Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2026-4 (Bulletin) announcing revisions to the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide. Per the Bulletin, Freddie Mac:

• Updated credit underwriting requirements to include:
  • Simplified requirements for age of tax returns;
  • Added specificity related to the premium for optional flood insurance that the premium for optional flood insurance is not required to be included in the monthly housing expense if coverage is not required (previously, flood insurance premium was required to be included “when applicable”);
  • Added specificity related to accounts held in a living trust that when the asset is used as a basis for repayment of obligations and the asset account is held in the name of a living trust:
  • The account is considered to be owned by the borrower when the borrower is the settlor of the living trust; and
  • When the borrower is a living trust, the settlor is considered to be the owner of the accounts held in the name of the trust;
  • Added specificity for the treatment of automobile lease payments to state that when the remaining balance is paid off/prepaid, the monthly lease payment may be excluded from the debt payment-to-income ratio; and
  • Updated a statement in Guide Chapter 5303 (Employed Income) that the employed income examples are illustrative and not the only allowable scenario(s);
• Updated manufactured home requirements to include:
  • An increase to the maximum mortgage term from 20 years to 30 years for “Accept” mortgages on cash-out transaction mortgages secured by manufactured homes; and
  • Restated existing requirements for “no cash-out” refinance mortgages secured by manufactured homes and manufactured homes on leasehold estates related to the use of proceeds for paying off or paying down junior liens that junior liens secured by the mortgaged premises that are paid off or paid down were required to be used in their entirety to acquire the subject property;
• Stated that mortgages with capitalized balances are ineligible for sale to Freddie Mac;
• Updated the effective date from January 1, 2027 to May 11, 2026 for information security requirements related to organizations’ business impact analyses;
• Updated the information security requirements related to lenders’ software and applications;
• Updated the system-specific licenses for Loan Product Advisor and Loan Quality Advisor;
• Updated mortgage delivery requirements related to Payoff Draft Date 18 Mortgages;
• Updated lender-paid mortgage insurance to remove from the closing payment structure lender-paid mortgage insurance payments pertaining to Voluntary Partial Cancellation mortgage loans;
• Updated an eNote certification requirement related to lenders engaging with The Bank of New York, NA as a designated custodian; and
• Restored a documentation requirement for IRS Forms 4868 and 7004 when the borrower is on a tax filing extension and added the requirement for documenting IRS Form 4868 when the borrower is on a tax filing extension to automated income assessment using tax data for rental income.

Revisions related to mortgages with capitalized balances being ineligible for sale to Freddie Mac are effective for mortgages with settlement dates on or after July 1, 2026. Revisions related to information security for lenders’ software and applications and mortgage delivery for Payoff Draft Date 18 Mortgages are effective July 1, 2026. Revisions related to system-specific licenses, lender-paid mortgage insurance, and eNote certifications are effective April 8, 2026. All other revisions went into effect April 1, 2026.

Click to view the Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-4: https://www.tenaco.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Freddie-Mac-Guide-Bulletin-2026-4-04-01-26.pdf