Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2026-1 (Bulletin) announcing revisions to the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide. Per the Bulletin, Freddie Mac updated:
- Construction to Permanent Mortgage and Renovation Mortgage requirements;
- Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD) delivery instructions for Construction to Permanent Mortgages and Renovation Mortgages;
- Home Possible Mortgage requirements;
- Refi Possible Mortgage requirements;
- CHOICERenovation Mortgage requirements by adding specificity for qualifying rental income;
- Manufactured home requirements related to minimum square footage;
- CHOICEHome offering specifications;
- Income continuance start date requirements by adding specificity to existing requirements;
- Terminology used to describe Automated Collateral Evaluation (ACE);
- Property eligibility requirements related to:
- The term “proposed construction”;
- Requirements for verification of property “owner of record”;
- Requirements by adding a reference to the requirements for a property with 2 or more adjoining parcels;
- Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) requirements by enhancing specificity for the eligibility of an ADU;
- Quality control guidelines to state that when a lender obtains tax information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using Form 4506-C (or an alternate form acceptable to the IRS), the request must include the tax year(s) used to qualify the borrower;
- Section 3201.2 (Fraud and other Suspicious Activity Reporting Requirements) to provide additional specificity related to our fraud reporting requirements as well as what lenders are required to self-report; and
- Authorized user tradeline requirements by no longer requiring assessment of authorized user tradelines on the borrower’s credit report for “Accept” mortgages.
In addition, Freddie Mac refactored Guide Section 4701.1 (Mortgage Insurance) and 4701.2 (Mortgage Insurance Premiums).
Revisions related to Construction to Permanent Mortgages and Renovation Mortgages are effective for mortgages with application received dates on or after February 4, 2026. Revisions related to “Accept” mortgages for authorized user tradelines are effective for Loan Product Advisor submissions or resubmissions on or after February 10, 2026. Revisions related to fraud reporting are effective February 11, 2026. Revisions related to ULDD delivery instructions are effective May 4, 2026. Revisions related to added specificity for qualifying rental income for CHOICERenovation Mortgages are effective for mortgages with application received dates on or after May 4, 2026. Revisions related to requirements for verification of property “owner of record” are effective for mortgages with application received dates on or after May 6, 2026 (lenders, however, are encouraged to implement immediately). Revisions related to Home Possible Mortgages and Refi Possible Mortgages are effective for mortgages with application received dates on or after April 12, 2026 and mortgages with application received dates prior to April 12, 2026 with settlement dates on or after July 12, 2026. Revisions related to updated specification for the CHOICEHome offering are effective for mortgages with application received dates on or after June 4, 2026. All other revisions are effective February 4, 2026.
Click to view the Freddie Mac Guide Bulletin 2026-01: https://www.tenaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Freddie-Mac-Guide-Bulletin-2026-01-02-04-26.pdf
