Fort Campbell FCU Participates in Fannie Mae Home Buying Pilot for Soldiers

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Soldiers throughout the U.S. who have considered buying a home but couldn’t afford the downpayment or had poor credit may find it easier thanks to a program introduced by Fannie Mae and being piloted with soldiers in Tennessee and Kentucky with the assistance of Fort Campbell FCU. Home Front Mortgage became available May 28 to soldiers stationed at Fort Campbell located about 150 miles southwest of Louisville, Ky. The pilot program requires no downpayment. Soldiers taking advantage of the program will receive further assistance from Affordable Housing Resources, a non-profit organization in Nashville, Tenn., that will lend applicants money to cover closing costs and offer them financial counseling. Fort Campbell FCU will make the loans to military families and will subsequently sell them to Fannie Mae on the secondary market. The credit union said Fannie Mae plans to initially purchase $5 million worth of the loans. Home Front Mortgage isn’t the only program that makes mortgages available to soldiers with no downpayment required. Similar types of loans are available and are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. But on these types of loans, applicants have to pay fees associated with the loans, and the fees increase the second time military personnel apply for the loans.