Most of the money for home loans comes from three major institutions: 

• Fannie Mae (FNMA - Federal National Mortgage Association)

• Freddie Mac (FHLMC - Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation)

• Ginnie Mae (GNMA - Government National Mortgage Association).

You talk to practically any lender and apply for a loan. They do all the processing and verifications and finally, you own the house and now you have a home loan and you make mortgage payments.  You might be making payments to the company who originated your loan, or your loan might have been transferred to another institution. The company you make your payments to very rarely owns your loan.  They are the "servicer" of your mortgage.  They are called the servicer because they are simply "servicing" your loan for the institution that does own it.