Fannie Mae updates: what home buyers need to know
Fannie Mae publishes its rule changes as numbered Selling Guide Announcements, formatted SEL-YYYY-NN, typically issued on the first Wednesday of the month. SEL-2026-06, issued June 3, 2026, is a compact example: three policy changes, with the headline item stated as “effective immediately.”

Most announcements are not that tidy. SEL-2026-02, issued March 4, 2026, carried two different effective dates in one document, and SEL-2026-05, issued May 6, 2026, pushed one of its changes out to applications taken on or after August 6, 2026. Reading a Fannie Mae update correctly means reading the effective-date paragraph, not the headline.
Learn how Fannie Mae updates are numbered, the four ways an announcement sets its effective date, and where to read them yourself. For the wider rulebook picture, start with our hub on industry updates and rules.
Key takeaways:
- The number is a sequence, not a month: SEL-2026-01 was issued February 4, 2026 and SEL-2026-07 on August 5, 2026, so the 2-digit suffix counts announcements within the year rather than naming the month.
- One announcement can carry more than one effective date: SEL-2026-02 set its income assessment revisions for loans with application dates on or after June 1, 2026 while making its Texas Section 50(a)(6) appraisal clarification effective March 4, 2026.
- Announcement day is publication day: Fannie Mae republishes the full Selling Guide the same day, producing dated editions such as March 4, 2026, June 3, 2026 and August 5, 2026, with each topic carrying its own date stamp.
- VantageScore 4.0 is now open to all approved lenders: Lender Letter LL-2026-06, issued September 9, 2026 and reissued September 30, 2026, ended the limited rollout and aligned loan-level pricing adjustments across Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0.
What is a Fannie Mae Selling Guide announcement?
A Selling Guide Announcement is the document Fannie Mae uses to change the rules lenders must follow to sell a loan to Fannie Mae. It carries a number (SEL-2026-04), a date, a list of topics, a description of each change, and an effective-date statement. Nothing becomes a Fannie Mae rule because a trade publication reported it. It becomes a rule when an announcement says so and the guide text changes to match.
That matters more than it sounds. Fannie Mae buys conventional loans from lenders, which is what lets those lenders make the next loan, so its purchase standards become the practical eligibility rules for most conventional financing in the country. Our explainer on how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stabilize the housing market covers why that plumbing exists. The Selling Guide is where it becomes a checklist your file has to pass.
Announcements are not the only channel, and the difference saves time when you are hunting for a rule:
- Selling Guide Announcements (SEL-YYYY-NN): Changes to loan eligibility, underwriting, documentation, appraisal and delivery policy. SEL-2026-06 is the sixth of 2026.
- Lender Letters (LL-YYYY-NN): Standalone policy communications outside the numbered monthly cycle. LL-2025-04 established Fannie Mae’s loan limits for 2026; LL-2026-03 updated project standards and property insurance requirements for one- to four-unit properties and project developments.
- Servicing Guide Announcements (SVC-YYYY-NN): Rules for servicing a loan after closing, a separate guide with its own numbering.
- The Selling Guide itself: The consolidated rulebook, republished on announcement days, where each topic carries the date it was last revised. A section labeled B3-3.1-03 with a (03/04/2026) stamp tells you the income calculator topic last moved on March 4, 2026.
What does the SEL-2026-04 numbering actually mean?
The four is a counter, not a month. SEL-2026-04 was the fourth Selling Guide announcement Fannie Mae issued in 2026, and it went out on April 22, 2026. The middle number is the calendar year of issuance; the two-digit suffix increments with each announcement published.
Two data points make the distinction concrete. SEL-2026-01, the first announcement of 2026, was issued February 4, 2026, not in January. SEL-2026-07 was issued August 5, 2026, the seventh of the year in the eighth month. Assume the suffix is a month and you will hunt for rules that do not exist and miss ones that do.
The cadence behind the numbering is Fannie Mae’s own stated practice: Selling Guide updates are typically published on the first Wednesday of the month. February 4, March 4, May 6, June 3, August 5, September 2 and October 7 of 2026 all landed on first Wednesdays; the last two carried SEL-2026-08 and SEL-2026-09. SEL-2026-04 on April 22 did not, because Fannie Mae issues off-cycle announcements when a change cannot wait for the calendar. Treat the first Wednesday as the default, not a guarantee.
When does a Fannie Mae announcement actually take effect?
Four different anchors, and the announcement tells you which one it is using. This is the most misread part of a Fannie Mae update, because “announced in March” and “applies to my loan in March” are frequently not the same statement.
| Effective-date anchor | What it means for your file | Verified example |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate | Applies to every affected loan from the announcement date forward, including files already in process. | SEL-2026-06 retired rural high-needs value acceptance and said the change is “effective immediately.” |
| Application date | Attaches to loans whose application is dated on or after a stated day, so a file started earlier keeps the old rule. | SEL-2026-05: condop project eligibility effective with new loan applications on or after August 6, 2026. |
| Closing or sale date | Attaches at closing or at the point the loan is sold to Fannie Mae, whenever the application was taken. | SEL-2026-05: revised remote online notarization rules apply to loans closed using RON on or after May 6, 2026. |
| Optional now, mandatory later | Lenders may adopt immediately but must by a stated deadline, so two lenders can correctly apply different rules to the same borrower. | SEL-2026-02: income assessment revisions effective for applications on or after June 1, 2026, adoptable immediately. |
A single announcement can use more than one anchor. SEL-2026-01, issued February 4, 2026, aligned key Fannie Mae MH Advantage manufactured home requirements with Freddie Mac’s CHOICEHome program and set that alignment for loans with application dates on or after June 4, 2026, while its gift-donor revision took effect immediately on February 4, 2026. One announcement, two clocks. Fannie Mae reissued SEL-2026-01 on March 18, 2026 for the sole purpose of changing that trigger from “loans sold on or after” to “loans with application dates on or after,” which is why the reissue date matters as much as the original.
A fifth pattern is not an effective date at all: a phased rollout. SEL-2026-04 added VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T as approved credit score models on April 22, 2026, but availability was staged, with VantageScore 4.0 opening through a limited rollout to approved lenders and FICO Score 10T to follow. “Approved in the guide” and “available at your lender” were separate milestones. The second one arrived September 9, 2026, when Lender Letter LL-2026-06 opened VantageScore 4.0 to all Fannie Mae-approved lenders without prior approval; its September 30, 2026 reissue aligned loan-level pricing adjustments across Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0. A lender picks one model per loan, every borrower on that loan is scored on the same model, and FICO Score 10T is still not available for delivery. Minimum scores moved separately: under Announcement SEL-2025-09, Desktop Underwriter casefiles created on or after November 16, 2025 no longer carry a fixed 620 minimum, while manually underwritten loans still use the Eligibility Matrix minimums.
Three recent Fannie Mae updates and what each one changed
These three show the range of what an announcement can do: restructure a chapter, add a tool, and quietly remove a requirement.
| Announcement | Issued | What changed | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEL-2026-02 | March 4, 2026 | Restructured Chapter B3-3, Income Assessment, into general income principles plus a separate topic for each income type, with consistent terminology across income sources. Clarified appraisal review options for Texas Section 50(a)(6) loans. | Income revisions for applications on or after June 1, 2026, adoptable immediately. Texas clarification March 4, 2026. |
| SEL-2026-04 | April 22, 2026 | Added VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T as approved credit score models for the three in-file merged credit report. | April 22, 2026, with staged availability by model. VantageScore 4.0 open to all approved lenders from September 9, 2026 (LL-2026-06); FICO Score 10T not yet deliverable. |
| SEL-2026-06 | June 3, 2026 | Retired rural high-needs value acceptance as redundant with value acceptance plus property data. Clarified that lenders need not investigate authorized user tradelines further when DU returns Approve/Eligible unless DU instructs otherwise. Allowed IRS Form 8821 as an alternative to Form 4506-C for tax transcripts. | Rural high-needs retirement effective immediately; DU stopped issuing the offer on casefiles created on or after June 27, 2026, and the DU authorized-user message updated for casefiles submitted on or after June 26, 2026. |
Read as a set, the pattern is clear. SEL-2026-02 changed no eligibility threshold, it reorganized how income rules are written, the kind of update that gets reported as a crackdown and is nothing of the sort. SEL-2026-04 widened what lenders may use without changing what they must hit. SEL-2026-06 removed a documentation step.
The Freddie Mac side often moves in parallel but on its own paperwork. Freddie Mac’s credit score model change rode Bulletin 2026-D, dated the same April 22, 2026. That is a letter-series bulletin, which Freddie Mac uses for single-subject announcements alongside its main numeric run (Bulletin 2026-4, Bulletin 2026-10). Assuming alignment without checking is a mistake.
Where to read Fannie Mae updates yourself
Three places, all free and public. You do not need a lender login to read the rules your lender is applying to your file.
- The communications index: Fannie Mae’s Selling and Servicing Guide communications and forms page on singlefamily.fanniemae.com lists announcements, Lender Letters, notices and forms in one place. Each announcement is a short PDF, usually 2 to 9 pages.
- The Selling Guide itself: Published online with topic-level numbering (B3-3 for income assessment, B5-6 for HomeReady) and a revision date on each topic. When you want the current rule rather than the change, read the guide topic, not the announcement.
- The archives and annual summaries: A policy archive organized by year and communication type, plus an annual Selling Policy Communications summary and an “In Case You Missed It” job aid condensing a year of announcements into one document.
Read an announcement in this order: the topic list on page one, then the effective-date paragraph, then the change description. If the effective date is in the future or reads “may apply immediately,” ask your loan officer which version their investor is using today. That question is the whole point.
What a Fannie Mae announcement does not control
Four things, and conflating them is how these updates get misreported.
- Not your interest rate: These announcements set eligibility, documentation and delivery rules. They do not price loans, and no announcement number tells you what a rate will be on a given day. See our mortgage rates and market guide for how pricing gets set.
- Not FHA, VA or USDA loans: Those programs move on their own instruments. FHA policy changes by HUD Mortgagee Letter,1 VA policy by VA Circular,2 and USDA by its own notices. A SEL announcement has no authority over any of them.
- Not everything the GSEs do: Fannie Mae operates under the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and some changes originate as an FHFA directive rather than a Selling Guide announcement. When a change is described as coming “from FHFA,” look for the FHFA instrument, not a SEL number.
- Not your lender’s overlays: Fannie Mae sets a floor. Lenders stack stricter requirements on top, which is why the same file gets different answers at different shops even when nothing in the Selling Guide changed.
One clarification, because it comes up constantly. HomeReady is a Fannie Mae mortgage product governed by Selling Guide topics B5-6-01 and B5-6-02, allowing up to 97% loan-to-value with qualifying income capped at 80% of area median income for the property’s location. It is a loan product, not an assistance fund, and it is separate from any down payment assistance layered onto it. See Fannie Mae’s HomeReady mortgage requirements and our guide to HomeReady mortgages.
What Michigan buyers should know
The Selling Guide has no Michigan chapter. It is one national rulebook applied identically in all 83 counties, so the Michigan angle is where these national rules meet Michigan programs.
- All 83 counties use the baseline conforming limit: Michigan has no FHFA-designated high-cost counties, so a Wayne County file and a Keweenaw County file cross into jumbo territory at the identical number, which you can confirm county by county against FHFA’s conforming loan limit values. Fannie Mae communicates each year’s limits by Lender Letter, as LL-2025-04 did for 2026, not by SEL announcement.
- MSHDA assistance rides on a first mortgage the Selling Guide governs: MSHDA’s MI Home Loan can be paired with conventional financing, and when that first mortgage is a conventional loan Fannie Mae will buy, every rule in these announcements applies to it. A change to income documentation or credit policy reaches a MSHDA file like any other.
- The assistance amounts are set by MSHDA, not by Fannie Mae: The MI 10K DPA Loan provides up to $10,000 toward down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses as an interest-free loan, available statewide, and it must be combined with a MSHDA MI Home Loan. Amounts, income limits and funding availability are state program terms that change without any SEL announcement, so confirm current figures through MSHDA’s homeownership programs and our roundup of state-specific mortgage assistance programs.
- Timing matters in Michigan’s compressed spring market: Under an application-date or sale-date anchor, a file started in one month and closed in another can straddle two rule sets, so ask which version applies before you write the offer. Our guide to first-time home buyer programs covers how the layers stack.
Which rules can a Fannie Mae announcement never change?
Some limits are written into Fannie Mae’s federal charter, so no Selling Guide update can change them. The charter, at 12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(2), lets Fannie Mae buy a one- to four-unit conventional loan above 80% of the home’s value only with one of three credit protections: the seller keeps at least a 10% share, the seller agrees to repurchase the loan on default, or a qualified insurer covers the part above 80%. Mortgage insurance is the third of those, which is why most Fannie Mae loans above 80% loan-to-value carry it; see our guide to mortgage insurance.
The same section sets the loan limit formula. As amended in 2008, the statute names amounts of $417,000 for one unit, $533,850 for two, $645,300 for three and $801,950 for four, adjusted each January 1 by the change in FHFA’s house price index, with high-cost areas raised to the lesser of 150% of the limit or 115% of the area median house price.
FHFA ran that formula on November 25, 2025: the 2026 one-unit baseline is $832,750, $26,250 more than in 2025, and the high-cost ceiling is $1,249,125, which is 150% of the baseline (FHFA release). Align’s loan limits lookup shows any county’s figure, and our guide on qualifying for a jumbo loan covers loans above it.
Above Fannie Mae sits a conservator. According to FHFA’s conservatorship page, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entered conservatorship on September 6, 2008. FHFA holds the powers of Fannie Mae’s management, board and shareholders.
FHFA’s credit score page traces the 2026 credit score changes to the Credit Score Competition Act of 2018 and FHFA’s 2022 validation of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T, and says Classic FICO is expected to be retired at a future date, but no retirement date has been announced. See our guide to a good credit score to buy a house.
How can you tell how old a Fannie Mae rule is?
Many Selling Guide topics end with a “Recent Related Announcements” table listing each SEL that touched them, which tells you whether a rule is weeks old or years old. Four topics as the online guide showed them on October 28, 2026:
| Selling Guide topic | Last revised | What the topic says today |
|---|---|---|
| B3-5.1-01, Credit Scores | April 22, 2026 | Manually underwritten loans need a 620 minimum score for fixed-rate loans and 640 for ARMs; loans insured or guaranteed by HUD, FHA, VA or RD need 620. |
| B4-1.4-10, Value Acceptance | June 3, 2026 | Eight announcements listed, from SEL-2019-07 (August 7, 2019) through SEL-2026-06. |
| B5-6-01, HomeReady Eligibility | June 4, 2025 | Above 95% loan-to-value: fixed-rate, one-unit, DU only, no ARMs or high-balance loans; CLTV up to 105% with a Community Seconds loan. |
| B7-1-02, Mortgage Insurance Coverage | August 7, 2019 | Standard coverage on fixed-rate loans over 20 years and all ARMs is 12%, 25%, 30% and 35% across the bands from 80.01% to 97% loan-to-value; HomeReady runs 12%, 25%, 25% and 25%. Minimum coverage of 6%, 12%, 16% and 18% carries a mortgage insurance LLPA. |
Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide topics B3-5.1-01, B4-1.4-10, B5-6-01 and B7-1-02, read October 28, 2026.
The mortgage insurance row is the surprise: per the B7-1-02 topic page, its latest announcements are SEL-2019-03 and SEL-2019-07, so check any headline about “new” mortgage insurance rules against the stamp. Freddie Mac’s counterpart to HomeReady is Home Possible: according to Freddie Mac’s Home Possible page, qualifying income is limited to 80% of area median income, loan-to-value can reach 97% (105% TLTV with Affordable Seconds, 97% HTLTV for one unit), and mortgage insurance on one-unit homes can be cancelled once the balance drops below 80% of appraised value and criteria are met. See our guide to Home Possible loans.
What did FHA and VA change in 2026 on their own paperwork?
The government programs kept their own series. HUD’s list of FHA Mortgagee Letters for 2026 includes ML 2026-06 (more draw requests for Limited 203(k) loans), ML 2026-07 (rescinding the Form HUD-92900-B notice requirement), ML 2026-10 (appraisal field review quality control), ML 2026-11 (credit score methodology for alternative credit scores) and ML 2026-12 (Build-To-Rent developments). HUD’s superseded policy page says older letters are superseded in full by HUD Handbook 4000.1. FHA’s 2026 one-unit floor of $541,287, the limit in every Michigan county, and its $1,249,125 high-cost ceiling came by Mortgagee Letter 2025-23; see our guide to FHA loan limits.
VA publishes Circulars. VA’s circulars page lists Circular 26-26-1 (February 17, 2026) on state fees and charges deviations, Circular 26-26-5 (October 27, 2026) on partial claim payments via Fedwire, and Circular 26-25-10 (December 1, 2025), which relays FHFA’s 2026 conforming limits and is set to be rescinded January 1, 2027. See our guides to VA loans, USDA loan basics and recent USDA changes.
Which federal disclosure deadlines stay the same when Fannie Mae changes a rule?
No SEL number moves your paperwork deadlines. Under 12 CFR 1026.19, the Loan Estimate must be delivered or mailed not later than the third business day after the creditor receives your written application and not later than the seventh business day before consummation, and the Closing Disclosure no later than three business days before consummation. 12 CFR 1002.14 requires a copy of each appraisal promptly upon completion, or three business days before consummation, and 12 CFR 1026.43 requires a reasonable and good faith determination that you can repay, whatever Desktop Underwriter returns.
The CFPB’s Closing Disclosure page says to check that your Cash to Close matches your most recent Loan Estimate, and the CFPB’s Loan Estimate page notes that some lenders lock the rate when issuing the Loan Estimate and some do not. See new mortgage disclosure rules and Align’s Loan Estimate check.
Which fair lending rules apply to every Fannie Mae loan?
According to HUD’s Fair Housing Act overview, the Act covers getting a mortgage and names seven classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. The Justice Department notes that in mortgage cases it may sue under both that Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which, per the OCC, adds marital status, age and income from public assistance. A supplemental proposed rule of August 10, 2026 recounts HUD’s January 2026 proposal to remove its disparate-impact regulations; comments were due October 9, 2026, and it is not final. See new fair housing laws.
Which Michigan rules sit on top of Fannie Mae’s national guide?
- Who may arrange the loan: Michigan licenses mortgage brokers, lenders and servicers under the mortgage brokers, lenders, and servicers licensing act, 1987 Public Act 173, and the Department of Insurance and Financial Services runs the DIFS Locator for checking a company or professional.
- The tax figure inside your DTI: Fannie Mae’s debt-to-income math uses the full housing payment, taxes included. In Michigan, a home’s taxable value is capped while one owner holds it. The year after it sells, that cap comes off and taxable value resets to the state equalized value, which is half of the assessor’s estimate of market value, not automatically half of what you paid. Michigan Treasury’s change of ownership guidance and MCL 211.27a set that rule, so ask that you be qualified on the buyer’s expected tax bill; Align’s Michigan property tax calculator helps.
- MSHDA’s own limits: per MSHDA’s MI Home Loan page, the sales price limit is $566,355 after June 1, 2026 statewide and a 640 minimum credit score is required.
- Michigan’s fair housing list: MCL 37.2502 of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act also names sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in real estate transactions.
How Align keeps up with the rules
Program rules, loan limits and disclosure requirements change every year. Samantha tracks them so your file is built on the rules in force when you apply, not last year's.
One rule worth knowing: Align is paid by the lender, not by a fee you pay us, and federal rules bar a broker's pay from changing with your rate or fees. A broker earns the same on your loan whether your rate is higher or lower.
Sources: Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.36(d).
FAQ: Fannie Mae Selling Guide announcements
Here are answers to common questions about Fannie Mae updates and how to read them.
Is HomeReady still available?
Yes. HomeReady remains an active Fannie Mae mortgage product governed by Selling Guide topics B5-6-01 and B5-6-02, allowing up to 97% loan-to-value for eligible borrowers whose qualifying income does not exceed 80% of the area median income for the property’s location. It also carries reduced mortgage insurance coverage requirements compared with standard conventional financing above 90% loan-to-value. Our guide to HomeReady mortgages walks through who qualifies.
Did a Fannie Mae announcement cancel down payment assistance?
No. A Selling Guide announcement changes loan eligibility and underwriting rules, and it is not an assistance program in the first place, so it has nothing to cancel. Changes to GSE-level assistance initiatives have come through Federal Housing Finance Agency direction rather than through a numbered SEL announcement, which is a different instrument on a different page.
Do Fannie Mae updates change mortgage rates?
No. Selling Guide announcements set who qualifies, what documents are required and how a loan is delivered, not what it costs on a given day. An announcement can affect your pricing indirectly by changing which program or credit tier you land in, but it does not publish or move a rate. For how pricing is determined and where to check published survey data, see our mortgage rates and market guide.
Can my lender use VantageScore 4.0 on a Fannie Mae loan?
Yes. Lender Letter LL-2026-06, issued September 9, 2026, opened VantageScore 4.0 to all Fannie Mae-approved lenders without prior approval, and its September 30, 2026 reissue aligned loan-level pricing adjustments across Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0. The lender picks one model for the whole loan, and Classic FICO remains approved. FICO Score 10T is approved in the Selling Guide but not yet available for delivery.
How do I know whether a Fannie Mae update applies to my loan?
Check the announcement’s effective-date paragraph against your application date, your closing date and whether the change is optional or mandatory. A rule anchored to applications dated on or after a future day will not touch a file you already started, and an optional change may or may not be in use at your particular lender until its deadline arrives. Ask your loan officer directly which version their investor is applying.
What is the maximum debt-to-income ratio for a Fannie Mae loan?
For manually underwritten loans, Fannie Mae’s maximum total DTI ratio is 36% of stable monthly income, and it can go up to 45% when the borrower meets the credit score and reserve requirements in the Eligibility Matrix, per Selling Guide B3-6-02, last revised April 2, 2025. Desktop Underwriter casefiles can go to 50%. Cash-out refinances in DU may have a lower maximum, and lenders may apply stricter limits. See our DTI guide.
Does Fannie Mae have a minimum loan amount?
No. Selling Guide B2-1.5-01 says Fannie Mae has no minimum original loan amount for whole loans or MBS loans. Its limits look only at the original loan amount, whatever the origination date, so a modified loan whose original amount was above the current limit is ineligible even if today’s balance is lower. A small loan still has to pass every other Selling Guide rule, starting with underwriting.
Will Fannie Mae buy a loan on a home that does not meet current zoning?
Often, yes. Selling Guide B4-1.3-04 lets Fannie Mae buy a loan on a legal nonconforming, or grandfathered, use as long as the appraisal reflects any adverse effect on value and marketability. An illegal use under the zoning rules is not eligible. The appraiser must report the specific zoning class, such as R-1, and say what it permits. Our zoning guide covers how to check.
The bottom line on Fannie Mae updates
Fannie Mae changes its rules through numbered Selling Guide Announcements formatted SEL-YYYY-NN, typically issued on the first Wednesday of the month, with the two-digit suffix counting announcements within the year rather than naming the month. SEL-2026-01 landed February 4, 2026 and SEL-2026-07 on August 5, 2026. The effective-date paragraph is what matters: an announcement may apply immediately, as SEL-2026-06 did on June 3, 2026 even though its supporting system changes landed later that month, attach to a future application date, as SEL-2026-05 did for condop eligibility on August 6, 2026, or stay optional until a deadline, as SEL-2026-02 was until June 1, 2026. Read the date before the headline.
If you want to know which version of a guideline your file will actually be underwritten to, talk to Align Lending. We’ll shop your scenario across our lender network and show you which investors have already adopted the rule that helps you. Call 248-506-5727 or start online.
Footnotes:
1. Align Lending is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of FHA or HUD. FHA programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and their requirements are set and changed independently of Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide. Return to text.
2. Align Lending works with VA-approved lenders and is not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA loan requirements are set and changed by the Department of Veterans Affairs independently of Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide. Return to text.
Sources: Selling Guide Announcement numbering, issue dates, topics and effective-date language, Fannie Mae Selling Guide Announcements SEL-2026-01 (February 4, 2026), SEL-2026-02 (March 4, 2026), SEL-2026-04 (April 22, 2026), SEL-2026-05 (May 6, 2026), SEL-2026-06 (June 3, 2026), SEL-2026-07 (August 5, 2026), SEL-2026-08 (September 2, 2026) and SEL-2026-09 (October 7, 2026). Reissue of SEL-2026-01 on March 18, 2026 changing the MH Advantage/CHOICEHome alignment trigger from “loans sold on or after” to “loans with application dates on or after,” same announcement. Statement that Selling Guide updates are typically published on the first Wednesday of the month, and description of the policy archive, annual Selling Policy Communications summary and “In Case You Missed It” job aid, Fannie Mae Selling Policy Communications and Selling and Servicing Guide communications and forms pages. Lender Letter LL-2025-04, Confirmation of Conforming Loan Limit Values 2026 (November 25, 2025), establishing the $832,750 one-unit limit for loans delivered and MBS pools issued on or after January 1, 2026, and Lender Letter LL-2026-03 (March 18, 2026) updating project standards and property insurance requirements for one- to four-unit properties and project developments, Fannie Mae single-family Lender Letters. Servicing Guide announcement numbering, Fannie Mae Servicing Guide Announcements for 2026. Topic-level revision date stamps, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-03, Income Calculator (03/04/2026). Addition of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO Score 10T as approved credit score models with staged availability, Fannie Mae Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2026-04 and Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-D, both dated April 22, 2026. Expansion of VantageScore 4.0 to all Fannie Mae-approved lenders without prior approval, one credit score model per loan, and alignment of loan-level pricing adjustments across Classic FICO and VantageScore 4.0, Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-06 (September 9, 2026, reissued September 30, 2026) and FHFA Credit Score Models page (updated October 2, 2026). No minimum credit score for DU loan casefiles, manual underwriting minimums from the Eligibility Matrix, and FICO Score 10T approved but not yet deliverable, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-5.1-01, General Requirements for Credit Scores (04/22/2026), and Announcement SEL-2025-09 (November 5, 2025). HomeReady eligibility, 97% maximum loan-to-value and 80%-of-area-median-income qualifying limit, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-6-01 and B5-6-02 and the Fannie Mae HomeReady product page. Absence of FHFA-designated high-cost counties in Michigan, FHFA Full County Loan Limit List. MI Home Loan compatibility with conventional financing, MI 10K DPA Loan maximum of $10,000 toward down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses as an interest-free loan available statewide, and the requirement that the MI 10K DPA Loan be combined with a MSHDA MI Home Loan, Michigan State Housing Development Authority program pages, michigan.gov/mshda. Michigan one-unit conforming loan limit of $832,750 in all 83 counties, FHFA CY2026 Full County Loan Limit List.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. Agency guidelines, announcement effective dates, credit score model availability and state assistance program terms change and vary by lender, property and program; confirm current requirements with your lender and consult a qualified professional about your situation. Nothing here is a rate quote or an offer of credit. Align Lending is an independent Michigan mortgage broker, NMLS #2041154.
Sources
Every outside source this guide links to, in the order it appears. How we choose and check sources
- Fannie Mae republishes the full Selling Guide the same dayFannie Mae Selling Guide
- A section labeled B3-3.1-03Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- FICO Score 10T is still not available for deliveryFederal Housing Finance Agency
- No longer carry a fixed 620 minimumFannie Mae Selling Guide
- HUD Mortgagee LetterU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- VA CircularU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Operates under the Federal Housing Finance AgencyFederal Housing Finance Agency
- Selling Guide topics B5-6-01 and B5-6-02, allowing up to 97% loan-to-value with qualifying income cappedFannie Mae Selling Guide
- Fannie Mae’s HomeReady mortgage requirementsFannie Mae
- FHFA’s conforming loan limit valuesFederal Housing Finance Agency
- The MI 10K DPA Loan provides up to $10,000State of Michigan
- MSHDA’s homeownership programsState of Michigan
- 12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(2)law.cornell.edu
- FHFA releaseFederal Housing Finance Agency
- FHFA’s conservatorship pageFederal Housing Finance Agency
- B4-1.4-10Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- B7-1-02Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- Freddie Mac’s Home Possible pageFreddie Mac
- Superseded policy pageU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Mortgagee Letter 2025-23U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- 12 CFR 1026.19Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- 12 CFR 1002.14Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- 12 CFR 1026.43Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- CFPB’s Closing Disclosure pageConsumer Financial Protection Bureau
- CFPB’s Loan Estimate pageConsumer Financial Protection Bureau
- HUD’s Fair Housing Act overviewU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Justice DepartmentU.S. Department of Justice
- OCCocc.gov
- Supplemental proposed rule of August 10, 2026govinfo.gov
- Mortgage brokers, lenders, and servicers licensing actMichigan Legislature
- Department of Insurance and Financial ServicesState of Michigan
- Change of ownership guidanceState of Michigan
- MCL 211.27aMichigan Legislature
- MSHDA’s MI Home Loan pageState of Michigan
- MCL 37.2502Michigan Legislature
- B3-6-02Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- B2-1.5-01Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- B4-1.3-04Fannie Mae Selling Guide


