What is the Difference Between Fannie Mae Homepath and Freddie Mac Homesteps? [UPDATED]

February 27, 2013 by 3 Comments

EDITORS NOTE: Fannie Mae is no longer offering the FannieMae HomePath mortgage program. If you are considering buying a Fannie Mae HomePath property (foreclosure that is owned by Fannie Mae) in Washington state, I’m happy to help you.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both offer special incentives to entice buyers to properties they have foreclosed on. Fannie Mae’s program is called Homepath and Freddie Mac’s is Homesteps. Although the names some similar, their incentives are VERY different. What Fannie Mae Homepath and Freddie Mac Homesteps do have in common is that the properties are generally in better shape than other distressed homes.

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Filed Under: Fannie, Freddie and FHFA, Homepath, Homesteps Tagged With: ,

Search for foreclosed homes on Zillow

October 26, 2012 by 2 Comments

Zillow has added a “foreclosure center” where you can search for foreclosed homes in your neighborhood. The search includes bank owned homes (REO) and pre-foreclosures (a home that is getting to auction).

Here’s a snap shot of what Zillow is showing as current foreclosures in West Seattle. The red houses are foreclosures and the blue houses are pre-foreclosures.

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What’s the difference between Fannie Mae Homepath and Freddie Mac Homesteps?

February 11, 2012 by 1 Comment

EDITORS NOTE: Fannie Mae is no longer offering the FannieMae HomePath mortgage program. If you are considering buying a Fannie Mae HomePath property (foreclosure that is owned by Fannie Mae) in Washington state, I’m happy to help you.

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Filed Under: Fannie, Freddie and FHFA, Homepath, Homesteps, Residential Purchase Tagged With: , ,

Freddie Mac HomeSteps offers NEW Buyer Incentives

November 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

EDITORS NOTE: this post was written back in November 2011 – incentives may or may not be currently available.

Freddie Mac is sweetening the pot for qualified REO’s (Freddie Mac foreclosed homes) in Washington with their HomeSteps program.  HomeSteps SmartBuy provides buyers with a two year home warranty and up to 30% savings on new appliances.

What’s New? Freddie Mac is trying to warm up home sales with their Winter Sales Promotion.  Washington state has been added to this program!

Homebuyers may receive a credit of up to 3% towards closing cost for offers received between November 15, 2011 and January 31, 2012 that are closing on or before March 15, 2012. This is for owner occupied homes only.

Freddie Mac’s REO program, HomeSteps, is different than Fannie Mae’s Homepath. Fannie Mae offers special terms on their REO’s (foreclosed homes) however, Freddie Mac’s program is incentives for the buyer (no special financing programs).  Home buyers who are interested in buying a Freddie Mac HomeSteps property can use ANY type of financing, including conventional, FHA, VA or USDA.  

Click here for your rate quote for homes located in Washington State.

To see which homes are available for the HomeSteps program, you can search here. As of the publishing of this post, there are 53 Freddie Mac homes listed in Seattle; 209 homes in King County and 628 in Washington state.

If you are interested in buying a Freddie Mac HomeSteps property any where in Washington state and require a mortgage, I’m happy to help you!

Filed Under: Fannie, Freddie and FHFA, Homesteps Tagged With: