Skip to Page Content | Skip to Site Navigation | Skip to Section Navigation

Frequently Asked Questions about Freddie Mac

  1. What does Freddie Mac do?
  2. What is a government-sponsored enterprise?
  3. What are Freddie Mac's principal businesses?
  4. Does Freddie Mac make loans?
  5. How do I know if Freddie Mac owns my loan?
  6. How does Freddie Mac differ from Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae?
  7. Who regulates Freddie Mac?
  8. Why is Freddie Mac in conservatorship?
  9. What happens to Freddie Mac under conservatorship?
  10. How is Freddie Mac helping the housing crisis?
  11. Is Freddie Mac still focused on affordable housing?
  12. How does Freddie Mac help borrowers avoid foreclosure?
  13. What is Freddie Mac's role in the Making Home Affordable plan?
  14. Where can I find information about Freddie Mac's foreclosed properties?
  15. Where can I find information about my mortgage if it was being serviced by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker before the company closed?

  1. What does Freddie Mac do?

    Freddie Mac is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by Congress to stabilize the nation’s residential mortgage markets and expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing. Our statutory mission is to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the U.S. housing market.

  2. What is a government-sponsored enterprise?

    A government-sponsored enterprise is a shareholder-owned company created by Congress to serve a public purpose.

  3. What are Freddie Mac's principal businesses?

    Freddie Mac supports liquidity and stability in the secondary mortgage market through two principal lines of business. Our credit guarantee business purchases residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities in the secondary mortgage market, securitizes these mortgages and subsequently sells them to investors as mortgage-backed securities. We also have a portfolio investment business that purchases mortgages for our mortgage-related investments portfolio.

  4. Does Freddie Mac make loans?

    No. Freddie Mac does not make loans directly to homebuyers. After borrowers complete the closing process on their mortgage loans, Freddie Mac buys those mortgages from their approved lenders. The process of replenishing the supply of funds enables the lenders to make more mortgage loans to other borrowers.

  5. How do I know if Freddie Mac owns my loan?

    You can find out if Freddie Mac owns your loan by using our self-service look-up tool. In addition, beginning June 2009, Freddie Mac is notifying homeowners by letter if their mortgage is sold or transferred to Freddie Mac from another company. The letter is simply a notification that you can keep with your other mortgage documents – you don’t need to take any action. Please continue sending your mortgage payments to the company that services your mortgage.

  6. How does Freddie Mac differ from Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae?

    Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have substantially similar charters, Congressional mandates, and regulatory structures. Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are publicly traded corporations. Ginnie Mae is a government-owned corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that guarantees mortgage-backed securities backed by federally insured or guaranteed loans. Unlike Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae does not purchase mortgages from lenders, nor does it buy, sell, or issue securities.

  7. Who regulates Freddie Mac?

    Freddie Mac’s regulator is the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). FHFA was established in 2008 as an independent government agency responsible for oversight of the operations of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Banks. In addition, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has fair housing authority over Freddie Mac.

  8. Why is Freddie Mac in conservatorship?

    Freddie Mac was placed into conservatorship by its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in September of 2008. This step was taken to help restore confidence in the company, enhance our capacity to fulfill our mission, and mitigate the systemic risk that has contributed directly to the instability in the current market.

  9. What happens to Freddie Mac under conservatorship?

    FHFA's stated objectives during conservatorship include both restoring Freddie Mac to a sound and solvent financial condition and enhancing our capacity to fulfill our mission. In the short term, FHFA's emphasis is on ensuring Freddie Mac provides critically-needed support to the mortgage market through both growing our guarantee business and increasing our purchases of mortgage-backed securities for the mortgage-related investments portfolio. During conservatorship, FHFA has suspended our regulatory capital requirements. In addition, the U.S. Treasury is prepared to provide additional capital to Freddie Mac as needed to maintain a positive net worth through the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement.

    Internally, we are striving to make changes in the company that will enhance our competitiveness when normal market conditions return. We’re working to build a strong culture of consistent and sound credit, making investments in needed technology and improving our execution.

  10. How is Freddie Mac helping the housing crisis?

    Freddie Mac is helping the recovery of the housing market and the broader economy by making mortgage markets liquid for lenders, keeping mortgage rates stable and low for homebuyers and helping prevent foreclosures.

  11. Is Freddie Mac still focused on affordable housing?

    Absolutely. Every American deserves a decent, affordable place to live and given today’s economic environment this increasingly means rental housing. To meet that need, we continued to expand our multifamily business in 2008, helping to finance approximately 418,000 units of rental housing. In addition, we financed over 780,000 single-family homes to families with low- or moderate-income in 2008.

  12. How does Freddie Mac help borrowers avoid foreclosure?

    Freddie Mac holds 7 percent of the 2.5 million seriously delinquent loans in the U.S. and we’re dedicated to helping these borrowers stay in their homes whenever possible. In 2008, we helped approximately 88,000 families facing financial hardship to stay in their homes or sell their properties.

    We work with mortgage servicers to find feasible solutions for borrowers, primarily focused on loan modifications and workout options. A few of our recent efforts include doubling the incentives we pay to servicers on workouts; introducing the Streamlined Modification Program; and extending foreclosure timelines in 21 states to 300 days. We have also created an award-winning financial literacy curriculum to educate borrowers on how to prevent mortgage fraud and avoid foreclosure.

    Finally, in those cases where foreclosure proves unavoidable, Freddie Mac still works to keep families in their homes. We have suspended evictions triggered by foreclosures, offering qualified former owner-occupants and tenants leases so they can rent the properties on a month-to-month basis after foreclosure.

  13. What is Freddie Mac's role in the Making Home Affordable plan?

    Freddie Mac wholly supports President Obama's groundbreaking effort to stabilize our communities by helping millions of distressed homeowners obtain more affordable and sustainable mortgage terms.

    On March 4, 2009, Freddie Mac announced two new mortgage initiatives to support the Making Home Affordable plan – Freddie Mac's Relief RefinanceSM Mortgage and the implementation of the Obama Administration's new Home Affordable Modification program. These initiatives are designed to help families with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages who are delinquent, at-risk of default, or struggling to refinance because of declining property values.

    Borrowers interested in learning more about the Freddie Mac Relief Refinance Mortgage or the Home Affordable Modification program should contact their mortgage servicer. For more information about the Making Home Affordable plan go to www.makinghomeaffordable.gov. To determine if Freddie Mac owns your loan, you can ask your lender/servicer or go to www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure.

  14. Where can I find information about Freddie Mac's foreclosed properties?

    HomeSteps is the company’s real estate unit that markets a nationwide selection of Freddie Mac-owned homes. HomeSteps offers a free search and information service for homebuyers and real estate professionals.

  15. Where can I find information about my mortgage if it was being serviced by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker before the company closed?

    Freddie Mac is providing a regularly updated Q&A, Answers for Homeowners with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Loans, to help homeowners with TBW mortgages.
Back to top

© 2010 Freddie Mac

Back to Top