Recourse

Recourse

The obligation of the lender to cover losses the buyer incurs as a result of a default on the note. Under a whole loan transaction, a lender that sells a mortgage to Fannie Mae under the "with recourse" servicing option assumes the entire risk of borrower default, while a lender that sells a mortgage under the "without recourse" servicing option transfers the risk of borrower default to Fannie Mae. (See regular servicing option and special servicing option for equivalent terms for MBS transactions.)