Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) recently released proposed Underserved Markets Plans as part of the Duty to Serve Program, required by Congress in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA).
These proposed Plans are the Enterprises’ first step to implement the provisions of HERA to serve very low-, low- and moderate-income families in three specific underserved markets: manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural housing.
The proposed Plans serve as a “roadmap” for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to address the needs of these markets in 2018-2020 in a transparent fashion, and the Plans will be overseen by FHFA.
FHFA strongly encourages interested stakeholders to provide input on the Enterprises’ proposed Plans. To ensure stakeholders have ample time to review the Plans, FHFA will accept input through our webpage, fhfa.gov/duty-serve-program, until July 10. Input will be made public on this page as it is received.
We want to hear from those who have on-the-ground experience in these specific markets to help the Enterprises and FHFA best fulfill this important mandate.
FHFA will review the Plans to ensure they serve the needs of each specified market in a safe and sound manner in compliance with the companies’ charters before issuing a non-objection to Plan implementation. The Plans will become effective Jan. 1, 2018.
FHFA will report to Congress on the Enterprises’ progress on their Plans on an annual basis.
In coming weeks, FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to reach out to stakeholders to obtain further input on the Plans and how best to serve these markets. Stay tuned for updates on fhfa.gov/duty-serve-program.
For a quick overview of the Duty to Serve program, check out this brief video by FHFA and for more information, check out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s websites.
By: Jim Gray
Manager, Duty to Serve Program