Homeownership education can help you become a successful homeowner. It can provide more information on:
- Preparing for the mortgage approval process
- Understanding the issues involved in qualifying for a loan
- Understanding the importance of establishing a strong credit reputation
- Identifying the important elements of home selection
- Selecting a home that is affordable over the long term
- Learning about the financing and closing processes
- Understanding how to avoid mortgage delinquencies, defaults, and foreclosures
Credit counseling can help you improve and build back your credit by providing:
- Credit education
- Confidential spending plan and debt counseling
- Debt repayment programs
- Financial management education
Look in your own community for these valuable nonprofit resources. Great ways to find help include:
National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a network of consumer counseling agencies. Check the yellow pages or visit www.nfcc.org on the Internet for the office closest to you.
NeighborWorks® America is a national network of nonprofit organizations who support affordable housing and homeownership initiatives in local communities. Check the yellow pages or visit www.nw.org on the Internet for the office closest to you.
Other nonprofit homeownership education groups in your area. Check your yellow pages under “credit counseling.” Or, on the Internet, search for topics such as “debt counseling,” “consumer credit counseling service,” “homeownership,” or “homeownership education.”
Types of Counseling
There are many different types of counseling available to you as a consumer to help you prepare for homeownership both before and after you buy a home:
- Homeownership education is usually taught in group classes over a period of four to eight hours.
- Homeownership counseling usually provides one-on-one assistance to help people prepare for homeownership.
- Post-purchase counseling typically provides assistance after the closing, either in group sessions or through one-on-one meetings.
- Landlord/tenant counseling provides information on owning and managing a property of two or more units when you are renting the remaining unit(s).
