Every applicant to our program is given the opportunity to talk to one of our counselors and take advantage of our free home buyer counseling. During a typical home buyer counseling session, the housing counselor will do the following:
- A personalized Credit and Budget Analysis – The counselor assesses your financial profile - including your employment history, credit history and assets - to determine which steps you need to take to be ready to begin the home buying process.
- A personalized Affordability Analysis – Considering your stable income, your assets and your financial obligations, your counselor will determine how much home you can afford so you can begin shopping for your home.
- A personalized Action Plan – This will serve as your step by step guide to successful home ownership. Your NHS counselor will work with you every step of the way to get you ready to purchase a home.
If the obstacle for you to be able to purchase a house is high debt, the housing counselor will look into your financial situation. Analyze the amount of debt and develop a debt management plan. The counselor will also develop a spending plan –budget- to ensure that you not only pay your debt, but also that you start saving money towards the purchase of your home and most importantly, to get you prepared to live within your means. This way, when you purchase your home, you will be ready to live within your specific budget and make your house payment.
If your problem is credit the housing counselor will provide free credit counseling. During a typical credit counseling meeting the counselor will review your credit report, and discuss the issues on your credit. He will listen to your explanation of the issues and make recommendations on the best course of action to repair your credit. You will be given goals and very specific assignments to complete within a certain amount of time. The counselor will ask you to report back to him every so often, depending on the type of issues you may have.
If you are a client of NHS and you are struggling to make your mortgage payment we can help. Depending on your situation, the housing counselor will listen to you, make recommendations and coach you to get you back on track. If this is your case, please call the housing counselor immediately.