Counseling

The National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling are a set of guidelines for quality homeownership and counseling services. Industry professionals who adopt these standards can be trusted to provide consistent, high quality advice.

Helping individuals and families to achieve the dream of homeownership is no small challenge.

Homeownership education and counseling is a critical step in producing an informed consumer who is better equipped to sustain homeownership.

These Standards help practitioners and organizations serve families and communities with consistent service and professional excellence.

We follow the Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling in daily business operations. Organizations are encouraged to strive to exceed the benchmarks. Click here to learn more.

Foreclosure/Mortgage Counseling & Mortgage Scam Assistance

Free HUD-approved counseling is provided for homeowners who have become delinquent on their mortgage payments. Certified housing counselors will lead you through the maze of options available depending on the type of mortgage you have and the amount of arrearage you are experiencing. Most often, if you desire to stay in your home and have sufficient current income to pay your mortgage going forward, a plan can be worked out with your mortgagee to retain ownership.

Required Forms

These forms should be printed and filled out prior to your first visit. Click here to download in PDF format. A new window will open.
Click here for the forms in Spanish.

Pre-Purchase (Class) Homebuyers Education

Description:
The Homebuyer’s Education class will utilize the NeighborWorks America curriculum called “Realizing The American Dream”. Attendees will spend a minimum of 8 hours as a group, learning the responsibilities of owning a home, financial management and planning, the mortgage process, review FHA and conventional loan products and how to avoid predatory lending practices. Individual “homework” will be assigned as a precursory self assessment of their current situation.

Upon completion of this course, attendees will receive a Homeownership Education Certificate, and will be able to set up a one-to-one appointment with a housing counselor to address their individual needs and help them meet their goals.

Call for information and to register for upcoming classes:

By Phone: 1-800-705-8350
By Email: info@partnersincharity.org

Pre-Purchase One-To-One

Description:
The first appointment will comprise of a 60-90 minute session with the client. During this session, the client’s individual financial profile will be compiled and the initial budget and savings will be discussed. Together, the counselor and the client will explore the client’s ability to purchase a home and what milestones need to be reached in order to obtain that goal. The counselor will help the client formulate a budget and search for ways that they can save money toward the purchase of a home. The counselor will also show them that as part of their budget they should be able to demonstrate the ability to pay a mortgage payment and maintenance associated with owning a home.

To Accomplish This, The Counselor Will Do The Following:

1. Review the client’s credit report and formulate a game plan for any derogatory credit.
2. Ensure that based on the wants of the client, proper ratios can be met based on income and debt in order to satisfy lender requirements.
3. If the client is capable of this payment and the maintenance for the home, a budget will be developed to help the client save towards a down payment.
4. If the client is not capable of this payment, then the counselor will help the client develop a budget that will demonstrate their ability to make the payment by reducing expenses and formulating a savings pattern.
5. Finally, the client will be assigned tasks to complete before their next appointment which will show their willingness to participate in the program. If the tasks are complete, the counselor will set additional appointments at approximately 30 minutes each to work with the client toward their goals.

Please call to schedule an appoinment for individual counseling:

By Phone: 1-800-705-8350
By Email: info@partnersincharity.org

Home Buyer Online Course

By taking this course, you will complete the first step for getting your gift from Partners In Charity. Upon completion of the course, we will keep your completion record in the event that your lender wants to confirm that you’ve taken the course. You can also print the last page which congratulates you for completing the course. Feel free to take your time and come back to the course whenever you choose. We’ve posted instructions at the bottom of each page that will allow you to bookmark that page.

Click here to begin the course (a new window will open)

Additional Resources

• Making Homes Affordable Program Overview
• MHA Brochure
• MHA Brochure en Español