Folsom, Calif. – (Aug. 14, 2024) – With lingering inflation, CBS 13 News asked SAFE Credit Union’s mortgage lending expert Tiffani Vargas about how a new federal second mortgage buyout program could help qualifying homeowners get more access to their money.
“There’s $32 trillion in equity across the country that homeowners have and that’s a lot of money that people want to tap into,” says Vargas, SAFE executive vice president and chief lending officer.
A new Freddie Mac second mortgage pilot program allows homeowners to access some of that home equity without changing their existing lower interest rates on first mortgages.
The new program, Vargas explains in her interview with CBS 13 reporter Rachel Wulff, will also “allow for a second mortgage up to around $78,000 to be taken out for existing homeowners who have equity in their property at lower than market interest rates.”
SAFE Credit Union Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Tiffani Vargas speaks on camera for a CBS 13 News story about a new Freddie Mac second mortgage program.
Watch the full CBS 13 story that aired Monday, “How the Second Mortgage Buyback Program Could Help People Tap Into Their Equity,”
In June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) approved the limited $2.5 billion pilot program, in which Freddie Mac will purchase certain single-family closed-end second mortgages. Those who qualify will be able to take cash out from lines of credit at new rates with the government-sponsored lender.
If successful, the program could grow to include loans underwritten by Fannie Mae, something Vargas says the market would likely welcome. “The lending environment has certainly changed as interest rates have gone from being historically low to being historically high and it’s really turned the lending environment upside down,” Vargas says.
A not-for-profit financial institution, SAFE Credit Union distributes profits among its 236,000 members through dividends and lower interest rates and reduced fees on consumer and commercial loans.
For more information email [email protected].
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About SAFE
SAFE Credit Union has made members an integral part of its vision since 1940. Over the years the credit union has kept the focus on what really matters, putting members first, a formula that has seen SAFE grow into a leading financial institution in Northern California with $4.6 billion in assets and about 236,000 members. SAFE crafts every cutting-edge product and sterling service with members’ needs foremost in mind. In addition to banking services conveniently available through online, chat, mobile, or phone options, SAFE offers in-person services for members and small businesses at service centers across the Greater Sacramento region. SAFE is a not-for-profit, state-chartered credit union with membership open to businesses and individuals living or working in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, Sutter, Butte, Nevada, Solano, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Yuba, Amador, and Alameda counties. Insured by NCUA. www.safecu.org