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

The form that lists the settlement charges the borrower must pay at closing, which the lender is obliged to provide the borrower within three business days of receiving the loan application. ...

Loan applications that are withdrawn by borrowers, because they have found a better deal or for other reasons. ...

The initial interest rate on an ARM, when it is below the fully indexed rate. ...

In general, a Down payment is a one-time payment a buyer makes to diminish the risks of the seller of expensive goods like a car, or a house. In Real Estate, the home buyer makes a down ...

The monthly index is a ratio of monthly interest costs to total funds, expressed as a percentage. Annualized interest, the numerator, is calculated by multiplying the deposit balances at ...

A fee that some lenders charge to accept an application. It may or may not cover other costs such as a property appraisal or credit report, and it may or may not be refundable if the lender ...

A very large increase in the payment on an ARM that may surprise the borrower. The term is also used to refer to a large difference between the rent being paid by a first-time home buyer ...

Standards imposed by lenders as conditions for granting loans, including maximum ratios of housing expense and total expense to income, maximum loan amounts, maximum loan-to-value ...

The amount of the original loan remaining to be paid. It is equal to the loan amount less the sum of all prior payments of principal. ...

Popular Mortgage Questions