Fannie Mae: Providing Housing to Underserved Areas

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 mandated that the Federal Housing Finance Agency develop initiatives to improve access to mortgage financing to people of modest means. They seek expanded access to manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural housing. In one of its most recent newsletters, Fannie Mae highlighted eligibility requirements for these programs. For example, to be eligible for a Duty to Serve Loan, consumers must meet the following conditions:

●????? The total annual qualifying income must be ≤ 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the property’s location. Lenders must refer to the AMIs that Fannie Mae uses in Desktop Underwriter? or their AMI lookup tool and may not rely on other published versions (such as AMIs posted on huduser.org).

●????? The property must be an owner-occupied, principal residence.

●????? The loan must be a purchase money transaction or a limited cash-out refinance transaction.