Fannie Mae announced it will make its MyCommunityMortgage product available to housing finance agencies. The product can be used to supplement mortgage revenue bond programs some housing finance agencies use to serve an increasingly diverse population of low- and moderate-income borrowers and communities.
The availability of MyCommunityMortgage for these agencies was announced Friday at the National Council of State Housing Agencies Spring Workshops in Portland, Ore.
“We’re excited that Fannie Mae is announcing MyCommunityMortgage for HFAs at our NCSHA Spring Workshops. We look forward to continuing to work with Fannie Mae on this and other new and innovative initiatives,” said NSCHA Executive Director Barbara J. Thompson.
MyCommunityMortgage can help housing finance agencies provide borrowers with more flexible terms, such as allowing a contribution as low as $500 from the borrower’s own funds, loan-to-value ratios of up to 100 percent, flexible income sources, and nontraditional credit histories, among others. The program is available through Desktop Underwriter, Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system.
The Community Solutions option of MyCommunityMortgage allows educators, police officers, firefighters, and health care workers a shorter history of part-time and overtime income when qualifying for a mortgage and a temporary interest rate buy down. The Community HomeChoice option is designed for borrowers who are disabled or have a family member who is disabled and in need of greater underwriting flexibilities. MyCommunityMortgage also offers special flexibilities in rural areas, such as allowing income limits of 115 percent of the area median income versus the 100 percent area median income typically allowed in other areas.
“As housing finance agencies develop strategies to extend their reach to more first-time home buyers, many are discovering that penetrating minority, new immigrant, and other underserved markets is a core element of future growth and business success,” said Julie Gould, vice president of community lending at Fannie Mae. “Fannie Mae looks forward to partnering with housing finance agencies to make MyCommunityMortgage available in their region.”
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