For Sellers, working with borrowers to offer affordable homeownership solutions is a rewarding challenge. To honor their demonstrated dedication to helping homeowners overcome affordability challenges and make home possible, Freddie Mac created the Home Possible RISE Awards® program.

Winners are selected based on the volume of loan deliveries to Freddie Mac for both Home Possible® and HFA Advantage® mortgage originations for the calendar year. As 2024 draws to a close, there’s still time to drive your performance and help position your company to receive an award in 2025.

David Gates, Chief Operating Officer, Premium Mortgage Corporation (2024 RISE Winner): “Our partnership with Freddie Mac has afforded us the opportunity to expand our outreach utilizing both Home Possible® and HFA Advantage® mortgage offerings. We remain steadfast in our commitment and look forward to working closely with Freddie Mac in assisting borrowers navigate through today’s affordability challenges.”

Three ways to position yourself as a Freddie Mac RISE winner in 2025:

1.

Make every affordable opportunity count.

It’s important to understand your borrower’s challenges and how Freddie Mac’s offerings can alleviate their barriers. Your borrower may be on track to achieve homeownership but needs a little help getting to the finish line.

Low down payment mortgage solutions can open more doors for first-time and repeat homebuyers.

The Home Possible® mortgage can help your low-income borrowers reach their homeownership goals and save money. Benefits for eligible borrowers include:

  • Savings with credit fee caps.
  • Reduced mortgage insurance and cancellation once 20% equity is reached.
  • $2,500 credit for very low-income purchase (VLIP) borrowers.
  • Down payment as low as 3%.

The HFA Advantage® mortgage can help your low-income borrowers reach their homeownership goals and save money. Benefits for eligible borrowers include:

  • Flexible funding options for down payment and closing costs.
  • Available for 1- to 4-unit primary residences.
  • Eligible with manufactured homes.
  • Non-occupying borrowers allowed.

Down payment funds continue to be a leading challenge for prospective homeowners.

Don’t let this barrier stop your borrowers from advancing in their home purchase journey. With Freddie Mac’s DPA One®, housing professionals have a centralized online resource to search for and find down payment options for eligible borrowers. With nearly 800 available DPA programs in one platform, more than 6,500 loan officers across the country have used DPA One to save time, build trust with clients, drive efficiency and build their book of business.

2.

Take action with technology.

We’ve put the technology in your hands to uncover more opportunities for your borrowers. Loan Product Advisor® (LPASM) has specific feedback messaging to identify Home Possible eligibility – even when you didn’t select the mortgage program identifier. LPA feedback messages help create a clear path to qualify more borrowers.

And now with LPA ChoiceSM, you don’t have to let a Caution risk class in LPA stop you from advancing your client to the next step. LPA Choice feedback messages provide actionable insights into what is causing certain loans to receive a Caution. If you can provide the information identified in the messages and resubmit to LPA, it may help the loan meet established underwriting guidelines for purchase and turn into an Accept.

Overall, LPA can help you reduce costs and cycle time, increase incremental yearly income and offer a better borrower experience. Download our 2024 Cost to Originate Study to get the details.

3.

Use your resources.

Don’t forget to engage with your designated account team to discuss your loan volume status. The key is being proactive. Every month counts. Additional resources may be found on our Single-Family website.