Housing Counseling
Pre-Occupancy (One-on-One)
The following are the basic guidelines used when we implement
pre-purchase and pre-rental counseling.
(1) Housing Selection
(2) Fair Housing Laws
(3) Qualifying for HUD subsidies
(4) Budgeting for Mortgage Payments and Rent Payments
(5) Money Management
(6) Housing Care and Maintenance
(7) Referrals to Community Resources
PC- Pre-Purchase (One-on-One)
The following are the basic guidelines used when we meet with clients who
want to buy their housing.
(1) HUD-mortgage insurance and assistance programs, including interest subsidy programs
(2) How to apply for a HUD-insured mortgage
(3) Purchase procedures, including closing costs
(4) Establish your home buying budget
(5) Alternatives for financing the purchase
(6) Save money for a down payment and moving expenses
(7) Real estate terms
(8) Pre-qualify for a home loan
(9) Rights and responsibilities of persons who own
single-family housing--including cooperatives and condominiums.
(10) Fair Housing Laws
RC- Rental (One-on-One) Counseling
The following components apply only to clients who want to rent their housing.
(1) HUD rental programs, including rent subsidy programs
(2) How to apply for occupancy and rent subsidies
(3) Rights and responsibilities of tenants
(4) Lease and rental agreements
(5) Landlord-tenant legislation
(6) Evictions and grievances
DFC- Mortgage Default and Delinquency Resolution Counseling
(One-on-One)
The following are the basic guidelines used when we implement
mortgage default and delinquency resolution.
(1) Identification of the cause(s) of the default or delinquency
(2) Client's motivation, resources, and ability to resolve the default or delinquency
(3) Arranging reinstatement plans, including working with the client's creditors
(4) Subsidy re-certifications
(5) Budgeting when in default or delinquent
(6) Money Management
(7) Referrals to other resources
(8) Locating alternative housing
(9) FHA assistance and Loss Mitigation Counseling
Shall include, but is not limited, to the following components;
(1) Determination of the amount and extent of the default
A mortgage "is considered in default when the mortgagor fails to perform under any covenant of the mortgage, including the covenant to pay, and the failure continues for 30 days."
(All months are considered as having 30 days.)
(2) Identification of the cause of the default
(3) Determination of whether the mortgagor, with the assistance of the counseling agency, might bring the account current within a time period and payment plan acceptable to the mortgagee
(4) Working out repayment plans with the mortgagor's other creditors
(5) Follow-up counseling with the mortgagor on an as-needed basis until the default is corrected or the mortgagee completes foreclosure and the client has found alternate housing
(6) If the mortgagee decides to foreclose, determine if the mortgagor is eligible for HUD's assignment program and, if so, counseling the mortgagor through the assignment process and for as long as the mortgagor remains in default after assignment of the mortgage to HUD
(7) HUD-required mortgage relief provisions provided by mortgagees
(8) Mortgagee-held escrow funds
(9) Foreclosure
(10) Alternatives to foreclosure
(11) Mortgage Rate Reduction Program
(12) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program (HECM)
RC-Rental (One-on-One)
The following are the basic guidelines to rent delinquency counseling.
- Tenant rights and responsibilities
- Landlord rights and responsibilities
- Budgeting and money management
- Education on eviction and grievance processes
- Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Housing
- Information on rental subsidy programs and how to apply
- Deposits and their use or recovery
- Credit report review
NDW- Non-Delinquency Post-Purchase
The following are the basic guidelines used for homeowners and renters.
- Relations with mortgagees and landlords
- Escrow funds
- Re-certifications for HUD subsidies
- Grievances
- Shared housing
- Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)
HIR- Home Improvement and Rehabilitation
The following are the basic guidelines used when we implement
Home Improvement and Rehabilitation counseling.
- Section 203(K), Rehabilitation Home Mortgage Insurance
- HUD's Title I home improvement loan program
- HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
locally-developed rehabilitation program
- Loan and grant application process
- Housing codes and enforcement procedures
- Bids and contracts
- Inspection of work and payments to contractors
- Liabilities to subcontractors
- Non-performance by contractor
Money Management
The following are the basic guidelines used when we implement every counseling session;
1. Review of client's income and expenses
2. Determination of how the client spends money
(Does he or can he save? Does she spend beyond her income?
Does he make prudent use of credit?
Do her spending habits fit better into renting or owning? Etc.)
3. Creating a budget suitable to the housing the client can afford.
4. Review of interest rates at the time the client wants to purchase housing
5. Use and cost of credit
6. Shopping for a loan to purchase housing
7. Effect of property taxes and mortgage interest on income taxes--cash flow
8. Homeowner's insurance covering property and liability
9. Down payments and rent escrow
10. Bankruptcy
1. Perform intake by gathering baseline information from client including:
a. Client’s goals/intent
b. Reason for delinquency or default
c. Client’s financial situation and possibility of workout
d. Client’s loan type
e. Home’s value/condition
f. Credit report
g. Original loan documents, if available
h. Demographic information: contact information, household size, household income, ethnicity-optional, etc.
2. Assess client’s mortgage, payment status and urgency in the delinquency and foreclosure process
3. Develop loss mitigation options
4. Communicate with the servicer*
5. Submit loss mitigation package to servicer*
6. Negotiate with junior lien holders and Homeowners Association*
7. Create written action plan for foreclosure avoidance or client’s preference
8. Provide follow up to client
9. Provide client with contact information for additional community services that might be available.
* When Applicable. Foreclosure Counseling can include a range of the activities depending on the client’s financial situation and the severity of the mortgage delinquency. Specifically, activities 4, 5 and/or 6 from above may vary, and may not always be performed for a client.
Recommended Features of the Action Plan
#1 First Contact |
You called or visited the All-American and signed up for an Orientation meeting. |
#2 Orientation |
You took the first step toward home ownership by attending the Orientation and completing your Personal Profile Form. |
#3 Counselor's Assessment |
A housing counselor orders your credit report, evaluates your readiness and determines your needs. |
#4 Initial Counseling Session |
You attend the first meeting with a housing counselor who develops a corrective action plan if needed, to resolve any potential obstacles you may face. The counselor also schedules you for our 8-hour training course called "Realizing the American Dream." |
#5 Homebuyer Education |
You attend the 8-hour "Realizing the American Dream" training course. |
#6 Subsequent Counseling Sessions |
You are scheduled for an individual counseling sessions,during which your housing counselor will help you become ready to apply for a mortgage. |
#7 You are now Mortgage Ready |
Your housing counselor will provide your affordability range and our Real-Estate Agent Preferred Provider List. You will also receive a few home-shopping tools. Now you are ready to begin the most exciting phase of the homebuying process! |
#8 Home-Shopping Process |
Using the tools provided during the homebuyer's training course, you view serveral properties and submit a signed purchase contract accompanied by your earnest money. |
#9 Application Preparation Session/Rehab Process |
Your housing counselor helps you select the most suitable mortgage product and prepares all of the documents required for the formal loan application meeting. If rehabilitation is required for the house, and inspection is ordered, a feasibility assessment is made, a work write-up is completed, a loan product is selected, the prebid process is conducted, bids are reviewed, and a contractor is selected. |
#10 Mortgage Application Meeting |
A loan officer will complete the formal loan application and submit it to the lender's internal processing department. |
#11 Monitoring & Follow-up |
Your housing counselor will monitor the processing of your application and contact you if additional information is needed. Remember, no news is good news! |
#12 Application Approved |
This center or the lender will notify you to let you know that your loan has been approved and a closing meeting will be scheduled. |
#13 Closing Meeting |
All documents are signed, the funds are disbursed, and you get the keys to your new home! |
Postpurchase Services |
Upon receipt of the settlement form you receive at closing, the center provides a "New Homeowner's Welcome Pack." A wide array of other postpurchase services are available, including maintenance and repair training, ongoing financial counseling, resident leadership training and much more! |
Rental counseling is critical during the current foreclosure crisis. Many households are transitioning from homeownership to the rental market, or are being forced to find new rental housing. Given the depth of the economic crisis, many families simply will not be in a position to retain homeownership. The foreclosure crisis is also affecting many landlords, so with increasing frequency tenants are finding themselves being forced to move and locate new rental housing.
This workshop is designed to provide information to those who have been affected by poor economic conditions, who have suffered job losses, and whose source of income is no longer sufficient to make even minimal mortgage payments will need alternative housing. Therefore, the larger overall counseling effort must address this problem and offer solutions that will help families transition gracefully from one type of housing arrangement to another. A clear socioeconomic objective will be to keep families in their communities, where they have access to social support networks, health care, jobs, and where their children attend school. One of the best forms of assistance that could bolster any other efforts designed to address this larger social goal is rental counseling. Housing counselors traditionally provide housing “search” services, helping families find and access affordable rental housing and/or rental assistance.
AAFS Rental Education workshops are designed to provide a broad array of topics geared to address the client’s needs. Some of the topics covered are as follows:
- HUD rental programs, including rent subsidy programs
- How to apply for occupancy and rent subsidies
- Rights and responsibilities of tenants
- Deposits and their use or recovery
- Lease and rental agreements
- Landlord-tenant legislation
- Education on eviction and grievance processes
- Finding and Securing a rental home
- Maintaining a Residence
- Helping to understand rental subsidies
- Reviewing market rate housing,
- Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Housing
- Discuss public housing and transitional housing
- Drafting a budget plan
- Budgeting and money management
- Tenant rights and responsibilities
- Landlord rights and responsibilities
- Deposits and their use or recovery
- Discussion of the eviction process
All-American Foreclosure Solutions, Inc. operates a comprehensive post- purchase education and counseling program to assist all homeowners with special counseling for those who are having difficulties managing their mortgages or their homes.
This program includes post purchase education, and foreclosure prevention counseling, as well as foreclosure intervention services.
Post–Purchase Education classes utilize the NeighborWorks America's Keeping The American Dream Curriculum as well as elements from HUD's post purchase education curriculum.
The topics covered are, money management, community involvement, Home maintenance and repair, hiring contractors, and financing home repair and remodeling.
Call today to find out when the next scheduled post-purchase class will be
Group Educational Workshop
This Workshop will cover the following topics at a minimum:
- How cure the delinquency
- Restructuring debt,
- Workout Options
- Establishing reinstatement plans,
- seeking loan forbearance and managing household finances,
- This area of focus assists clients that are affected by predatory lending
- Pursuing loss mitigation strategies
- Providing an overview of the state’s foreclosure process and timeline
- Allowing self assessment of each homeowner’s financial situation
- Determining if their current mortgage is affordable
- Looking at some potential workout options for their situation
**At the end of the group session participants are asked if they would like to seat down with a counselor One-on-One, in privet to discuss any questions or concerns they may have.
A Certificate of Completion is received at the end of the counseling session
When setting our fees, homeownership educators/ counselors will ensure that the fees are fair, reasonable, and commensurate with the level of services performed. Clients will be informed of any applicable fees prior to the delivery of any services. Homeownership educators/ counselors will not solicit a private fee or other personal remuneration for providing services to clients. The Agency will not impose fees upon clients for the same portion of or for an entire service that is already funded with HUD grant funds. When a Client can’t afford our fees for any of the services we provide, we will provide said services free of charge.
Our agency may also be reimbursed from clients for the direct cost of obtaining copies of clients' credit reports from credit reporting bureaus if this does not cause a hardship for the client. In cases where the participating agency receives a discount for the cost of credit reports, this discount will be passed on to the client.
Current Fee Schedule:
- Homebuyers Education $150 (per household)
- Pre-Purchase Counseling $125
- Post-Purchase Counseling $125
- Credit Report $30
- Foreclosure One-on-One Free
- Short Sale assistance (Paid by Lender/ Servicer)
- Rental Assistance $25
Credit Smart® Educational Workshops
- Money/ Debt Management
- All About Credit $20
- Money Management $20
- Steps to Homeownership $20
- Foreclosure Avoidance Free
In some cases, the Lenders may pay our agency for counseling services, through a lump sum or on a case-by-case basis, provided the level of payment does not exceed a level that is commensurate with the services provided, and is reasonable and customary for the area, and does not violate requirements under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). These transactions and relationships will be disclosed to the client as required in §214.303(g).
Disclosure: All-American Foreclosure Solutions, Inc reserves the right to revise the fees charged for these programs and services and to revise or charge its fee wavier criteria at any time.
