Friday Harbor has integrated Freddie Mac’s Income Calculator into its AI pre-underwriting platform, giving originators an earlier agency-supported qualifying-income calculation for wage earners whose variable pay can complicate an initial loan assessment.
The integration allows lenders to send digitized paystub and W-2 information from Friday Harbor to Freddie Mac’s Income Calculator through an application programming interface, or API. Freddie Mac’s tool then determines calculated monthly income, while Friday Harbor flags potential documentation or guideline issues before the file reaches formal underwriting.
Friday Harbor’s artificial intelligence does not make the qualifying-income calculation. Freddie Mac’s calculator does. Friday Harbor is positioning its platform as the workflow layer that gathers the documents, sends the required data to the agency tool, surfaces potential problems, and retains the resulting certificate in the loan file.
For loan originators, that could mean learning sooner whether the income being discussed with a borrower is the income Freddie Mac will recognize.
“Having the Freddie Mac Income Calculator available inside Friday Harbor changes the conversation with borrowers,” said Rob Jewett, chief operating officer at NewFed Mortgage Corp. “We can give borrowers a straight answer sooner, keep files moving, and avoid surprises later in the process.”
A More Defensible Number Earlier
Variable wage income can require more analysis than a straightforward salary. The amount ultimately accepted for qualification can affect the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio, purchasing power, and eligibility for a particular loan.
Through the integration, Friday Harbor digitizes paystubs and W-2s obtained through a loan origination system connection or direct upload. Freddie Mac’s API uses that information to determine monthly qualifying income.
Friday Harbor’s platform separately analyzes the file for potential issues and provides findings tied to Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide. It also updates loan conditions as additional documents are received through the platform’s dynamic needs list and Income & Asset Sandbox.
The calculated income can be submitted through Loan Product Advisor, Freddie Mac’s automated underwriting system. A Freddie Mac Income Calculator Certificate is then retained in the loan file to help preserve eligibility for applicable representation-and-warranty relief related to the income calculation.
That relief is limited. The certificate does not eliminate a lender’s responsibility for the accuracy or eligibility of the entire loan, nor does it provide blanket protection against repurchase demands.
“Variable wage income remains one of the more complicated income scenarios loan production teams face,” Friday Harbor founder and CEO Theo Ellis said. “We’re proud to bring the new Freddie Mac Income Calculator API to pre-underwriting, giving originators reliable qualifying income calculations earlier in the origination process.”
Friday Harbor is moving its platform across a wider range of mortgage products and borrower profiles.
In August, Friday Harbor had added pre-underwriting for bank-statement and certain jumbo loans, including qualifying-income calculations and investor-specific guideline reviews. The company has also added USDA loan support, allowing production teams to identify documentation, eligibility, and Guaranteed Underwriting System issues earlier.
The Freddie Mac integration applies that same strategy to conforming wage-earner files: move an underwriting calculation closer to the point of sale so the LO has a more defensible answer before the loan proceeds further.
