How a Housing Counselor Can Help You Become a Successful Homeowner

Madison Fisler Lewis
Two people looking at an iPad

Buying a home can be a daunting and stressful process, after all, it’s likely the largest purchase you will ever make. That’s why it is so important to have the right team on your side to help make the sale go smoothly. However, it’s not just lenders and real estate agents that you should have on your team, there is one more, lesser known home buying professional that can make sure you are as prepared as possible for home ownership. Read on to learn how a housing counselor can play a major part in your home buying team and how they can help get you ready to take the plunge!

What is a Housing Counselor?
Housing counselors are a specific type of home buying professional who focuses on ensuring that home buyers become successful long-term homeowners. These trained professionals are approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and can help you in not just understanding how to buy a home, but also how to remain in your home for the long term and be financially sound in your investment.

How Can a Housing Counselor Help?
Housing counselors have a lot of skills that home buyers of all kinds will find useful. A counselor near you can:

  • Help you understand your credit and help you implement a plan to improve your credit
  • Explain the process of buying a home and help you through it step by step
  • Help you find and apply for home ownership programs like FHA, VA and USDA loans that may help make buying a home more affordable
  • Give you an understanding of your financial situation and help you decide how much home you can afford to buy

How Can I Find a Housing Counselor Near Me?
There are thousands of HUD-approved housing counselors all across the nation, and there is one near you, too! The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency works with many housing counselors across the state to help clients understand home ownership, affordable mortgage products like the NC Home Advantage Mortgage™, the NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment and the NC Home Advantage Tax Credit and partners with counselors statewide to help make home ownership a reality for North Carolinians. To find a HUD-approved housing counselor in your area, visit https://www.nchfa.com/home-buyers/find-housing-counselor.

Learn more about all the ways a housing counselor can help you buy a home and stay in it for the long term at https://apps.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.

Press &
Investors

North Carolina Housing Finance Agency / 3508 Bush Street / Raleigh, NC 27609 / 919-877-5700

Disclaimer (please scroll and read, then proceed below)

All information contained on the following Web pages is obtained from the Agency’s books and records, and is believed to be accurate and reliable. Reference should be made to the official statement and operative documents of each series of bonds referred to herein for complete information on that issue. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, this information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind and no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made, nor should any be inferred, as to the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of this information. Under no circumstances shall North Carolina Housing Finance Agency have any liability to any person or entity for (a) any loss or damage in whole or part caused by, resulting from, or relating to any error (on account of neglect or otherwise) or other circumstance involved in procuring, collecting, compiling, interpreting, analyzing, editing, transcribing, transmitting, communicating or delivering this information, or (b) any direct, indirect, special, consequential, or incidental damages whatsoever, even if North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is advised in advance of the possibility of such damages, resulting from the use of, or inability to use, any such information. This information relates to bond issues of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency that have been sold and distributed in underwritten public offerings described in the related official statements. Each viewer of the aforementioned information acknowledges that (i) the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is not now by this document offering any bonds or other securities, nor soliciting an offer to buy any securities, (ii) this information is not to be construed as any description of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency-such offerings are only made pursuant to the appropriate official statements of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, (iii) the information provided speaks only as of the date thereof and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency has not in any way undertaken to update such information, and (iv) no representation is made as to the propriety or legality of any secondary market trading of the bonds or other securities of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency by anyone in any jurisdiction. The financial condition of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency may have changed since the date this information was prepared.

© NCHFA 2024. All rights reserved. View Our Privacy Policy and Our Terms and Conditions.