Earlier this week new lending guidelines for first-time homebuyers were released in a statement by the FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt . Watt wrote “The new lending guidelines released today by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will enable creditworthy borrowers who can afford a mortgage, but lack the resources to pay a substantial down payment plus closing costs, to get a mortgage with 3 percent down.

The lower down-payment requirement will allow more first-time homebuyers the opportunity to buy a home. Often the greatest hurdle for the first-time homebuyer is saving enough for a down payment. Many first-timers would try to save 20% of the purchase price that many lenders required. It can take a significant period of time to save that large amount of a down-payment forcing first-timers to wait to buy a home. Right now with rates as low as they are it very well may be cheaper to buy than rent.

FannieMae in its statement regarding its My Community Mortgage^® “announced an option for qualified first-time homebuyers that will allow for a down payment as low as three percent. …the 97 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) option will expand access to credit for qualified first-time homebuyers that may not have the resources for a larger down payment.” Other requirements will still have to be met by the first-timer. These include “the usual underwriting, income documentation and risk management standards. These loans will require private mortgage insurance or other risk sharing, as is required on purchase loans acquired by the company with greater than 80 percent LTV.”

FannieMae expressed its hope that “Our new 97 percent LTV offering is simply one way we are working to remove barriers for creditworthy borrowers to get a mortgage. We are confident that these loans can be good business for lenders, safe and sound for Fannie Mae and an affordable, responsible option for qualified borrowers.”

FannieMae will require for this program that at least one of the borrowers be a first-time homebuyer.

FreddieMac also provided its guidelines for the low down-payment program. The program is entitled “Home Possible Advantage”

FreddieMac also set forth its Key Facts:

• Home Possible Advantage offers qualified low- and moderate-income borrowers a conforming conventional mortgage with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 97 percent.
  
• Home Possible Advantage mortgages can be used to buy a single unit property or for a “no cash out” refinance of an existing mortgage.
  
• First time homebuyers must participate in an acceptable borrower education program, like Freddie Mac’s CreditSmart^®, to qualify for Home Possible Advantage.
  
• Home Possible Advantage mortgages are available as 15-, 20-, and 30-year fixed rate mortgages.
  

These programs are seeking to allow the first-time homebuyer the ability to buy a home with less of a down payment but also limit the risk that the loan will go bad or default. They are focusing on the borrowers’ credit worthiness as opposed to the size of their down-payment. There is always an element of risk with requiring a lower down-payment; the homeowner has less of their own money at risk. But when you balance this against the economic drag of so many potential buyers sitting on the sidelines the benefit of pulling pull them into the real estate market may outweigh that risk.

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