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Who is involved in the Mortgage Process?

Click each + to learn about the different parties involved in mortgages.

Lender

Borrower

The Investor

The Agency

The Agency

Agencies write the rules for the mortgage industry to follow to approve loans. There are only 3 agencies:

• Fannie Mae,
• Freddie Mac, and
• Ginnie Mae

Click on each name to learn more about the agency. It is important to note that Ginnie Mae is only for government loans.

The Investor

An investor follows the guidelines that the agencies write but may impose "overlaying guidelines" (stricter requirements beyond agency guidelines). Investors originate and process loans to sell them or keep them as part of their portfolio. Agencies can play the role of the investor but investors can never play the role of an agency.

The Lender

The lender is the company that provides the loan. A bank lends its own money. A lender, like Guaranteed Rate Companies, works in a similar way but Guaranteed Rate Companies' goal is to sell loans after funding to replenish our funds and be able to relend that money to other clients. Banks may keep loans as part of their own portfolio or sell loans after financing so they too can lend to more borrowers.

The Borrower

• The borrower is the individual applying for the mortgage.
• If there is more than one person applying for the mortgage, one is the borrower and one is the co-borrower. Borrowers and co-borrowers are on the same application.
• The borrower and co-borrower have equal rights and responsibilities.
• A loan might also have a co-mortgagor, who is a participant on the loan who shares in the liability for full repayment of a loan but they have an entirely separate application. Typically co-mortgagors do not occupy the property. An example would be a parent on their child's mortgage.