New Program by Freddie Mac Makes Housing More Affordable

Freddie Mac has a new program now available to help assist members financially with their home purchase. The Freddie Mac BorrowSmart^SM program provides down payment and/or closing cost assistance for members who meet income and location requirements and participate in homebuyer counseling. By partnering with CU Members Mortgage, Credit Unions have the opportunity to offer this specific program assisting members who are struggling with funds to purchase a home.

How the program works

The Freddie Mac BorrowSmart^SM program provides assistance for income and location qualified borrowers who complete homebuyer counseling through a HUD-approved counseling provider affiliated with the Homeownership Preservation Foundation network.  The assistance is based on a tri-tiered level of income qualifications for those in qualified areas:

• Very Low- Income Purchase (VLIP)
  • Borrower(s) whose qualifying income is less than or equal to 50% of county area median income can qualify for $1,500.
• Low-Income Purchase (LIP)
  • Borrower(s) whose qualifying income is greater than 50% and less than or equal to 80% of county area median income can qualify for $1,000.
• Moderate-Income Purchase (MIP)
  • Borrower(s) whose qualifying income is greater than 80% and less than or equal to 100% of county area median income can qualify for $1,000. Additional property eligibility requirements apply.

Location qualifications are based on census rural tracts and can be found on the Freddie Mac BorrowSmart^SM website (Only available to CU Members loan officers and staff).

Member Benefits

Qualified members receive financial assistance to help them buy their home and these funds can be used in conjunction with other down payment assistance programs. The homebuyer counseling will prepare the borrower for long-term sustainable homeownership and will incur a $99 fee.

Why offer this program?

On top of the assistance for the member, it also has some great benefits for your Credit Union too. It improves the likelihood that members will become qualified to buy a home and it improves closing success rates.

CU Members Mortgage was specifically selected by Freddie Mac to be the first to offer this program to Credit Unions. They know our commitment to the Credit Union community and desire to make lending more affordable.

Contact your Executive Sales Consultant today to learn more about this program and our commitment to help Credit Unions grow homeownership the communities they serve.