Recent Fannie Mae Changes

There were some big changes that came from Fannie Mae mid-December 2015 that signaled a further loosening in the mortgage guidelines. Some of the bigger changes are:

• They now allow for non-occupant co-borrowers to help an owner occupant qualify. This now matches Freddie Mac and FHA.
• An owner occupant can go to a 95% Loan-To-Value/Combined Loan-To-Value on high balance loans to purchase a home. In high cost areas where you formerly could borrow up to $625,500 with a minimum down payment of 10% down. Now, you no longer need a 10% down payment and you can go 5% down. Formerly you were limited to a $417,000 loan amount with a 5% down payment. This means that you can now go to a purchase of $658,421 with as little as a 5% down payment on a conventional loan. Or you could get a $625,500 1^st trust mortgage (80% of the sales price) and a $125,000 (15% of the sales price) where available. With a 5% down payment this would yield a $781,875 sales price.
• They have eliminated the 5% borrower contribution on high balance loans. You used to be required to have 5% of the purchase price of your own cash into the transaction.
• Cash out refinance loans are now allowed to 80% loan-to-value on high balance loans to $625,500 in high-cost areas. They were formerly limited to a 60% loan-to-value. Limited cash out refinance loans up to 95% loan-to-value are also allowed. They were formally limited to 90% loan-to-value. Limited cash out means you refinance the balance you owe, and you can also finance the closings costs and up to a small amount extra.

These changes are important because they signal that Fannie Mae is loosening up their formerly rigid posture on underwriting guidelines.

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