The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Housing Counseling has announced that $10 million in grant funding is available to eligible HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. These agencies will use the funding to prepare and equip prospective homebuyers to successfully navigate the homebuying process.
“HUD is committed to expanding access to homeownership, especially for those who have been shut out of homebuying opportunities for far too long,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Housing counselors across America offer invaluable information and guidance. I am pleased that even more people will be able to access their services, purchase homes, and begin building wealth, thanks to today’s announcement.”
This new funding will enable HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to provide culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate services for pre- and post-purchase housing counseling, aiming to increase homeownership rates among historically underserved communities. The funding affirms the ongoing commitment of the Biden Administration to help close the racial wealth gap and address homebuying barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
HUD’s counseling assistance
HUD certified housing counselors offer independent, expert advice customized to individual housing needs, helping prospective buyers to understand and address housing barriers to help achieve housing goals. HUD participating housing counseling agencies also offer classroom style workshops and online education.
Types of housing counseling services offered by HUD include:
- Financial management, budget and credit counseling and workshops
- Fair housing education workshops
- Home improvement and rehabilitation counseling
- Mortgage delinquency and default resolution counseling and workshops (foreclosure)
- Non-delinquency post purchase workshops
- Pre-purchase counseling and homebuyer education workshops
- Predatory lending education workshops
- Rental counseling and workshops (eviction, landlord tenant disputes, Section 8)
- Reverse mortgage counseling (HECM)
- Homeless counseling
- Disaster preparation and mitigation counseling and workshops
“HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and HUD certified housing counselors serve as trusted advisors to the next generation of homeowners, who will be the most diverse in our nation’s history,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon. “Access to high quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate housing counseling can help more households attain the many benefits of homeownership, including the ability to build intergenerational wealth.”
Expanding access to homeownership
“Modeled on successful public and private sector partnership initiatives, these grants will expand access to homeownership, affirm the impact of pre- and post-purchase housing counseling, and expand the availability of HUD-approved counseling for consumers nationwide,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Counseling David Berenbaum.
