GSE now offers financing for energy-efficient home enhancements
Freddie Mac has launched two finance options to address the housing supply shortage and provide borrowers access to affordable homes in underserved markets.
The GSE has made CHOICEHome financing available to eligible lenders. CHOICEHome brings conventional mortgage financing to factory-built homes.
“The current housing supply shortage makes it difficult for people to find a home in many markets,” said Danny Gardner, senior vice president of affordable lending and access to credit at Freddie Mac. “However, Freddie Mac operates in all housing markets at all times, working with lenders big and small. More than 22 million families currently live in manufactured housing nationwide, and that number is expected to grow. CHOICEHome will help increase borrower access to quality, yet affordable homes in markets that have traditionally been underserved.”
However, the factory-built homes must meet certain CHOICEHome requirements in order to be granted certification and to be eligible for financing. The offering is only for factory-built homes titled as real property that is wholly owned by the borrower.
Freddie Mac has also made the GreenCHOICE Mortgage offering available to all lenders nationwide. Unlike CHOICEHome, GreenCHOICE includes broader financial options to assist households with very low, low, and moderate incomes reduce home utility costs through energy-saving home repairs and enhancements. It also allows Freddie Mac to better assess mortgage loan performance between homes with energy-efficient improvements.
“Older homes, which are predominate in many areas of the country, tend to be less energy efficient thus raising the cost of homeownership because they can be more difficult or costly to maintain,” said Mike Dawson, vice president of single-family affordable lending strategy and policy at Freddie Mac. “However, with energy-efficient home improvements, utility expenses typically decrease for the average homeowner.”
