White Paper: Responsibly Increasing Affordable Housing Supply & Access to Credit

Our November 18 update to Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) makes two changes to our underwriting policies in support of our mission to facilitate equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing across America:

• First, we are increasing the maximum allowable Loan-to-Value (LTV), Combined LTV (CLTV), and Home-equity combined LTV (HCLTV) ratios for 2-4-unit principal residence properties. These changes aim to support revitalization of the “missing middle” housing sector, enable better access to mortgage finance for historically underserved borrowers, and help provide affordable rental housing for low-and-moderate income renters.
• Second, we are removing the Number of Borrowers on a mortgage application as a risk factor in DU’s risk assessment.

In this white paper, we share insights for these changes.

Read the White Paper