The main difference between Fannie Mae (FNMA; Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC; Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) is that Fannie May primarily buys mortgages issued by banks and Freddie Mac primarily buys mortgages issued by thrifts.
A secondary difference between the two is that Fannie Mae started in 1938 as part of the "New Deal" and Freddie Mac started in 1970 in order to create competition in the secondary mortgage market.
No Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not FHA lenders. FHA loans are guaranteed loans and the others are not. FHA loans also have different guidelines and qualification tools.
Prime
Loans meets underwriting guidelines required for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to purchase them.
Jumbo loans are loans that fall outside Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limit guidelines. Therefore they are considered non-conforming loans that Fannie and Freddie will not purchase. Today the limit is $417,000 in most of the country but may reach $729,750 in areas the government has designated as High Cost for single family homes.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offers services related to loans and housing. Both organizations help families to understand their rights and maximize the opportunities available on the market.
No Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not FHA lenders. FHA loans are guaranteed loans and the others are not. FHA loans also have different guidelines and qualification tools.
Yes.
Prime
Loans meets underwriting guidelines required for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to purchase them.
Jumbo loans are loans that fall outside Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limit guidelines. Therefore they are considered non-conforming loans that Fannie and Freddie will not purchase. Today the limit is $417,000 in most of the country but may reach $729,750 in areas the government has designated as High Cost for single family homes.
No - Bush and McCain repeatedly called for an investigation into Freddie and Fannie and were just as often called racists for doing so
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offers services related to loans and housing. Both organizations help families to understand their rights and maximize the opportunities available on the market.
tl;dr
Freddie and Fannie don't actually support mortgages but rather securitize them. There's a table here showing what loans fannie and freddie securitize: http://www.fanniemae.com/aboutfm/loanlimits.jhtml . In theory, a portfolio lender that simply holds onto loans and never resells them could write you a mortgage even below these amounts and simply hang onto it. That said, the chances of finding anyone willing to do this are near nil.
The federal government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday in a bid to keep the two mortgage giants from failing, catastrophes that would have made home loans harder to get and taken the nation's housing collapse to a new level of crisis.
Sallie Mae is in the business of student loans while Fannie Mae is in the business of home loans.
What is the difference between loans grants gifts and aids?"