Fannie Mae – Federal National Mortgage Association

October 1, 2009 | Posted by Staff

Fannie Mae is the common name for the Federal National Mortgage Association, a stock holder owned corporation that was recently placed under the control of the government due to extreme financial distress. There is a good chance they are the holder of the title of your home and if so you may be entitled to government assistance.

Fannie Mae Headquarters

Fannie Mae was founded by government charter in 1938 during the Great Depression. Its purpose was to increase the home mortgage availability for low income families by purchasing and securitizing home loans. This was done to make sure that there was a stable supply of money to the institutions and companies responsible for issuing home loans to home buyers. In 1968 the federal government converted the once public institution into a privately held corporation under the control of shareholders. As a government sponsored enterprise its existence has been criticized for its relationship to the government and  semi public status.

In September of 2008 the collapse in the US mortgage market forced the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to place Fannie Mae into conservatorship. Once again the organization was returned to the control of the the federal government. It was estimated that at that time Fannie Mae and its sister corporation Freddie Mac guaranteed approximately half of the United States $12 trillion dollar property loan market. It had revenues of over $51 billion in 2008 though experienced and operating loss of a little more than $5 billion in 2007. The organization had more than $880 billion in assets at the end of 2007. With all of the companies assets closely intertwined in virtually all aspects of the US real estate market the mortgage crisis forced the government to intervene with public money.

There had long been suspicion that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were guaranteed by the government and once those suspicions proved true the federal government gained significant control with those organizations. That government influence is being used to implement programs and policies to assist struggling home owners. If you are a homeowner with a mortgage owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae you may be eligible for assistance. In exchange for public assistance Fannie Mae is mandated to offer mortgage relief to struggling borrowers including mortgage refinance and loan modification programs. These programs restructure and alter mortgage contracts to lower interest rates or monthly payments. If you are behind in your mortgage payments you can contact Fannie Mae directly. They can help you determine who is the holder of your home loan and how to get assistance.

Categories: Government Agency | Tags: fannie mae, loan modification, mortgage refinance | No Comments »