Definition of "Ginnie Mae"

Melody Smedick, Broker/Owner real estate agent

Written by

Melody Smedick, Broker/Ownerelite badge icon

Preferred Real Estate Group

Looking to understand what is Ginnie Mae? You’ve been hearing about it and knows not what it means. Let us help with the most succinct Ginnie Mae definition possible: Ginnie Mae is the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA). It’s basically the phonetic sound of the initials. Say “GNMA” quickly and you get the “Ginnie Mae” sound.

The mission of Ginnie Mae is to fund high-risk mortgages for high-risk borrowers that are typically located in areas approved for government construction projects that have no other funding sources. The government body also offers guarantee mortgages issued by others, such as commercial banks, mortgage banks, and insurers.

You can’t tell Ginnie Mae’s history without talking about Fannie Mae. Ginnie Mae is almost like a younger sister or spiritual daughter of Fannie Mae. Here’s the timeline: Fannie Mae was founded in the 1930’s as a fully government-owned company, then became a mixed-ownership company, and then, in 1968, when it came time to go full private sector, the Government thought it was important to conserve a similar federal operation, thus spawning Ginnie Mae and making it part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order to expand affordable housing finance. Ginnie Mae is the primary financing mechanism for all mortgage loans that are government-insured.

Real Estate Tips:

Don’t know if you qualify for Ginnie Mae and this whole names-galore – yes, because we didn’t even bring up the Freddie Mac definition to make it simple – is it making you confused? Reach out to a real estate agent and let him (or her!) point out the best direction for your case.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Creates a lien against the mortgagor's property, but does not permit a lien against his or her personal assets. See also non recourse. ...

Correcting depreciation by making improvements at less cost than the value added. For example, the management of an aging strip shopping center makes a decision to refurbish the windows and ...

Expected period of benefit used to depreciate business property, plant, and equipment. The guidelines may be developed by the industry or Internal Revenue Service (IRS). ...

Also called real property. Anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, walls, fences, and shrubs, as well as the rights to own or use them. It is distinguished from ...

maintenance procedures conducted to prevent later repairs and furthering a longer useful life. For example, many boilers and burners are cleaned and serviced each year before the winter ...

The portion of a structure providing the primary ground support. Foundations have a foundation wall forming a permanent below grade retaining wall. All modern foundations rely on concrete ...

Founded in 1969 and located in West Palm Beach, FL, NACORE has 3,273 members. Its members consist of anyone managing, administering and/or operating regional real estate departments for ...

The floor of a building closets to the building grade. Normally, the ground floor of a building is the first floor. A ground floor can sometimes be located between the first floor and the ...

The Principle of conformity states that conformity is achieved when all the entities or objects comply to the same standard, rules or laws. This creates a balance and stability between ...

Popular Real Estate Questions