HomeSteps Website Terms and Conditions

General

You have accessed the Terms and Conditions applicable to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation websites.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY AS THEY GOVERN YOUR USE OF FREDDIE MAC WEBSITES. BY USING A FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INCLUDING OUR LINKING POLICY AND CONTENT USE POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE ANY FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE.

We may modify these Terms and Conditions from time to time. We will notify you of such changes by posting the updated Terms and Conditions on the Freddie Mac website. You can determine when we last changed these Terms and Conditions by referring to the “LAST UPDATED” legend at the end of this document. Your use of a Freddie Mac website following the posting of the modified Terms and Conditions will constitute your acceptance of those changes.

Each user of a Freddie Mac website agrees as follows:

No Offer or Solicitation of Securities

Freddie Mac operates several websites, any one of which may include information, content and documentation (collectively "Information") related to, or referenced in the offering documentation for, certain Freddie Mac securities, including offering circulars and related supplements and agreements. Freddie Mac securities may not be eligible for offer or sale in certain jurisdictions or to certain persons. The Information is provided for your general information only, is current only as of its specified date and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. All Information relating to Freddie Mac securities is qualified in its entirety by the relevant offering circular and any related supplements. Investors should review the relevant offering circular and any related supplements before making a decision with respect to the purchase or sale of any security. In addition, before purchasing any security, please consult your legal and financial advisors for information about and analysis of the security, its risks and its suitability as an investment in your particular circumstances.

Copyrights and Intellectual Property

Except as otherwise noted, all information, documentation, and other content posted in a Freddie Mac website and all graphics, icons, and overall appearance of a Freddie Mac website are the property of Freddie Mac.

Unauthorized Access, Copying or Downloading

Freddie Mac specifically prohibits access to any Freddie Mac website for any unlawful purpose. Information on Freddie Mac websites may be downloaded for personal use, but no portion of a Freddie Mac website may be published, sold, republished, printed, copied, retransmitted, reposted, or displayed on a website or in other communication materials without Freddie Mac's prior written consent or unless otherwise noted.

Use of Freddie Mac's Content

Link to Content on our Website. Freddie Mac allows you to establish a link from your website to any content on a Freddie Mac website without obtaining our prior written consent, as long as you adhere to our Linking Policy.

RSS Feeds. Freddie Mac offers RSS updates. You may use our feeds for your own personal use or display the content on your website. You do not need Freddie Mac's prior written consent to do so as long as you adhere to the guidelines for syndication. Learn more on how to syndicate our automatically updated data content.

Use Freddie Mac's Name or Logo. You may not use Freddie Mac's name, logo, designs, product identifiers, slogans, trademarks, and service marks in any advertising, publicity or promotion, or in any other commercial manner without the prior written consent of Freddie Mac, unless otherwise noted.

Publish Freddie Mac Content. You may not publish, sell, republish, print, download, copy, retransmit, repost, or display any portion of a Freddie Mac website on your website or in other communication materials without our prior written consent, unless otherwise noted. See our Content Use Policy.

Intellectual Property Infringement.

Freddie Mac respects the intellectual property of others and we expect visitors to the Freddie Mac websites to do the same. Freddie Mac reserves the right to delete material transmitted to Freddie Mac by any electronic means or posted into any portion of a Freddie Mac website that Freddie Mac believes may infringe on the intellectual property rights of Freddie Mac or others.

If you believe that any content infringes your intellectual property, please notify Freddie Mac as soon as possible. Notice should be provided to Freddie Mac's copyright notice agent in the manner prescribed below. Your notice should contain the following information and any other information you believe is appropriate to assist Freddie Mac:

  • A physical or electronic signature of the person submitting the notice of the alleged infringement.
  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single site are covered, a representative list of such works at that site.
  • Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to permit Freddie Mac to locate the material.
  • Your address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which you may be contacted.
  • A statement that you, in good faith, believe that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
  • A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.

Freddie Mac's agent for notice of alleged infringement involving a Freddie Mac website can be reached here.

User Registration and Account Creation, User Name ID and Password Security

If any portion of a Freddie Mac website provides for registration or creation of a user account and you wish to register or create a user account, you agree that you will provide Freddie Mac with accurate, truthful, and current registration information and that you will maintain and update such information regularly. Freddie Mac may reject, or require that you change, any user name or password that you provide to us when registering. Freddie Mac has no obligation to verify the authenticity of any registration information, but reserves the right to refuse to create your account for any reason. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your registration information and passwords. Freddie Mac has the right to rely upon any information received from any person using a password assigned to you and will incur no liability arising out of such reliance. You agree to notify Freddie Mac immediately in the event of any loss or theft of your user name or password. Where applicable, Freddie Mac will handle any information that you submit to a Freddie Mac website in accordance with the website's Privacy Policy.

Third Party Links; Products and Services

Periodically, links may be established between a Freddie Mac website and websites operated or content provided by third parties (each a "Third Party Website"). For purposes of these Terms and Conditions, the term "link" includes both outlinks (hypertext links to external websites or content) and inlinks (hypertext links that draw material from other sources into a Freddie Mac website). Except to the extent expressly stated otherwise on a Freddie Mac website, Freddie Mac has no control over any such Third Party Website. In addition, from time to time, products and services provided by third parties (the "Third Party Services") may be offered for sale or made available through links from a Freddie Mac website. Any such offer of the Third Party Services does not constitute an endorsement or guarantee by Freddie Mac of the Third Party Services or the providers thereof. In no event will Freddie Mac have any liability related to any Third Party Website or any Third Party Services.

Non-Confidentiality of Communications

If you send a message or information to a Freddie Mac website, such as (but not limited to) an e-mail to the Webmaster, you hereby grant to Freddie Mac the right to use and disclose the communication and information as Freddie Mac deems appropriate, except to the extent the Freddie Mac website or the website privacy policy specifies otherwise. By transmitting any message or information to Freddie Mac, you represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to convey the message or information to Freddie Mac and to grant Freddie Mac the use and disclosure rights granted above. YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISED THAT, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT EXPRESSLY PROVIDED OTHERWISE ON A FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE, NO FACILITIES ARE PROVIDED AND NO PROVISIONS ARE MADE FOR SENDING OR RECEIVING CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS. TO THE EXTENT SUCH FACILITIES ARE PROVIDED OR PROVISIONS ARE MADE, IT IS SOLELY ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITH NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

Termination

Freddie Mac reserves the right to terminate access to all or any portion of a Freddie Mac website at any time without notice and for any reason. If we terminate your access to a Freddie Mac website, you will not have the right to bring claims against us with respect to such termination.

No Warranties; Limitation of Liability

Although Freddie Mac attempts to provide useful Information, Freddie Mac does not guarantee that the Information posted on or linked to any Freddie Mac website is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. Freddie Mac assumes no obligation to update or continue to post or link to the Information. Freddie Mac does not guarantee that access to or operation of any Freddie Mac website will be uninterrupted or error free, or that a Freddie Mac website cannot be tampered with by third parties or that any files or information that you download from a Freddie Mac website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. While Freddie Mac has implemented security measures designed to protect most information sent to the Freddie Mac websites, Freddie Mac does not guarantee that information sent to a Freddie Mac website will not be obtained, reviewed, disclosed or tampered with by third parties. THE FREDDIE MAC WEBSITES, THE INFORMATION POSTED OR LINKED THERETO AND ANY SOFTWARE RELATED THERETO ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITH NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR ACCURACY OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. USE OF THE FREDDIE MAC WEBSITES, SUCH INFORMATION AND SUCH SOFTWARE IS AT THE USER'S SOLE RISK. IN NO EVENT WILL FREDDIE MAC BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO ANY FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY SOFTWARE RELATED THERETO), ANY THIRD PARTY WEBSITE, ANY THIRD PARTY SERVICES OR ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OR LINKED TO ANY FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE OR ANY OTHER WEBSITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER UNDER A CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF FREDDIE MAC IS AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Choice of Law; Access Restrictions

These Terms and Conditions will be construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America, excluding provisions of Virginia law concerning choice-of-law that would result in the laws of any state or country other than Virginia being applied. However, the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (or any substantially similar law enacted by Virginia) will not apply to these Terms and Conditions, and instead the law of Virginia as it exists without reference to the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act will apply. Any claims, actions or proceedings related to a Freddie Mac website or these Terms and Conditions must be brought in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. By using a Freddie Mac website, you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of said court for such purposes. FREDDIE MAC OPERATES THE FREDDIE MAC WEBSITES FROM ITS OFFICES IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. FREDDIE MAC MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OR LINKED TO ANY FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE IS APPROPRIATE OR LEGALLY AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, DISPLAY OR USE IN LOCATIONS OTHER THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND ACCESS TO SUCH INFORMATION FROM JURISDICTIONS WHERE SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE NOT LEGAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU ACCESS OR USE ANY INFORMATION FROM OR THROUGH A FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE, YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT SUCH ACCESS AND USE IS PERMISSIBLE UNDER THE LAWS OF THE JURISDICTION IN WHICH YOU ARE LOCATED.

Choice of Law; Access Restrictions

These Terms and Conditions will be construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America, excluding provisions of Virginia law concerning choice-of-law that would result in the laws of any state or country other than Virginia being applied. However, the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (or any substantially similar law enacted by Virginia) will not apply to these Terms and Conditions, and instead the law of Virginia as it exists without reference to the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act will apply. Any claims, actions or proceedings related to a Freddie Mac website or these Terms and Conditions must be brought in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division. By using a Freddie Mac website, you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of said court for such purposes. FREDDIE MAC OPERATES THE FREDDIE MAC WEBSITES FROM ITS OFFICES IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. FREDDIE MAC MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OR LINKED TO ANY FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE IS APPROPRIATE OR LEGALLY AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, DISPLAY OR USE IN LOCATIONS OTHER THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND ACCESS TO SUCH INFORMATION FROM JURISDICTIONS WHERE SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE NOT LEGAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU ACCESS OR USE ANY INFORMATION FROM OR THROUGH A FREDDIE MAC WEBSITE, YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT SUCH ACCESS AND USE IS PERMISSIBLE UNDER THE LAWS OF THE JURISDICTION IN WHICH YOU ARE LOCATED.

Export Laws

Software, Information and encryption codes from Freddie Mac websites may be subject to United States export control laws and regulations ("Export Laws"). No software, Information or encryption codes may be downloaded from any Freddie Mac website or otherwise exported or reexported to any countries, persons or entities in violation of any Export Laws. By downloading or using any such software, Information or encryption codes, you represent and warrant that you will comply with all applicable Export Laws related thereto.

Supplemental Terms and Conditions

Except as otherwise expressly stated herein, these Terms and Conditions are the entire agreement between you and Freddie Mac relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous written or oral agreements or understandings between you and Freddie Mac relating to such subject matter. Supplemental or additional terms and conditions than those set forth in these Terms and Conditions may be applicable to information you receive or transactions you engage in using a Freddie Mac website (“Supplemental Terms”). Any Supplemental Terms (i) will be disclosed to you, either by being posted on the applicable Freddie Mac website or by being included in a separate agreement, (ii) will be in addition to these Terms and Conditions, (iii) will, if expressly so indicated, supersede specific portions of these Terms and Conditions, and (iv) will be binding on you by virtue of your use of the applicable Freddie Mac website. If there is any conflict between these Terms and Conditions and any Supplemental Terms, the Supplemental Terms will take precedence over these Terms and Conditions but only for the specific transaction or information to which the Supplemental Terms apply.

Severability Waiver

The provisions of these Terms and Conditions are severable. If any such provision is determined to be unenforceable, such unenforceability will not affect any other provision of these Terms and Conditions, and the Terms and Conditions will be construed as if such unenforceable provision had not been contained herein. No waiver by Freddie Mac of any right under or provision of these Terms and Conditions will be deemed to be either a waiver of any other such right or provision or a waiver of that same right or provision at any other time.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Freddie Mac and each of its directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all injuries, damages, losses, liabilities, claims, judgments and settlements, including all reasonable costs, expenses and attorneys' fees, arising out of any action or claim related to any negligent or willful act or omission by you while accessing a Freddie Mac website or your failure to comply with any of these terms and conditions.


Last updated: April 1, 2017