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As Demand Increases, Housing Counselors Boost Their Skills

CreditSmart Training Workshops Held In D.C., VA, MD

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) is kicking off National Homeownership Month (June) by co-hosting training sessions for housing counselors in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia on May 30-31. The counselors are boosting their skills in the delivery of financial information and conducting Freddie Mac's signature CreditSmart® and CreditSmart® Español financial literacy classes. The counselors are from numerous local organizations including the D.C. Housing and Finance Agency, CASA de Maryland and AHOME.

Housing and credit counselors are often a consumer's first source of accurate information about money management and credit, and whom they often turn to when they can't manage their debt. The counselors assist consumers with many issues including credit, money management, consumer protection and foreclosure prevention.

"By working with housing and credit counselors, we are providing consumers with tools and techniques to navigate through the myriad financial choices they face today," said Dwight Robinson, senior vice president of Corporate Relations and Housing Outreach for Freddie Mac. "Ultimately, it is hoped that consumers will gain the knowledge to successfully manage their finances so they don't find themselves facing excessive debt that keeps them from realizing their financial goals."

Gustavo Torres, executive director, CASA de Maryland, added, "By hosting these trainings Freddie Mac is investing not only in our community but also in the organizations that serve them."

District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Harry D. Sewell said, "Often, the difference between becoming a homeowner or remaining a renter is as simple as how much an individual knows about their credit and the homeownership process," said Mr. Harry D. Sewell, Executive Director of the D.C. Housing Finance Agency. "Housing Counselors are on the front line helping to educate homebuyers who are reaching for the American dream, and they play a critical role in making sure homebuyers are on the right path. The CreditSmart workshops are excellent tools to keep housing counselors informed so they can in turn ensure homebuyers are well-informed and well-equipped to become homeowners."

The goal of the instructor-led CreditSmart workshops, conducted in English or Spanish, is to enable more families to better manage their finances and to overcome many of the key barriers to homeownership such as impaired credit, inadequate resources for down payment and lack of information about the homebuying process. The workshops also cover how to be a successful homeowner and what to do if you face financial difficulties, including paying your mortgage.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases single-family and multifamily residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible more than 50 million times, ensuring financing for one in six homebuyers and more than four million renters.

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