FREDDIE MAC, NCALL, REP. CASTLE LAUNCH FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER EFFORT IN DOVER

Dover, DE – A new first-time homeowner initiative for families is underway in Dover, thanks to several public and private organizations working together to offer homeownership education and counseling, downpayment assistance, and a variety of mortgage products and services to help low-income buyers locate and purchase a home.

Participating organizations are Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), WSFS Bank, NCALL Research, Inc., Chase Home Finance, Dover Housing Authority, Delaware State Housing Authority and the City of Dover.

"I am pleased that these public and private organizations are working together to help Dover area residents move from renting to realizing the dream of homeownership," said Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE). "Homeownership strengthens communities, builds relationships, improves schools and boosts a family's economic situation. It's a win-win situation for everyone, that I am proud to be part of."

The Dover Housing Authority, the City of Dover and the WSFS Bank will make available for purchase some of their local real estate inventory. The Dover Housing Authority owns and manages 303 residential dwelling units throughout the City of Dover. Under the HUD Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, the Dover Housing Authority assists another 220 low-income families throughout the private sector.

NCALL Research will provide homeownership education and counseling services, preparing families to start down the road to homeownership. The homeownership counseling component emphasizes money management skills, resolving credit problems, establishing savings, evaluating housing options, and comparing available mortgage loans and down payment and settlement assistance programs. NCALL will hold monthly meetings in each county, followed by one-on-one homeownership counseling sessions, which will be tailored to the client's needs. The counselors are available to the families throughout the entire home buying process. NCALL has helped 5,000 families buy homes in Delaware.

The City of Dover is offering downpayment assistance, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, to eligible individuals.

"Homeownership is the largest source of long-term wealth for many families and the path to owning a home begins with understanding the mortgage process," said Craig Nickerson, vice president of Expanding Markets for Freddie Mac. "The goal is to help more families overcome the key barriers to homeownership such as impaired credit, inadequate resources for down payment and lack of information about the home buying process. We look forward to working with these organizations to help more people become homeowners."

"NCALL is pleased to work with Freddie Mac to provide additional homeownership education and counseling services along with attractive mortgages from WSFS and Chase to the Dover area, which is our home base," said Joe Myer, executive director of NCALL.

Chase Home Finance and WSFS Bank will make available its mortgage products that feature low downpayments and flexible credit requirements. Freddie Mac will buy eligible mortgages from the lenders.

"Providing first-time homebuyers with the opportunity to own their own home demonstrates the strong commitment that WSFS has to enriching our Delaware communities," said Deborah Roberts, senior vice president and head of Consumer Lending for WSFS Bank.

Today's launch builds on Freddie Mac's efforts to expand affordable homeownership in Delaware. Over the past five years, Freddie Mac – one of the nation's largest residential mortgage investors – has purchased $7 billion worth of mortgages in Delaware, financing 51,000 homes.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and nearly four million renters in America.

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