Freddie Mac Issues Additional Guidance Related to Its COVID-19 Response

On April 14, 2020, as part of its response to the COVID-19 Crisis, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2020-11, addressing temporary changes to its requirements intended to alleviate issues presented by the crisis. 

The bulletin addresses the following issues:

• Property eligibility, including condominium project flexibility, updates on appraisal flexibility;
• Updates on its CHOICE Renovation program, including a clarification that for “[b]orrowers who enter into forbearance plans after the Freddie Mac Settlement Date but prior to completion of the renovations, continuation of draw distributions is permitted during the forbearance period”;
• Quality Control review flexibility regarding targeted sampling of post-close reviews;
• Revisions to maximum contract amounts and aggregate cash commitments for mandatory cash contracts; and
• An update to its list of permitted states for remote online notarizations.