SENATOR ALLARD, FREDDIE MAC, NATIONAL, AND LOCAL GROUPS LAUNCH $25 MILLION LATINO HOMEOWNERSHIP EFFORT IN DENVER

En Su Casa Builds on Freddie Mac’s $28 Billion Investment

Denver, CO – U.S. Senator Wayne Allard today joined Freddie Mac to launch En Su Casa Denver, an innovative $25 million effort designed to lift the homeownership rate for Denver's Latino families. En Su Casa Denver has two principal objectives: reach and prepare more Latino families for homeownership through free bi-lingual borrower counseling and then, provide them with access to flexible, low-downpayment mortgages.

"En Su Casa Denver will provide more of Colorado's Hispanic families with the opportunity to realize the American Dream of Homeownership," said Senator Wayne Allard. "I applaud Freddie Mac and its partners for developing innovative programs to expand homeownership and make our communities better places to live."

"Affordable housing is vital to the economic vitality, social vibrancy, and cultural and professional diversity of our city. Freddie Mac's En Su Casa initiative to support affordable home ownership in Denver makes dreams come true for working families and builds a stronger community and economic foundation for all," said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

En Su Casa Denver brings together the counseling and outreach expertise of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Del Norte Community Development Corporation (CDC), NEWSED Development Corporation, South West Improvement Council CDC (SWIC) and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals with the financial strength of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, US Bank, Colorado State Bank and Trust, and Freddie Mac, one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages.

Homeownership within the Latino community in Denver and nationwide is much lower than the overall homeownership rate. Only 51 percent of Latino families in Denver own a home compared to a citywide average of 66 percent.

"En Su Casa Denver is designed specifically to help Latino families overcome some of the most common barriers to homeownership including the lack of bi-lingual information about buying a home, language and cultural barriers, and a lack of credit history or impaired credit history," said Chris Morris, Vice President of Affordable Lending at Freddie Mac. "We are delighted to join Senator Allard and our partners to announce this major new effort to place more Latino families on the path to homeownership."

One of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages, Freddie Mac invested more than $28 billion in mortgages for Denver area residents over the past five years, helping nearly 185,000 area families to become homeowners. En Su Casa Denver is part of a comprehensive effort called "Catch the Dream" that Freddie Mac launched last year in response to President Bush's call to add 5.5 million minority homeowners by the end of the decade.

How En Su Casa Works

En Su Casa Denver is a two-step initiative that begins with free bi-lingual borrower outreach and counseling through Del Norte CDC, SWIC CDC and NEWSED CDC. The three organizations will use Freddie Mac's CounselorMax — a powerful web-based technology tool for nonprofit counseling agencies — to make the counseling process more efficient at helping borrowers prepare for homeownership and secure affordable financing.

CounselorMax will streamline the education and counseling process and increase the number of consumers on the path to homeownership. Part of the process also includes linking prospective homebuyers to National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals' bilingual real estate agents.

CounselorMax will also enable the counselors to quickly analyze an individual's qualifications and match him or her with the most affordable loan products and services offered by Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, and Colorado State Bank and Trust.

The three participating lenders will provide En Su Casa Denver borrowers with affordable mortgage financing with flexible underwriting for qualified borrowers that includes acceptance of non-traditional credit references and other minor credit challenges. As a result, homebuyers may obtain mortgages that require as little as a $500 down payment from their own funds. Freddie Mac expects to purchase $25 million in eligible mortgages to ensure a continuous supply of mortgage funds for additional homebuyers.

Community Praise for En Su Casa Denver

Marvin Kelly, Executive Director, Del Norte Community Development Corporation, said, "Del Norte is proud to participate with Freddie Mac and the National Council of La Raza to offer home ownership opportunities to first-time low-income families, many of whom are recent immigrants. Together we can accomplish what neither can alone, namely remove the mystery of the home buying process, provide attractive affordable mortgages and fund down payment and closing costs assistance."

"En Su Casa Denver is an excellent opportunity for low and moderate-income families to obtain homeownership," said Greg Symons, CSBT Chairman and CEO. "Offering credit counseling, homebuyer education, and face-to-face support services will better prepare consumers for the advantages and opportunities of owning a home."

"En Su Casa is an outstanding program," said Valerie Copenhaver, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage's Regional Emerging Markets Manager. "The combination of Freddie Mac's financial resources plus the dedication of the participating non-profit organizations will enable Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to assist many more Hispanic families to achieve the dream of home ownership."

"U.S. Bank is thrilled to be a participant and partner in Denver's En Su Casa homeownership initiative. We are confident this program will be a driving force to achieve the highest level of Hispanic homeownership ever. U.S. Bank is proud to be a part of that," said Ed Shanks, Executive Vice President of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage.

"SWIC is very excited about this new initiative to increase homeownership within minority communities," said Jan Murray Belle, Executive Director, South West Improvement Council. "Homeownership is the best way for people to build wealth for their future."

For more information about En Su Casa Denver , contact Del Norte CDC at (303) 477-4774 for areas Northwest of Downtown; SWIC at (303) 934-2268 for areas Southwest of Downtown; and NEWSED at (303) 534-8342 for areas in and near the Santa Fe neighborhood.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation chartered by Congress in 1970 to create a continuous flow of funds to mortgage lenders. By supplying lenders with the money to make mortgages and packaging the mortgages into marketable securities, Freddie Mac sustains a stable mortgage credit system and reduces the mortgage rates paid by homebuyers. Over the years, Freddie Mac has opened the doors for one in six homebuyers in America and two million renters.

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