Don't Borrow Trouble® is a national award-winning campaign that combines education and empowerment — showing consumers how to protect their homes and neighborhoods.

• Welcome to Freddie Mac's Anti-Predatory Lending Site

  We've all seen the aggressive marketing campaigns for refinance and home equity loans. They may seem tempting but they may not be the best financing alternative — they could even risk a family's financial health, a home's equity and the stability of a neighborhood. Knowledge is protection — learning about refinancing and the mortgage process puts the power to protect both home and family in the homeowner's hands.

  Don't Borrow Trouble is the first comprehensive consumer awareness campaign of its kind, combining public education and counseling services to help homeowners avoid predatory lending scams and foreclosures. Don't Borrow Trouble was pioneered in Boston by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC). Freddie Mac is expanding the campaign to communities nationwide.

• A Reliable Source of Information

  Don't Borrow Trouble uses brochures, mailings, posters, public service announcements, transit ads and television commercials to inform the public and answer questions from potential borrowers — and to provide assistance to consumers if they've already taken out a loan.

• An Award-Winning Program

  Freddie Mac has expanded Don't Borrow Trouble nationwide since 2000 by providing:

  • seed funding
  • bilingual media toolkit
  • project coordination
  • marketing consultant services
  • onsite training by the National Consumer Law Center
  How do I bring Don't Borrow Trouble to my community?