
Home Ready 30 Year Fixed Fannie Mae
HomeReady® is our affordable, low down payment mortgage product designed for creditworthy low- to moderate-income borrowers, with expanded eligibility for financing homes in low-income communities.
Borrower benefits
- Low down payment of as little as 3% down for home purchases
- Favorable pricing that’s better than or equal to Fannie Mae’s standard loan pricing (risk-based pricing waivers for LTV ratios >80% with a credit score ≥ 680)
- Flexible sources of funds with no minimum contribution from borrower’s own funds (1-unit properties)
- Cancellable private mortgage insurance (restrictions apply) can save thousands over the life of the loan
- Reduced MI coverage requirements for LTV ratios above 90% (up to 97%)
Simple borrower income eligibility
HomeReady is available when purchasing or refinancing any single-family home, as long as the borrower meets the income limits of the property location. (Income eligibility limits may help lenders meet applicable Community Reinvestment Act goals.) The Income Eligibility Lookup tool provides lenders and other housing professionals with a quick and easy way to look up HomeReady income eligibility by address or FIPS code.
Homeownership education requirement
Knowledge is power. That’s why the HomeReady® mortgage homeownership education requirement is designed to ensure that borrowers gain the essential knowledge they need to prepare for sustainable homeownership and lenders gain informed borrowers prepared to successfully navigate the loan process.
Benefits of counseling
We believe housing counseling from a HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agency can help to expand the pool of mortgage-eligible buyers. That’s why we provide additional support for lenders when borrowers take advantage of HUD-approved homeownership advisors. Beginning December 10, 2016, the following will be available exclusively for HomeReady loans on which borrowers have received customized one-on-one assistance from a HUD-approved nonprofit counselor as evidenced a completed Form 1017:
- Lenders will receive a $500 loan-level price adjustment credit for HomeReady loans delivered with Special Feature Code 184. Note that the housing counseling provider must complete Form 1017.
- When the lender indicates in DU that the HUD-approved one-on-one assistance was completed, that information will be considered a compensating factor to allow debt-to-income ratios greater than 45%, up to 50%. NOTE: The housing counselor completes Form 1017 and certifies that the counseling occurred before the client entered into a contract to purchase a home.