of 5— Download your guideline documents

What you'll accomplish

By the end of this guide, you'll have a Claude Project loaded with the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Freddie Mac Single-Family Guide, and your lender's overlay documents — so you can ask guideline questions in plain English and get precise answers with citations, without navigating 1,400-page PDFs.

What you'll need

Claude account at {{tool:Claude.url}}
{{tool:Claude.plan}} subscription ({{tool:Claude.price}}) — Projects require a paid account
PDF downloads of key guideline documents (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Freddie Mac SFG, or your lender's overlay matrix)
Cost: {{tool:Claude.price}}/month

How-To Guide: Build a Claude Project Guideline Research Assistant

Step 1: Download your guideline documents

Before setting up the Project, gather the documents you'll upload:

Fannie Mae Selling Guide — download at fanniemae.com/singlefamily/originating-underwriting/selling-guide
Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide — download at freddiemac.com/singlefamily/guide
Your lender's overlay matrix (if available as a PDF or text file)
FHA Handbook 4000.1 — available at hud.gov (for FHA underwriters)

Note: These are large documents. Claude Projects accept files up to a certain size — if the full guide is too large, upload specific chapters most relevant to your common questions (income, credit, property, eligibility).

Most useful chapters to prioritize:

Fannie Mae: B3 (Underwriting Borrowers), B4 (Property Assessment), B5 (Special Purpose Programs)
Freddie Mac: Chapter 5100 (Documentation), Chapter 5300 (Credit Assessment)
FHA 4000.1: Section II (Origination Through Post-Closing/Endorsement)

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