What is Fannie Mae’s Community Home Buyer’s Program?

This is an income-based community lending model, under which mortgage insurers and Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest supplier of home mortgage funds, offer flexible underwriting guidelines to increase a low- or moderate-income family’s buying power, and to decrease the total amount of cash needed to purchase a home. Borrowers who participate in this model are required to attend prepurchase homebuyer education sessions. With this program, you can use a greater portion of your monthly income toward housing costs compared to other standard mortgage products.
The program also

• Requires a 5 percent down payment
• Does not require one month’s mortgage payment (or cash reserves) in your savings account at closing time
• Provides expanded debt-to-income ratios (you can use up to 33 percent of your gross monthly income for housing expenses each month, rather than the standard 28 percent, and 38 percent for your total monthly debt expenses, instead of the standard 36 percent To be eligible for Fannie Mae’s Community Home Buyer’s Program, you must attend a homebuyer education session offered or approved by your lender.

You can’t earn more than your area’s median income (this varies by your location), and the loan can be used to buy single-family, principal residences, including condos, planned unit developments, and manufactured housing. Learn more about Fannie Mae’s program at the group’s Web site: www.fanniemae.com.