source:
  type: guide
  id: fhlmc-8101.3
  authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8101.3 — Governing
    law
  description: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8101.3 — Governing
    law.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fhlmc-8101.3-full
  canonical_id: fhlmc-8101.3-full
  section: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8101.3 — Governing
    law
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fhlmc
  - freddie-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8101.3 — Governing
      law
    source_class: fhlmc-guide
    source_url: https://guide.freddiemac.com/ci-guide
    snapshot_id: 5869ee9e606cd4ae
    fetched_at: '2026-05-23T00:27:40Z'
    content_hash: sha256:9a1b23e5024bb369e7a59d36b3702383c11ace68b5d209fdef791bc8f955c637
    paragraph_quote: '8101.3: Governing law (10/08/25) Each Purchase Document or other
      contract for the Servicing of Mortgages must be construed and the rights and
      obligations of the parties thereunder determined according to the laws of the
      United States. The laws of the State of New York are deemed to reflect the laws
      of the United States when there is no applicable precedent and when to do so
      would not frustrate any provision of the Purchase Document or other contracts
      for Servicing. 8101.4: Borrower inquiries, Servicing error resolution, audits
      and access to Mortgage records, Treatment of personal and property information
      (09/10/25) This section contains requirements related to: ■ Responding to Borrower
      inquiries ■ Error resolution procedures related to the Servicing of a Mortgage
      ■ Freddie Mac audits and access to Mortgage records ■ Treatment of personal
      and property information Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter
      8101 As of 10/08/25 Page 8101-5 (a) Responding to Borrower inquiries Regardless
      of whether a Mortgage is securitized or held by Freddie Mac, Servicers receive
      Mortgage payments from Borrowers on behalf of and remit such payments to Freddie
      Mac. As such, a Seller/Servicer should respond promptly to a Borrower’s inquiry
      and must provide the Borrower with accurate information about the Borrower’s
      Mortgage. If a Borrower inquires about the ownership or assignee of his or her
      Mortgage: ■ The Seller/Servicer may inform the Borrower that Freddie Mac owns
      the Mortgage once the Borrower’s identity is verified ■ If the Seller/Servicer
      is unable, in a telephone conversation, to verify that it is the Borrower who
      is requesting the information, the Borrower’s request for information must be
      made in writing ■ If requested, the Seller/Servicer may also provide the Borrower
      with Freddie Mac’s address and telephone number and the Freddie Mac loan number
      associated with the Borrower’s Mortgage, and the Seller/Servicer must explain
      to the Borrower that it services the Mortgage for Freddie Mac ■ If the Seller/Servicer
      provides the Borrower with the requested information in a telephone conversation,
      the Seller/Servicer must follow up by providing the same information to the
      Borrower in writing The Freddie Mac address and telephone number that the Seller/Servicer
      must provide to the Borrower are: FREDDIE MAC 8200 JONES BRANCH DR. MCLEAN,
      VA 22102 800-FREDDIE Note: See Sections 7101.6(b), 7101.7(a), 7101.7(c), 8101.4(d)
      and 8104.1(a) for additional Servicing obligations relating to Borrower inquiries.
      (b) Error resolution procedures related to the Servicing of a Mortgage Servicers
      must comply with the requirements set forth in this section in resolving errors
      asserted by a Borrower or Borrower’s representative relating to the Servicing
      of a Mortgage. Servicers must refer to Chapter 9101 for additional requirements
      pertaining to a Borrower’s right to appeal a denial of a Trial Period Plan based
      on the Servicer’s review of the First Complete Borrower Response Package. Freddie
      Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 8101 As of 10/08/25 Page 8101-6
      The Servicer must have written policies and procedures to ensure that it reviews
      and responds to any written request received from a Borrower asserting an error
      relating to the Servicing of the Mortgage, provided the Borrower’s written request
      includes: ■ The Borrower’s name ■ Information that enables the Servicer to identify
      the Borrower’s Mortgage file; and ■ The error the Borrower believes has occurred
      At a minimum, the Servicer must: ■ Have a sufficient number of adequately trained
      staff to be able to track and respond to any written notice received from a
      Borrower asserting an error in accordance with the requirements of this section
      ■ Maintain policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that
      the Servicer investigates, responds to and makes corrections in response to
      complaints asserted by Borrowers ■ Conduct reasonable investigations and respond
      to a Borrower with either: ❑ A written notification of the correction, the effective
      date of the correction and Servicer contact information, including a telephone
      number for further assistance; or ❑ A statement that the Servicer has determined
      that no error occurred, the reasons for the Servicer’s determination, a statement
      of the Borrower’s right to request the documents the Servicer used to reach
      its decision, information on how the Borrower may request those documents and
      contact information, including a telephone number ■ Respond to the Borrower’s
      notice of error within the time limits set forth under applicable law ■ Regularly
      review and assess the adequacy of its internal controls and procedures used
      in connection with Servicing of Freddie Mac Mortgages to ensure compliance with
      the Guide and other Purchase Documents and applicable law ■ Take remedial steps,
      as appropriate, if any deficiencies are identified as a result of its review
      of internal controls and processes or if issues are identified from a review
      of a Borrower’s notification asserting an error. The Servicer must formally
      document the results of such reviews and make the results available to Freddie
      Mac upon request. The Servicer must maintain in the Mortgage file documentation
      of all communication regarding any case for which the Servicer has received
      written notification from a Borrower asserting an error and provide such files
      or aggregated information to Freddie Mac for review upon request. Freddie Mac
      Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 8101 As of 10/08/25 Page 8101-7
      (c) Freddie Mac audits and access to Mortgage records (i) Freddie Mac audit
      rights Freddie Mac reserves the right to audit Mortgages at any time to verify
      the Servicer’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the Purchase Documents.
      Freddie Mac will select the Mortgages to be audited, and the Servicer must provide
      all related files. The files must contain, at a minimum, all documents required
      by the Purchase Documents. The audit rights contained in this Section 8101.4(c)
      in no way limit Freddie Mac’s rights or remedies as otherwise provided in the
      Purchase Documents. (ii) Servicer’s obligation to provide access to Mortgage
      records The Servicer agrees to provide Freddie Mac, upon request, access to
      or copies of any Mortgage records related to Mortgages it services for Freddie
      Mac. These records include all documents, files, information and data, including
      any of the same maintained in the Mortgage file or in any database or in any
      data processing, storage or retrieval system. (All such records, documents,
      files, information and data hereinafter referred to as “Mortgage records”.)
      Additionally, the Servicer must provide access to any other records, documents,
      files, information and data maintained or held by the Servicer which Freddie
      Mac deems necessary to verify the accuracy and completeness of the Mortgage
      records pertaining to any Mortgage serviced by the Servicer for Freddie Mac
      or to ensure that the Servicer is complying with the requirements of the Purchase
      Documents. Freddie Mac may request this information via spoken or written communication.
      (iii) Timelines for submitting records If Freddie Mac requests Mortgage records
      for any reason, including audits or Servicer Success file reviews, the Servicer
      must deliver the records within 30 days from the date of the request. Freddie
      Mac may adjust the deadline, at its sole discretion, depending on the circumstances
      at the time. Failure to provide the requested Mortgage records within the specified
      timeframe will be considered a violation of the Purchase Documents, and Freddie
      Mac will exercise all rights and remedies available under the Purchase Documents
      and applicable law. (iv) Third-party responsibilities The Servicer must ensure
      that any Servicing Agent, service bureau or other person which shall, at any
      time, process, maintain or store any Mortgage records on its behalf provides
      written consent allowing Freddie Mac to access, disclose or obtain copies of
      all of such Mortgage records. This includes Mortgage records related to any
      Mortgage serviced by the Servicer for Freddie Mac, as well as any additional
      records, documents, files, information and data Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer
      Guide Chapter 8101 As of 10/08/25 Page 8101-8 maintained or held by such other
      person which Freddie Mac deems necessary to verify the accuracy and completeness
      of the Mortgage records or to confirm the Servicer’s compliance with the Purchase
      Documents. Freddie Mac may request this access without prior notice or further
      action required from the Servicer. (v) Freddie Mac’s authority to act on behalf
      of the Servicer This Guide section authorizes Freddie Mac to execute, acknowledge
      and deliver such instruments and documents on the Servicer’s behalf and take
      all such other actions as may be reasonably required on behalf of the Servicer,
      in order to effectuate the purposes of this section. The Seller/Servicer also
      agrees to allow Freddie Mac to conduct monitoring from time to time in order
      to confirm that the Seller/Servicer is satisfying its obligations under the
      Guide to safeguard Borrower nonpublic personal information pertaining to Mortgages
      purchased by Freddie Mac. (d) Treatment of personal and property information
      Through its Servicing of Mortgages for Freddie Mac, the Servicer may obtain
      information, including fair lending data elements as described in Section 1301.2(f),
      concerning the Borrower or the Mortgaged Premises that is either not publicly
      available or required to be protected under applicable privacy, securities,
      information security, consumer protection or other laws (collectively, “Protected
      Information”). ■ Servicer will not use Protected Information or any information
      derived from Protected Information (“derivative information”) or permit it to
      be used in any way that violates applicable law or that represents or could
      be construed to represent a conflict of interest or breach of confidentiality
      ■ Protected information and any derivative information may only be used for
      purposes of Servicing Mortgages for Freddie Mac and only as permitted under
      applicable law ■ The Servicer must maintain all such Protected Information and
      derivative information in such a way as to ensure the security and confidentiality
      of the information, protect against anticipated threats or hazards to the security
      or integrity of the information and protect against unauthorized access to or
      use of such information while in its possession or that of a Related Third Party,
      including following Freddie Mac’s termination of Seller/Servicer’s right to
      sell or service Mortgages ■ Such maintenance and protection obligations shall
      survive the termination of Seller/Servicer’s right to sell or service Mortgages
      pursuant to the Guide and shall continue for as long as Servicers have possession
      of Mortgage files or Freddie Mac information Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer
      Guide Chapter 8101 As of 10/08/25 Page 8101-9 (i) Disclosure of payment history
      information The Servicer must disclose to the Borrower or any third party authorized
      in writing by the Borrower information maintained by the Servicer concerning
      the Borrower’s payment history if the Borrower (or any third party authorized
      by the Borrower) shall request such information in writing. Information so disclosed
      must be correct, complete and up to date and must accurately reflect the Borrower’s
      performance in meeting payment obligations without the use of codes or abbreviations.
      (ii) Disclosure of material information Certain information about individual
      Mortgages or Mortgaged Premises obtained by the Servicer through its Servicing
      of Mortgages for Freddie Mac may be material to a purchaser or a seller of UMBS®,
      MBS or WAC ARM PCs representing interests in those Mortgages. This information
      is considered to be material if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable
      investor would consider the information to be important in determining whether
      to purchase or sell a UMBS, MBS or WAC ARM PC representing interests in the
      Mortgages. The Servicer may not purchase or sell such a UMBS, MBS or WAC ARM
      PC (or disclose material information relating to the UMBS, MBS or WAC ARM PC
      to a third party for its use) without disclosing such material information to
      the other party to the transaction. If disclosure of such information to other
      parties would contravene applicable law or regulations regarding disclosure
      of credit information, the Servicer must refrain from trading with respect to
      the UMBS, MBS or WAC ARM PC.'
  judgment: false
