like Fannie Mae. These loans are best for borrowers with good credit and an adequate down payment, which could be as little as 3% of the purchase price.
Fannie Mae, officially the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), is a government-sponsored enterprise that maintains liquidity in the mortgage market by buying loans from banks and mortgage companies.
With loans from either Fannie Mae or its competitor Freddie Mac, you'll need a qualifying FICO® Score of at least 620. If you're an individual borrower, your qualifying score is the median between the three major credit bureaus – Experian™, Equifax® and TransUnion®.
While both are better known by their nicknames, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have more official titles: Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and Freddie Mac is the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FMCC).
Fannie Mae purchases mortgages from lending institutions in an effort to increase affordable lending activity at those institutions. Fannie Mae is not a federal agency. It is a government-sponsored enterprise under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Fannie Mae issues a wide variety of debt securities across the yield curve on predefined issuance dates as well as through the reverse inquiry process. This flexibility in our debt issuance provides an abundance of investment opportunities for investors.
Bringing Wall Street to Main Street. In the 1968 Housing and Urban Development Act, Fannie Mae became a private shareholder-owned corporation chartered by the U.S. Congress. After being removed from the federal budget, Fannie Mae funded its operations through stock and bond markets.
We serve homebuyers, homeowners, and renters by creating solutions that expand equitable access to affordable housing. As a resource for homeowners and renters, we also provide reliable information to educate and empower you in your housing decisions.
Fannie Mae buys loans from lenders, replenishing the lenders' funds so they can provide new mortgages for more homebuyers. Your mortgage servicer — the company that you send your monthly payments to — and your loan terms remain the same when we purchase your loan.
Conventional loan requirements vary by lender. But most conventional loans must meet the guidelines Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set. These include: Minimum credit score requirement of 620.
Fannie Mae also earns a significant portion of its income from guaranty fees it receives as compensation for assuming the credit risk on mortgage loans underlying its single-family Fannie Mae MBS and on the single-family mortgage loans held in its retained portfolio.
Fannie Mae is happy to buy mortgages from lenders — but not every mortgage. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be able to re-sell loans, they need to be considered safe investments. That means each mortgage must meet certain requirements or “guidelines.” Fannie Mae guidelines run more than 1,200 pages.
Fannie Mae sometimes takes control of these properties through a deal called a “deed in lieu.” During a deed in lieu transfer, the homeowner willingly gives up control of the property; this means that the foreclosed homes available through HomePath could be in much better condition than homes that were involuntarily ...
All loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are typically conventional loans, which are not insured by the government. Though they are referred to as “conventional” or “conforming” loans, there are differences in the companies' guidelines.
In general, Fannie Mae tends to buy loans from larger commercial banks and lenders. Freddie Mac usually buys loans from smaller banks or credit unions.
Fannie Mae buys loans from lenders, replenishing the lenders' funds so they can provide new mortgages for more homebuyers. Your mortgage servicer — the company that you send your monthly payments to — and your loan terms remain the same when we purchase your loan.
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