Fannie Mae FAQs.
Are you in the market for a home in Texas? If so, you may be familiar with Fannie Mae – the financial giant that helps Americans secure mortgages. To better understand their policies and programs, we’ve compiled the following Q&A to help you make an informed decision.
What is Fannie Mae?
Fannie Mae (or the Federal National Mortgage Association) is a government-sponsored enterprise created by Congress to provide liquidity to the mortgage market. They purchase loans from lenders, bundle them into mortgage-backed securities, and then sell them on the secondary market. This allows lenders to free up capital and offer more loan options to potential buyers.
What Programs Does Fannie Mae Offer?
Fannie Mae offers a range of programs designed to make homeownership more accessible. Examples include mortgage relief programs, lower down payment options, home renovation assistance, and special incentives for first-time homebuyers.
How Do I Qualify For a Fannie Mae Loan?
To qualify for a Fannie Mae loan, you must meet certain criteria, such as being a legal resident of the US, having a good credit history, and having enough income to cover your monthly payments. You also must have a clear title to the property you wish to purchase, meaning no other entity is interested in it.
What Benefits Does Fannie Mae Provide?
Fannie Mae offers several benefits to borrowers that can make acquiring a mortgage much easier. These include lower down payments, flexible repayment terms, access to grants and other incentives, and streamlined approval processes. In addition, many of their loans are backed by the U.S. government, meaning they often offer additional benefits such as lower interest rates and relaxed eligibility criteria.
What Are the Risks of Taking Out a Fannie Mae Loan?
Although Fannie Mae provides numerous benefits to borrowers, some risks are associated with taking out a loan through this lender. For instance, if you don’t make your payments on time or fall behind on your mortgage, the government could place a lien on your home or take other action. Additionally, since the U.S. government backs this lender if they default on a loan, taxpayers may be forced to foot the bill.
What is the Community Home Buyers program?
The Community Home Buyers loan program is sponsored by the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly called Fannie Mae, and administered through participating direct lenders.
Fannie Mae’s Community Home Buyers program has an income cap of 120 percent of the area’s median income. In addition, the borrower must attend a seminar on home ownership and the home-buying process.
Unlike many other low-down-payment programs, it is not geared only toward first-time home buyers.
This loan program allows for 97 percent financing. The borrower may put down as little as 3 percent of his or her own money, with the remaining 2 percent coming as a family gift or loan from a government or nonprofit agency.
For more information, call Fannie Mae at (800)732-6643.
How can Fannie Mae help a home buyer?
Fannie Mae’s Community Home Buyers Program allows first-time buyers with little cash to obtain 95 percent financing. Participants may put down as little as 3 percent of their own money, with the remainder permitted as a gift from family members, a government program, or a nonprofit agency. Mortgage insurance is required on all loans above 80 percent loan-to-value ratio when borrowers do not use their own funds for at least 5 percent down.
The program is administered through participating lenders. There are income limits in different states. However, the income restriction is waived when borrowers participate in the Fannie Neighbors program. Fannie Neighbors also has lower income requirements for borrowers who want to buy in designated central cities.
People who borrow in either of these programs must attend a seminar on home ownership and the home-buying process.
For a list of participating lenders, call Fannie Mae at (800) 732-6643.
Who is Fannie Mae?
Fannie Mae is a congressionally chartered secondary-mortgage market company that buys loans from private lenders. Because the firm is so big and has been involved in purchasing packages of loans from lenders for 25 years, it has an enormous influence on the mortgage market. For more information, call Fannie Mae at (800) 732-6643.
Are there Fannie Mae programs for inner cities?
Home buyers in urban neighborhoods can use the secondary mortgage market institution’s Fannie Neighbors Program.
This mortgage plan was created to increase homeownership and promote revitalization in central cities and minority low and moderate-income areas. Borrowers need less income to qualify for a mortgage and less cash for closing than standard mortgages. The program includes mortgages to buy or refinance a home.
Fannie Neighbors has no income limit for residents purchasing a home within designated central cities (if not the largest city in a metropolitan area, cities must have populations of 250,000 or more.) Borrowers must attend a seminar on home ownership and the home-buying process. For a list of participating lenders, call Fannie Mae at (800) 732-6643.
What is Fannie Mae’s low-down program?
Fannie Mae is expanding the availability of low-down-payment loans to help more people nationwide qualify for a mortgage.
Two new programs will help potential buyers overcome the most common obstacles to home ownership, low savings, and a modest income.
To address many first-time buyers’ struggles to save the down payment, Fannie Mae developed Fannie 97. The program provides 97 percent financing on a fixed-rate mortgage with a 25- or 30-year loan term through Fannie Mae’s Community Home Buyers Program.
Fannie Mae’s new Start-Up Mortgage will assist buyers with a 5 percent down payment at any income level. Yet applicants do not need as much income to qualify and less cash for closing than with traditional mortgages. Borrowers will receive a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a first-year monthly payment lower than the standard fixed-rate loan.
Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae’s counterpart, also offers low-down-payment loan programs.
