Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the addition of Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog language resources to the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse. These additions to the online repository improve the ability of interested parties to navigate the mortgage and homebuying process by enabling the mortgage industry to better assist consumers whose primary language is Vietnamese, Korean, or Tagalog. The repository now includes documents translated into Spanish, traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog.
To further support individuals who are limited English proficient (LEP), the clearinghouse has added a list of industry resources available to provide oral interpretation services. These resources can help LEP consumers navigate topics such as fraud avoidance and scam detection, foreclosure prevention, financial management and budgeting, financial wellness coaching, buying or renting a home, and mortgage options. These no-cost services support more than 250 languages and can provide the clarity and confidence needed to better support sustainable homeownership.
“This expanded set of translated documents and interpretive resources help to better support mortgage lenders, servicers, and housing counselors as they guide more Americans on the path to sustainable homeownership,” said Sandra Thompson, FHFA's Deputy Director for the Division of Housing Mission and Goals. “The Mortgage Translations website represents a collaboration between FHFA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to provide information in Spanish, traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog to interested parties with limited English proficiency anywhere in the mortgage process.”
The Mortgage Translations website launched in October 2018 as a centralized source of industry-standard resources to assist lenders, servicers, housing counselors, real estate professionals, and other housing industry stakeholders in serving LEP homebuyers.
FHFA collaborated with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, industry experts, consumer advocates, and other government agencies to develop this collection of mortgage documents, educational materials, and glossaries. In particular, the glossaries will help standardize translations across the mortgage industry.
Media: Raffi Williams Raffi.Williams@FHFA.gov / Adam Russell Adam.Russell@FHFA.gov