We’re adding spicy new features and advanced capabilities to Loan Selling Advisor® this fall. In today’s rapidly evolving market, these innovative technology solutions can streamline your business, so you can sell and deliver more loans. Check out what’s new and coming.

NOW LIVE

Pricing & Committing APIs Now Available

In today’s digital environment, efficiency is key. Application programming interfaces (APIs) help you innovate your business processes whether you sell for cash or sell for securities. Our Selling APIs simplify your pricing and committing processes, so you can focus on your best execution.

Today we are announcing the addition of four new APIs that will help you do just that:

  • Cash Pricing
  • Guarantor Pricing
  • Cash Committing
  • Guarantor Committing

With the introduction of these new APIs, we’re also announcing that, effective January 1, 2023, Freddie Mac will no longer support users that leverage robotic process automation scripts, bots or other screen scraping technologies to access and download data in Loan Selling Advisor. With the increased focus on the security of our infrastructure, and with our introduction of multi-factor authentication earlier this summer for all Freddie Mac Loan Advisor® tools, we’re advising clients to stop these processes and instead leverage one of our selling APIs.

There’s lots of value here for you! Using an API instead of a bot helps to:

  • take the uncertainty out of having to test and update your scripts when screen changes, meant to improve the human user experience, are introduced
  • eliminate clunky user authentication obstacles
  • increase security through a seamless data exchange from one system to another

Do you already work with one of our Freddie Mac approved third-party technology partners to support your pricing and committing processes? If so, they may already be integrating with one of our new selling APIs to deliver value through your existing interface. Contact your technology partner to find out.

Want to learn more? Check out the APIs in our Developer Portal.

  • If you already have access to our Developer Portal, you can contact your Freddie Mac representative for more details on the interactive “try it out” features.
  • You can also log in and view the selling APIs available in the API catalog and download available documentation.
  • If you do not have access to our Developer Portal, please contact your Freddie Mac representative or start here.

COMING SOON

ULDD4a Test Environment Updates and Verification Reminders

Upcoming Test Environment Maintenance – Save Your Custom Data

On Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13, we will be upgrading our ULDD 4a pre-production UAT client test environment (CTE). During this time, some Loan Selling Advisor functions will be unavailable, and the system may be down.

As a result of the upgrade, loan data will be deleted, and you will need to re-import loans or re-create custom exports, beginning Monday, November 14.

If you want to preserve your custom loan data for use after the upgrade, you must take the following actions by Thursday, November 10, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time:

  1. Stop importing new loan data.
  2. Export any custom loan data you’ve already created.
  3. Print your “Preview Dataset Specification” to capture custom exports.

The above actions are NOT required, and you may simply reimport our pre-existing sample loans to continue testing after the upgrade.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause; however, after this maintenance period, our ULDD 4a CTE will reflect the latest Loan Selling Advisor code baseline to ensure your optimal testing experience.

All Transition Periods Open for Testing and Verification

Effective September 26, 2022, Loan Selling Advisor was updated and now contains all ULDD Phase 4a Transition Period 1 and 2 data points. If you’re ready to begin delivering these new data points and valid values, we encourage you to reach out to your rep for access to our testing environment. Reach out to your Freddie Mac representative for more information and to get access to the test environment.

The Optional Delivery Transition Period is now open and will continue through May 19, 2023. During the Optional Delivery Transition period, you may deliver Phase 3 data or the new Phase 4a data points, but do not deliver both.

Access our updated Prepare for ULDD Phase 4a Conversion job aid to learn more.

You must comply with the ULDD Phase 4a requirements for mortgages with Application Received Dates on or after January 1, 2023, and delivery dates beginning on May 22, 2023. To support the delivery mandate, third-party technology partners should complete verification testing by December 31, 2022.  Please contact your verified software partner or ULDD provider for readiness.

Updates to Credit Fees

Under the direction of the FHFA, Freddie Mac is eliminating upfront fees for certain borrowers and affordable mortgage products (effective for settlement dates on or after December 1, 2022), while implementing targeted changes to the upfront fees for most cash-out refinance loans (effective for settlement dates on or after February 1, 2023).

We issued Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2022-22  and updated Exhibit 19, Credit Fees  to reflect these changes. Updates to Loan Selling Advisor, including the Guarantor Rate Sheet Results screen, will be made to reflect these changes.

Additional Guide provisions, including Exhibit 34, will be updated with a future Guide Bulletin. Sellers with negotiated provisions impacted by this change will be notified separately.

Enhancements to Cash Settlement Purchase Statement API

In August 2022, we introduced a new API – Cash Settlement Purchase Statement. Our work didn’t stop then. We’ve been busy refining the API to deliver even more value. In December, we’ll upgrade to a new version with enhancements you asked for, like optional metadata to track your own software version and improved error messages that help you know when data is unavailable for a request.

There’s never been a better time to stop manually exporting large amounts of data; it’s time to start supporting your post funding reconciliation processes, and replacing manual tasks with fast, easy access to cash purchase statement data, including funding details and loan-level credit fees.

Want to learn more? Check out the Developer Portal today and learn how easy it is to build to and use this API.

Get Cash-Specified Pricing for Best Efforts Rate Sheets and Commitments

We’re excited to announce that beginning December 5, Freddie Mac is enhancing its best efforts cash pricing and contracting processes in Loan Selling Advisor and the Cash Pricing API.

We’ll start offering cash-specified payup pricing on all eligible fixed-rate best efforts loans with Low Loan Balance (LLB) characteristics.

Just like mandatory contracts, to take advantage of the best efforts payup, you must:

  • Identify the Cash Specified Pool Type when you take out a best efforts contract.
  • Deliver eligible loans into 15-, 20- or 30-year fixed-rate contracts.  With these changes, you receive payup pricing in the all-in product level price when you run a rate sheet.

All fixed-rate mortgages within the best efforts contract must meet the requirements of the payup. A mortgage with an original loan amount that exceeds the Contract Amount associated with the contract’s LLB Cash Specified Pool Type cannot be delivered into the contract. Payups are eligible for the full contract period including contract extensions.

The applicable products and payup options for best efforts will be available in Loan Selling Advisor beginning December 5. Soon, we’ll update technical specifications, provide additional resources, and ensure our Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) reflects these new options.

Early Pool Disclosure and 2-Day Settlement Cycle for Guarantor

As announced in Guide Bulletin 2022-18, effective December 5, when you sell for securities, you’ll be able to publish pool data to your bond dealers up to 15 days in advance of the security settlement date instead of the standard 5-day settlement cycle for single-issue pools.

Disclosing pool data earlier in the process enables you to trade your security as soon as you’re ready. Early Pool Disclosure will be available for all Single-Issue Guarantor fixed-rate and ARM contracts, including pools subject to Early Funding.

We’re not stopping there; we’ve got even more in store for Guarantor contracts. On December 5, we’re introducing even more operational efficiencies for Sellers by allowing a 2-day Gold Rush® Settlement Cycle for Single-Issue Guarantor contracts. Sellers will need to comply with the fixed income clearing corporation notification exception process as applicable when using a 2-day Settlement Cycle.

Our Loan Selling Advisor technical specifications will be updated soon to reflect the new eligible values for Settlement Cycle Days on Single-Issue Pools.

Want to learn more? Discover the benefits, how it works, and check out a settlement cycle example. Check out these Early Disclosure learning resources:

Loan Selling Advisor Critical Edits for Total Monthly Income

We’re also reminding you of our August announcement that, effective January 3, 2023, we’ll add a new critical edit to Loan Selling Advisor to enforce the existing requirement that ULDD Data Point Total Monthly Income Amount (Sort ID 291) must equal the aggregate of ULDD Data Point Borrower Qualifying Income Amount (Sort ID 573) for all borrowers.

If you’ve delivered loans that are out of compliance with this requirement, you should submit a loan-level origination data correction request using the Post Fund Data Correction tool.

Need more help? Check out the ULDD webpage for our latest ULDD updates, technical resources and delivery requirements, or contact the Customer Support Contact Center (800-FREDDIE) and select the “Loan Delivery” option. We’re glad to guide you through it.