How Automated Underwriting Works

Getting a mortgage today is faster and easier than it has ever been. Automated underwriting has made that possible. But to many people, the mortgage loan process appears mysterious and complex.

Freddie Mac is committed to working with our lenders to help more borrowers understand the mortgage process and to improve their ability to qualify for an affordable mortgage. The information in this site addresses this commitment by providing the factors used by Loan Prospector®, Freddie Mac's automated underwriting service, along with details on how these factors are used in mortgage lending decisions.

Mortgage lenders and investors make a lending decision by looking at some basic factors: a person's capacity to repay a loan, a person's credit experience, the value of the property being financed, and the type of mortgage. Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector dramatically speeds up the mortgage lending process and reduces the cost of getting a mortgage by using statistical computer models based on traditional underwriting factors.

Loan Prospector uses statistical models based on traditional underwriting factors, and never uses factors such as a borrower's race, ethnicity, age, or any other factor prohibited by the nation's fair housing laws.