Seller/Servicer Guide Refactoring FAQ

Refactoring is the process of reformatting and rewriting content to become more consumable by both humans and machines. 

• For humans, it enhances the digital reading experience improving use and searchability of information.
• For machines, it facilitates search engine optimization.

Freddie Mac is undertaking the first steps in modernizing our Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide), starting with refactoring Guide content to align with the new Guide standards, making it to easier to search and use.

During this process, most Guide chapters will be refactored without any policy changes. However, when new policy changes are made, the chapter that contains those changes will be refactored to align with the new standards. All refactored chapters and sections will be announced in Guide Bulletins whether there is a change to policy or not.

We’ll be refactoring the full Guide over time, announcing the publication of newly refactored chapters each month in the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletins until every section has been refactored.

We’ll be prioritizing chapter updates based on the volume of questions received by the Customer Support Contact Center (800-FREDDIE) and questions Quality Control has highlighted from their loan reviews. We’ll balance the number of refactored chapters published each month with the volume of other updates in each Bulletin as this will help ensure Seller/Servicers are not unduly burdened by too many changes at one time.

Most refactored chapters will be published without changes to requirements. However, as requirements updates are made to the Guide, they’ll be written to conform with the new format, and it is possible to see formatting changes accompanying changes to requirements.

In cases where a refactored chapter is published with updated requirements, the Guide Bulletin will make clear what changes were made.

Freddie Mac will announce the changes made in the refactored chapters published in each Guide Bulletin. Seller/Servicers will be able to follow their existing intake procedures for processing Guide changes.

Because refactoring can include rewriting and reorganizing content, it can impact existing bookmarks. Seller/Servicers are advised to check their bookmarks to determine their viability as chapters are refactored.

Reorganizing content to the new standard will allow us to reduce the amount of duplication and looping cross-references that are pain points in the current Guide structure. As we work to solve these issues, Seller/Servicers should be aware that information may move from one section to another, and links could be relocated or removed entirely.

Changes in AllRegs will match the changes in Guide.FreddieMac.com. The changes will be captured in the files that AllRegs uses and displays. Note: Green font will only be included in AllRegs for refactored chapters when a change to policy was made.

When there is an impact identified as a result of refactoring a Guide chapter, the LPA message will be updated as soon as possible, and those updates will be communicated to Sellers in an LPA feedback message matrix.

Contact your Freddie Mac representative or the Customer Support Contact Center (800-FREDDIE) with any questions or concerns.