Definition of "Freddie Mac"

Joseph  McCarthy real estate agent

Written by

Joseph McCarthyelite badge icon

August Associates, LLC

Someone recommended you should reach out to Freddie Mac and you came here looking for him. No, he's not a registered real estate agent at The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory ®. Not a cousin to the late Bernie Mac either. Freddie Mac is more like Fannie Mae’s younger friend that helps but also disturbs. But plot twist: Freddie Mac is not actually a person! So let’s give the correct Freddie Mac definition and get this done with:

Freddie Mac is the way people commonly call the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), a company created to expand the second mortgage market in the US. Here’s the deal: with the success of Fannie Mae restoring the housing market after the Great Depression, it became a private corporation that needed some competition. To provide that, the US Congress created through the Emergency Home Finance act of 1970 this federally chartered corporation called Freddie Mac to buy pools of mortgages from lenders and sell securities bonds backed by these mortgages.

Freddie Mac's business model is basically keeping a fee in exchange for assuming the credit risk from investors. They don’t directly lend to borrowers; they buy specific loans allowing lenders to have space and money to lend to more clients, thus pushing for more housing development. So, as you can see, that Freddie Mac is one slick guy. He guarantees that the principal and the interest loan are paid regardless if the borrower actually pays.

 

Real Estate Advice:

If you can’t figure out which will give the best solution to your problem, check out the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae definition or contact a local real estate agent to look out for this one on your behalf!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Mortgage Terms

Prices that assume a more or less standardized set of transaction characteristics that generally command the lowest prices. Generic prices are distinguished from transaction specific ...

The interest rate that is fixed for some specified number of months or years at the beginning of the life of an ARM. ...

During the great depression of the 1930s, the government stepped in and came with an innovative loan to help the banking industry recover, thus putting the whole economy back on track. FHA ...

Requirements stipulated by the lender that the ratio of housing expense to borrower income and the ratio of housing expense plus other debt service to borrower income cannot exceed ...

Same as term Interest Rate: The rate charged the borrower each period for the loan of money, by custom quoted on an annual basis. A mortgage interest rate is a rate on a loan secured by a ...

A reduction in the mortgage payment made by a homebuyer in the early years of the loan in exchange for an upfront cash deposit provided by the buyer, the seller, or both. How Temporary ...

Inserting provisions into a loan contract that severely disadvantage the borrower, without the borrowers knowledge, and sometimes despite oral assurances to the contrary. Prepayment ...

A mortgage broker who sets a fee for services, in writing, at the outset of the transaction and acts as the borrower's agent in shopping for the best deal. Customers of UMBs pay the ...

The interest rate used to calculate the mortgage payment. The interest rate and the payment rate are often the same, but they need not be. They must be the same if the payment is fully ...

Popular Mortgage Questions