Fannie Mae Follows Freddie Mac’s Lead and Offers Underwriter Tools for Free

Earlier this month, Freddie Mac announced that it would offer its Loan Prospector underwriter system free of charge as of June 1, 2015. Today, Fannie Mae matched Freddie Mac’s offer and announced that it will eliminate fees on its Desktop Underwriter automated underwriting system and Desktop Originator tool.

Fannie Mae also mentioned in a press release that it plans to also enhance its EarlyCheck loan verification tool and introduce a new loan delivery system in the near future.

“We continue to strive to have lenders choose Fannie Mae because we provide the most insightful, innovative and effective tools in the industry,” said Andrew Bon Salle, EVP of Single-Family Business at Fannie Mae. “For years, our technology tools have been the tools of choice for mortgage lenders across the industry.”

Fannie Mae says that these new updates and changes are intended to help customers originate mortgages with certainty, efficiency, and lower costs.

Currently, Fannie Mae offers Collateral Underwriter and EarlyCheck to lenders at no charge to drive lender use and industry-wide collateral and data quality, the GSE says.  As of today, they will now offer Desktop Underwriter and Desktop Originator at no charge.

Fannie Mae will also update its EarlyCheck application with additional loan-level data integrity capabilities, according to the company. This is intended to help lenders gain confidence that loan delivered to Fannie Mae are accurate, complete, and meet their requirements.

Lastly, Fannie Mae is currently working on a new platform for lenders to deliver loans, the release says. It is designed to provide lenders with a more intuitive and easier-to-navigate user interface, enhanced reporting capabilities, and improved delivery edit messaging that will help lenders deliver loans more efficiently and with greater transparency and certainty. Fannie Mae expects to release the new system later this year 2015, and the GSE will also provide guidance leading up to release.

“We want to continue to provide value to our lenders and we don’t want technology fees to get in the way of lenders using our technology to its full potential,” Salle said. “That is why we have introduced tools such as Collateral Underwriter, EarlyCheck and Servicing Management Default Underwriter at no cost to lenders or servicers, and why today we are also eliminating our DU fee. We will continue to innovate to provide extraordinary value to our partners and help them succeed.”