Effective Wednesday, November 8, Freddie Mac Multifamily announced the following key changes to our policies on brokered loans. These changes reinforce our relationships directly with sellers by clarifying data quality and chain of custody requirements as loan due diligence moves from borrower to lender.

1. For Conventional, Targeted Affordable Housing and Seniors Housing loans:

  • Both the broker/correspondent firm and individual broker names must be disclosed to Production at loan submission for a quote request in the Loan Submission Template.
  • Quote requests involving a broker/correspondent must be accompanied by a confirmation from the borrower that the Optigo® lender is the sole lender authorized to submit the loan to Freddie Mac. 
  • The Optigo Lender’s Fee Certification – Conventional & Targeted Affordable form, also available at mf.freddiemac.com, must be submitted with delivery of the full underwriting package for any transaction that involves a broker or correspondent. Note: This form was previously required to be submitted at final delivery. For loans currently in process where a full underwriting package has already been submitted, this change in timing will only apply to those loans for which a final commitment has not yet been issued.

2. For Small Balance Loans, the Optigo lenders must complete the broker information (deal contacts) tab in the Pipeline Management Tool at loan application.

3. All due diligence documentation provided by the borrower (i.e., rent rolls, financial statements, operating statements, etc.) must be delivered directly to the Optigo lender from the borrower without the broker/correspondent being in the chain of custody of the documentation. Optigo lenders must communicate directly with borrowers and sponsors with respect to due diligence and other underwriting matters. By submission of any due diligence or underwriting materials to Freddie Mac, the Optigo lender will be deemed to represent and warrant to Freddie Mac that it has complied with these requirements.

For loans currently in process where a final commitment has not yet been issued:

  • The Optigo lender must confirm in writing with Freddie Mac Underwriting that all due diligence was received directly from the borrower.
  • When such due diligence was not received directly from the borrower, Optigo lenders must go back and collect the due diligence directly from the borrower.
  • Optigo lender must ensure that any such updated due diligence aligns with the due diligence previously submitted to Freddie Mac and confirm the same in writing. 
  • To the extent the updated due diligence differs from the due diligence previously submitted to Freddie Mac, the Optigo lender must notify the applicable Freddie Mac underwriter in writing and upload the current due diligence into the Document Management System. 

4. With respect to property inspections, requests for Optigo lender-delegated inspections will continue to require the prior approval of Freddie Mac. The involvement of a broker/correspondent will factor into the decision of whether the property is eligible for a delegated inspection going forward.

5. Prior to any Index Lock, for all transactions submitted through a broker/correspondent:

  • The Optigo lender must conduct a preliminary property inspection consisting of the elements described in Guide Section 8.15(a) (a visit to the Property, meeting with the Property’s management, walking the common areas, and seeing a sampling of vacant units). 
  • The Optigo lender must have received directly from the borrower as provided above, current rent rolls, operating statements, and other property due diligence, and in addition, for first-time sponsors only, financial statements for the borrower principal(s) and when applicable, the guarantor(s).
  • When the Optigo lender submits the signed Index Lock Agreement to Freddie Mac, it must be accompanied by an Index Lock Certification for Broker/Correspondent Loans from the Optigo lender.

6. For these updated policies, brokers and broker/correspondents mean any individual and/or entity who arranges and otherwise brokers the loan financing for the Property with the Optigo lender on behalf of the borrower, whether such individual or entity is referred to as a broker, mortgage broker or a correspondent. The above policies apply to broker/correspondents affiliated with the Optigo lender.

Please note that these general broker policies are in addition to — and do not supersede — any other communications to you regarding any specific brokered loans.

We appreciate the partnership of our Optigo lenders.