Ginnie Mae
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.
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.
Popular Real Estate Terms
A special agent in real estate is a real estate agent hired to do a specific task or job, as opposed to a general agent, who is a real estate agent who can do any task he or she is assigned ...
Received immediately when an investment is made or contract signed. For example, a real estate limited partnership may require that an investor pay a 3% sale fee at the time of initial ...
An entrance hallway from the outside of a building. Foyers are intended as a gathering place for people either before exiting or upon entrance. ...
The definition of reversion in real estate is the return of property or assets to their original owner after a prespecified event or occurrence. This real estate term is used primarily in ...
The economic indicators that trail behind aggregate economic activity. Six lagging indicators issued by the government consisting of unemployment rate, corporate expenditures, labor cost ...
A proposal to buy property at a specified price. The seller of the property has the options of accepting the offer, rejecting it, or making a counteroffer. For example, John signs a listing ...
Legal suit in which the plaintiff sues the defendant for some reason. A counterclaim of litigation is to exercise one's legal rights. There are many causes for litigation including damages ...
Something coming before. Examples are the year before, first lien on property, and previous owner of property. ...
Group of investors pooling their money to purchase real estate. ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.