Freddie Mac announced new, standardized mortgage documents that increase clarity, consistency and accessibility of down payment assistance (DPA) programs nationwide. These documents can be used by lenders working with housing finance agencies (HFAs) at the state, city, county and local levels to eliminate confusion and misinterpretation of DPA programs. Currently, these forms vary greatly. Historically, subordinate lien documents for various DPA programs have been HFA-specific and worded differently, leaving room for confusion when interpreting terms and payment plans.

Through standardization, Freddie Mac is helping to bring efficiency to the loan manufacturing process, creating time and cost saving opportunities across the industry. This greater visibility will also help increase the number of lenders interested in participating in DPA programs as well as the number of individuals and families able to access them. To construct the standardized subordinate lien documents, Freddie Mac partnered with Fannie Mae and state HFAs as co-creators and early adopters.

By the end of this year, standardized lien documents will be available for at least nineteen states followed by the remaining states and the District of Columbia. The effort is part of Freddie Mac?s multipronged approach to create more standardization and awareness around down payment assistance programs. Last month, Freddie Mac announced DPA One®, an innovative new tool that aggregates and showcases down payment assistance programs on a single, insights-rich platform so lenders can easily access and compare programs while providers can have less submission errors, make real-time updates, and receive more visibility for their programs.