InfoBytes Blog
Freddie Mac Changes Low Activity Fee to No Activity Fee
On June 25, Freddie Mac announced in Bulletin 2013-12 that, based on industry feedback, it is changing its recently-announced “low activity fee” to a “no activity fee.” In May, Freddie Mac announced that, effective January 1, 2014, a seller/servicer would be charged a $7,500 fee if the seller/servicer did not either (i) sell mortgages to Freddie Mac with an aggregate unpaid principal balance greater than $5 million during the immediately preceding calendar year, or (ii) service, or act as a servicing agent for, mortgages for Freddie Mac with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of at least $25 million as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year. Under the revised policy, seller/servicers can avoid the fee if they (i) sell to Freddie Mac during the immediately preceding 36 months, or (ii) service, or act as a servicing agent for, a mortgage portfolio for Freddie Mac as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year. In addition, new seller/servicers are exempt from the fee until they have been approved by Freddie Mac for three years.