On Wednesday, August 12, Freddie Mac (FHLMC) and Fannie Mae (FNMA) announced a 50 basis point "tax" on consumers in the form of an Adverse Market Refinance Fee effective September 1, 2020.   This recent announcement by the GSEs is nothing but a slap in the face of all homeowners needing to reduce their monthly mortgage payments in this era of historically low interest rates and those dealing with the pandemic.  

Sadly, it is obvious that the GSEs are applying this loan level pricing adjustment (LLPA) on consumers refinancing their mortgage in order to help them increase their financial reserves prior to being released from government conservative control.  Building the reserves of the GSEs should not be done on the backs of hard working Americans trying to save money to provide relief for their housing costs.

Adding this .05% adjustment to all refinancing harms the economy and our economic recovery - the exact opposite of what other government entities such as the White House, Congress, Federal Reserve Board – are supposed to be doing to support the real estate market.   Even worse, refinancing takes longer to be approved than other loans.   Most lenders do not allow the consumer to lock a loan until the loan is approved.  The September 1 effective date means that this new fee start date is NOW!  This is not acceptable!  NAMB is asking all loan originators to fight for the reversal of this new GSE loan “tax” on homeowners!

https://namb.org/page/LegislativeActionCenter#/14