Americans facing housing challenges may benefit from new FHFA policy that counts rent payments toward mortgage qualification, expanding access to homeownership beyond traditional credit.

For years, lenders have used only the FICO score, from Fair Isaac Corp. — a metric that generally excludes such things as rent and utility payments. Since 2022, the FHFA has required lenders to use the FICO Score 10 T, a mortgage-specific grade that’s one of many scores issued by FICO.

Bill Pulte, the nation's top mortgage regulator, has called for a congressional investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The pilot, relaunched by Fannie Mae in March 2024, allows approved mortgage lenders to use an automated title review process.

Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte announced that lenders may start using VantageScore, a rival to the Fair Isaac Corporation, the company behind the widely recognized FICO score, to assess creditworthiness for government-sponsored Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages.

As the latest housing bubble pops, home sellers are asking for unreal prices for their homes, while buyers are waiting for the prices to fall. Bill

The FICO score inventor continues its war with the new administration's FHFA Director Bill Pulte. Pulte said this week that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow lenders to use a FICO alternative in scoring customers for mortgages.

The government-sponsored enterprise has reportedly added a new vendor to a test in which it buys certain loans without title insurance or attorney opinion letters.

Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) stock tumbled 8.9% in Tuesday trading after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae (OTCQB:FNMA) and Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC) will immediately allow lenders to use VantageScore 4.