Freddie Enters Wilmington AH Partnership

Freddie Mac has partnered with The Wilmington Housing Authority of Delaware and other local nonprofits, pledging to purchase up to $50 million in eligible mortgages for low- to moderate-income Wilmington families.The initiative plans to provide a supply of about 500 affordable for-sale homes through both new construction and rehabilitation efforts in targeted areas of the city. Products offered include HOPE IV and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 5(h) program, which had not been available to local residents in the past. The partnership is "a focused, comprehensive effort to deploy some of the most effective state and federal housing initiatives now available, beginning with HUD's Housing Choice Vouchers," said Dave Stevens, Freddie Mac's senior vice president of mortgage sourcing, operations, and funding. Freddie's "community gold mortgage" program will assist city borrowers and housing voucher holders who want to become homebuyers, provided they earn at least $18,500 a year and can cover a downpayment equal to 2% of the home's purchase price. Combined city and state funds will offer individual grants of up to $10,000 in downpayment and closing costs.