Introduction
This topic contains information on HomeReady mortgage loan and borrower eligibility, including:
- Overview
- General Loan Eligibility
- Maximum LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV Ratios
- Requirements for HomeReady Transactions with LTV, CLTV, or HCLTV Ratios of 95.01 – 97%
- Subordinate Financing
- Eligible Loan Types
- Temporary Buydowns
- Borrower Income Limits and Calculations
- Homeownership Education and Housing Counseling
Overview
The HomeReady mortgage is a conventional community lending mortgage that offers underwriting flexibilities to qualified borrowers who meet specific income criteria. The HomeReady mortgage is a standard product offering available to all Fannie Mae lenders. No special approvals are required.
General Loan Eligibility
A HomeReady mortgage is a first mortgage, purchase money, or limited cash-out refinance transaction for one- to four-unit properties used as the borrower’s principal residence.
Eligible properties include:
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one-unit properties, including manufactured housing, and units in condos and PUDs;
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units in co-ops, provided the unit conforms to Fannie Mae's requirements, and the lender has received specific authority to deliver mortgages on co-ops to Fannie Mae;
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existing structures and new construction; and
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two-, three-, and four-unit properties.
Additional restrictions apply to transactions with LTV, CLTV, or HCLTV ratios of 95.01 — 97%. See below for additional requirements for HomeReady mortgage transactions.
Maximum LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV Ratios
Refer to the Eligibility Matrix for maximum allowable LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV ratios for HomeReady mortgage loans. HomeReady loans that are originated in connection with manufactured homes must follow the more restrictive LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV ratios that apply. For example, the maximum LTV, CLTV, and HCLTV ratio for a one-unit HomeReady manufactured home that does not meet the MH Advantage requirements is 95%.
Requirements for HomeReady Transactions with LTV, CLTV, or HCLTV Ratios of 95.01 – 97%
If the LTV, CLTV, or HCLTV ratio exceeds 95% for a HomeReady transaction, the following requirements apply.
Criteria | Requirements |
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LTV, CLTV, or HCLTV Ratio | 95.01 to 97% |
Loan Purpose | Purchase transactions or limited cash-out refinances only. |
Existing Loan |
For limited cash-out refinances:
The lender must document that the existing loan being refinanced is owned (or securitized) by Fannie Mae. Documentation may come from
The lender must inform DU that Fannie Mae owns the existing mortgage using the Owner of Existing Mortgage field in the online loan application before submitting the loan to DU. |
Loan Type | Fixed-rate loans with terms up to 30 years. |
Property and Occupancy | One-unit principal residence. Manufactured housing is not permitted, unless the property
meets the MH Advantage requirements.
All borrowers must occupy the property unless there is a Community Seconds subordinate lien. |
Credit Score Requirements | At least one borrower on the loan must have a credit score. |
Underwriting Method | DU only |
Reserves | Reserves requirements will be determined by DU. |
Other | All other standard purchase and limited cash-out refinance and HomeReady requirements apply. |
Subordinate Financing
Subordinate financing must comply with:
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the terms for the Community Seconds option, which allow, among other provisions, a maximum combined loan-to-value of 105% (see B5-5.1-01, Community Seconds Loans through B5-5.1-03, Community Seconds: Shared Appreciation Transactions); or
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subordinate financing permitted in accordance with B2-1.2-04, Subordinate Financing.
Subordinate financing from a seller-held mortgage is not permitted with HomeReady mortgages.
Eligible Loan Types
HomeReady mortgage transactions can be secured by fixed-rate or ARM loans.
The following table identifies the ARM plans that are available for HomeReady mortgage loans.
ARM Plans Eligible for HomeReady Mortgages | ||
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30-year | Five-Year ARM | 4927 |
Seven-Year ARM | 4928 | |
Ten-Year ARM | 4929 |
Temporary Buydowns
The following requirements apply to temporary interest rate buydowns on HomeReady mortgages:
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Loans must be purchase transactions.
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Loans must be fixed-rate or seven- or ten-year ARMs.
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All other standard buydown policies apply.
See B2-1.4-04, Temporary Interest Rate Buydowns, for additional information.
Borrower Income Limits and Calculations
In determining whether a mortgage is eligible under the borrower income limits, the lender must count the income from all borrowers who will sign the note, to the extent that the income is considered in evaluating creditworthiness for the loan.
The lender must use the same methodology in determining income eligibility for a HomeReady mortgage as the lender uses in reporting “Monthly Income” in data delivery. Eligibility for a HomeReady mortgage loan compares the borrower’s income to the applicable area median income (AMI) for the property’s location. For determining Fannie Mae loan eligibility, lenders must refer to the AMIs that Fannie Mae uses in Desktop Underwriter or on Fannie Mae’s website and may not rely on other published versions (such as AMIs posted on huduser.org).
To be eligible as a HomeReady mortgage, the total annual qualifying income may not exceed 80% of the AMI for the property’s location. If the property has resale restrictions, see B5-5.2-02, Loans with Resale Restrictions: Eligibility, Collateral and Delivery Requirements, for additional requirements.
Homeownership Education and Housing Counseling
Homeownership education is required for HomeReady purchase mortgage loans when all occupying borrowers are first-time homebuyers. Refer to B2-2-06, Homeownership Education and Housing Counseling, for options for meeting this requirement.
HomeReady loans for which at least one borrower completed housing counseling as an alternative to homeownership education, evidenced by a signed Certificate of Completion of Housing Counseling (Form 1017), are eligible for certain benefits. See B5-6-02, HomeReady Mortgage Underwriting Methods and Requirements, for additional information.
Recent Related Announcements
The table below provides references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this topic.
Announcements | Issue Date |
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Announcement SEL-2022-03 | April 06, 2022 |
Announcement SEL-2020-07 | December 16, 2020 |
Announcement SEL-2020-06 | October 07, 2020 |
Announcement SEL-2020-02 | April 01, 2020 |
Announcement SEL-2020-01 | February 05, 2020 |
Announcement SEL-2019-08 | October 02, 2019 |
Announcement SEL-2019-06 | July 03, 2019 |