FREDDIE MAC, CITIMORTGAGE BRING GET THE FACTS! HOMEOWNERSHIP CAMPAIGN TO 14 NORWALK CHURCHES

Norwalk, CT – Freddie Mac, (NYSE: FRE), CitiMortgage and the City of Norwalk announce a first-time homebuyer campaign in conjunction with M.C. Vision Ministries and 14 local churches comprised of 8,000 African American and Hispanic congregants in the Norwalk area. The educational initiative involves community outreach, homebuying tips, and free Get the Facts! homebuyer workshops in English and Spanish designed to break down barriers of misinformation that keep many individuals from pursuing homeownership.

Sixteen Get the Facts! workshops will be held throughout the year at participating churches: Bethel AME Church of Norwalk, Calvary Baptist Church, Canaan Institutional Baptist Church, Community Baptist Church, Good News Missionary Baptist Church, Grace Baptist Church, Holy Temple COGIC, Macedonia Church, Miracle Temple COGIC, Mount Zion Baptist Church, New Jerusalem Baptist Church, New Light Missionary Baptist Church, Norwalk United Methodist Church and Saint James Missionary Baptist Church. In addition, the Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention and the Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship of Norwalk also are participating in the initiative.

“By taking advantage of homebuyer education and utilizing responsible mortgage products, new borrowers will be better prepared to thrive as successful homeowners and avoid foreclosure,” said Lynn Alley, Freddie Mac director. “The workshops are a great opportunity for families to learn the financial facts of homeownership from an organization they trust – their church.”

Through the Freddie Mac-created Get the Facts! workshops, participants are provided with straightforward information and advice about all aspects of homeownership, including costs associated with homebuying and credit history requirements. Participants are encouraged to ask questions as workshop facilitators help them separate fact from fiction. By the end of each workshop, it is hoped that participants will feel empowered, with a sense that they might be able to achieve the dream of homeownership. Representatives from CitiMortgage will participate in the workshops, explain how to qualify for a mortgage, take mortgage loan applications for families who are ready to purchase a home, and issue pre-approval letters to qualified participants.

CitiMortgage offers flexible mortgage financing for eligible borrowers who have completed the workshop, and Freddie Mac will then buy eligible loans from CitiMortgage.

“Citi has been an industry leader in providing financing for affordable housing across the country,” said Terri J. Fowlkes, Director of Strategic Markets, CitiMortgage. “We’re looking forward to working with these outstanding faith-based organizations to help consumers understand how and why to purchase a home. Our loan consultants are experts in this field, and they are excited about being in this homeownership initiative.”

Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia adds, “I would like to thank CitiMortage, Freddie Mac and M.C. Vision Ministries and our local churches for sponsoring this program. Homeownership is a goal that all our citizens strive for and this education forum will assist them in reaching that goal, As the Chinese philosopher Confucius stated ‘The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its homes.’”

For more information about attending a Get the Facts! workshop, contact M.C. Vision Ministries and the Connecticut H.O.M.E. Partnership at 203-502-7632. The next workshops are Thurs., July 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Norwalk United Methodist Church; and Sat., July 19 at 9:30 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church in Norwalk.

Additional Quotes

Pastor Carl McCluster, M.C. Vision Ministries: “Given the singular importance of homeownership as a wealth building tool for most Americans, Get the Facts! stands alone amongst efforts to provide meaningful vehicles for attaining the means to experience God’s fruitfulness and provide inheritance for our children and our children’s children. This initiative between faith-based organizations, Freddie Mac, CitiMortgage and the community is a model of public, private and non-profit collaboration that is truly worthy of emulation throughout the state, region and nation.”

Reverend Boise Kimber, President Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention: “Get The Facts! Norwalk is a program that enables faith-based organizations, clergy, and churches to effectively intervene and support those in the community and our congregations who are in search of affordable lending and financial literacy, as well as those who have been affected by this foreclosure crisis. We want to keep families in their homes and provide a way for them to be educated in the process of homeownership. Let’s work together to get the job done. By Faith all things are possible!”

Reverend Roosevelt Ewell, President Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship: “Churches, their leaders and volunteers fight in the trenches daily seeking deliverance and impairment for our communities. Get the Facts! Norwalk brings out the best in all of us--the ability to work together to achieve measurable results in peoples lives.”

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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