President Trump’s Oct. 22 executive order on housing costs hands the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency two assignments that touch Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The director is to consider cutting some of the fees the two companies charge on certain refinances and, if he determines it serves the public, to set up a pilot that cancels mortgage insurance on new loans without waiting for the borrower to ask. The order, Executive Order 14438, puts no dollar figure on either step.
The order calls Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “the Enterprises.” They buy mortgages from lenders and guarantee them. The White House fact sheet issued with the order says the mortgage insurance pilot would remove a large monthly expense for borrowers who qualify and that the title changes would lower refinancing closing costs. Neither piece is an automatic cut. Each waits on a decision by the FHFA director.
Whether a homeowner is touched at all comes down to when the loan was made and what kind of refinance is involved. A homeowner whose loan closed before the pilot exists is outside the mortgage insurance test as the order is written, and the fee language reaches only the refinances covered by the title program. Anyone paying mortgage insurance today still has the cancellation rules already on the books.
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Which Fannie and Freddie fees might come down?
The fee language sits in Section 4, which deals with title insurance on refinances. FHFA announced its Title Acceptance Pilot in March 2024 under then-director Sandra Thompson. It removes the requirement for a lender’s title insurance policy on certain low-risk refinances, to test whether closing costs fall for existing homeowners. The order says the director can direct the two companies to turn that pilot into an ongoing nationwide program if he determines it serves the companies, the agency and the public.
In setting up the expanded program, the order says the director “shall consider” several options. One is allowing refinances with a loan-to-value ratio above the current 80 percent limit. Another is “reducing or eliminating loan-level price adjustments and other Enterprise fees on such refinances.” Loan-level price adjustments are the risk-based pricing add-ons that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac attach to loans.
The words “such refinances” carry the weight. The fee language is tied to the refinances the title program covers, not to every mortgage the two companies buy. The order also says the director “shall require” that any savings from the title program be passed through to borrowers, and it lists waiving appraisals or income re-verification for certain limited cash-out refinances among the options to consider.
How would mortgage insurance be canceled early?
Section 2 covers the mortgage insurance pilot. Under it, the director “shall, if he determines” the step is in the interests of the companies, the agency and the public, direct the two companies to review the single-family loans they own, guarantee or securitize and look for borrowers who may qualify for cancellation. Mortgage insurance would be “canceled proactively” when a company decides the borrower meets the test, and servicers would be told to notify borrowers promptly when cancellation may be possible.
The pilot applies only to mortgages made after it is established. The order also tells the companies to cut unnecessary documentation and appraisal requirements. The fact sheet says cancellation would turn on a borrower’s equity measured at current market value, which is a different yardstick from the one in the rules homeowners use now.
What already lets a homeowner drop mortgage insurance?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s page on removing private mortgage insurance, last reviewed Aug. 28, 2026, lays out three triggers. A borrower can ask the servicer to cancel when the balance is scheduled to reach 80 percent of the home’s original value. The servicer generally must end it automatically at 78 percent, and in any case the month after the loan reaches the midpoint of its term, which is after 15 years on a 30-year loan.
A request has to be in writing, the borrower has to be current with a good payment history, there can be no second mortgage or other junior lien, and the home’s value cannot have fallen below its original value, usually shown with an appraisal. These rules cover single-family primary residences with loans closed on or after July 29, 1999. FHA, VA and lender-paid mortgage insurance follow different rules, and loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can have their own guidelines, which cannot be less favorable to the borrower.
The key difference is the starting point. Today’s rules measure from the home’s original value, generally the lower of the sale price or the appraisal at purchase. The pilot, according to the fact sheet, would look at current market value, so a home that has gained value since the purchase could be judged differently.
What does the order leave undecided?
It sets no dollar amounts for fee cuts and no savings estimate for the pilot. Section 6 says the order is to be carried out consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations, and that it is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit. The same conditional wording runs through the order: “consider” for the fees and “if he determines” for the pilots.
A fee cut on a refinance or an earlier end to mortgage insurance would first need the director’s decision and then action by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The same order also creates a task force on manufactured housing with 180 days to make recommendations, and it tells the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries to reduce interest rates on loans their departments make directly.
Could this order change what a home costs to carry?
For a homeowner, the order promises a look at refinance fees and an earlier end to mortgage insurance on future loans, not a lower payment on a date. The costs that arrive every month, from the insurance bill to the property tax, keep arriving while the director decides.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
