Getting Ready To Buy Your First Home
If you are interested in buying a home but have never done so before, you might want to attend a homebuyer education class. Many local agencies offering financial assistance to first-time homebuyers require completion of such courses. A number of community-based nonprofit groups offer homebuyer education classes for a modest fee or free. The course usually consists of eight hours of class and individualized counseling. Topics covered include: preparing for homeownership, shopping for a home, obtaining a mortgage, loan closing and life as a homeowner.
Below are links to nonprofit organizations whose staff have been trained and certified by HUD, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation or the American Homeowner Education and Counseling Training Institute to offer homebuyer counseling.
- SCANPH’s Directory of Certified Homebuyer Education Providers
www.scanph.org (click on Homebuyer Ed) - Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Los Angeles
www.cccsla.org - Community Financial Resource Center
www.cfrc.net - Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services
www.lanhs.org/classes.html - Access Community Housing
www.accesshousing.org - ACORN Housing Corporation
www.acornhousing.org - Inglewood Neighborhood Housing Services
www.homeownershipcenter.com - Montebello Housing Development Corporation
www.mtbhousingcorp.com/programs.htm - New Economics for Women
www.neweconomicsforwomen.org
(Click on Financial Literacy)