HUD housing counselors: what they do and what they cost

When a family does not know where to start, they almost always end up asking someone who has something to sell: the agent, the lender, the “advisor” who charges up front. There is another door, and it is free or nearly free: HUD-approved housing counselors. This guide explains what they are, what they help with, what a counseling session looks like, what they may charge under federal regulation and how to find one near you.

The intake interview; the regulation does not allow charging for it

Free⁶

Foreclosure prevention counseling

No cost⁸

The HOPE Hotline, (888) 995-4673, to find a counselor

24/7⁸

Of experience, for at least half of each agency's counselors

6+ months⁵

What a housing counselor is

A housing counselorHUD-approved housing counselorA HUD-approved housing counselor works at an agency HUD has approved to provide housing counseling: independent, expert advice customized to your situation about buying a home, renting, a missed mortgage payment, a foreclosure or credit problems. The agencies usually charge little or nothing; many serve in Spanish and offer the homebuyer education course several assistance programs require. They are not lenders or real estate agents and sell you nothing. Your county page lists the official agencies with phone numbers.See the full definitionClose is not an agent or a lender. Under federal regulation, housing counseling is independent, expert advice tailored to your needs to overcome the obstacles between you and your housing goal. And it has a defined shape: an intake interview, an analysis of your finances and of how much housing you can afford, an action plan (except in reverse mortgage counseling) and a reasonable effort at follow-up. Homeownership counseling and rental counseling are both types of housing counseling.²

The person who helps you is certified: a HUD-certified counselor passed HUD’s certification exam, works for a participating agency and is recognized by HUD as competent to provide these services. Participating agencies are HUD-approved agencies, affiliates and branches of approved intermediaries, and state housing finance agencies.³

The regulation also protects the independence of the advice. No one at the agency may have a conflict of interest with you, such as a direct interest in you as a landlord, broker or creditor. Nor may they take a fee for sending you to a lender, broker, builder or real estate agent. And at least half of each agency’s counselors must have six months or more of experience in the job.⁵

What they help with

According to the CFPB, housing counselors give advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, forbearance, foreclosure and credit issues, and the agencies on its list offer that advice independently.¹

Your situation	What the counselor does
You want to buy	Reviews your income, debts and credit with you; explains the buying process; tells you which down payment assistancedown payment assistance (DPA)Down payment assistance (DPA) is money a public or nonprofit program contributes toward your down payment and sometimes your closing costs. Many states, local governments and nonprofits offer programs to make homeownership more affordable; most focus on low- and moderate-income families buying their first home, and some target teachers, firefighters and other public service employees. The help can be a grant you never repay, a second loan with no payments that is forgiven over the years or repaid when you sell, and many can be used with a regular FHA or conventional loan.See the full definitionClose programs exist in your area and what they require
You rent	Helps with your lease, your rent budget and what you can do if you fall behind or get a notice
You are behind on your mortgage	Evaluates options with you, helps you talk to your loan servicer and understand its offers; this counseling is free8
Your credit falls short	Reviews your reports, builds a credit plan and guides you on debts and collections

HUD’s regulation gives examples of approved topics: getting ready to buy, FHA financing, budgeting and credit, comparing loans, closing costs, default and foreclosure, escrow, landlord-tenant law, leases and rent delinquency. Homeownership counseling must cover the whole road, from the decision to buy and the home inspection to the sale; rental counseling includes eviction prevention. And if an agency holds group classes, it must also offer individual counseling on the same topics.⁴

What a counseling session looks like, step by step

HUD’s regulation sets what has to happen in counseling, from the first call to the follow-up:⁴

What happens in housing counseling

1. 1. You find an agency

   Today

   Use the CFPB's tool, the HOPE Hotline, or ask the CFPB to connect you with a counselor by phone.⁸

2. 2. You choose how you are served

   When you book

   At the office, another location, by phone or online. If you ask for in-person service and your agency does not offer it, it must refer you to one that does.⁴

3. 3. You get the disclosure and the fees

   Before you start

   The agency tells you in writing what services it offers and what financial relationships it has; you are not obligated to use other services. Fees are disclosed in advance.⁶⁵

4. 4. Intake interview

   First appointment

   You explain your situation and your goal. This part is not charged.⁶

5. 5. A look at your budget

   First appointment

   The counselor reviews income, debts and expenses to see how much housing you can afford; that is why they ask for pay stubs and statements.⁸

6. 6. Action plan

   At the end

   Except in reverse mortgage counseling, you and the counselor build an action plan; it goes into a confidential file.⁷⁴

7. 7. Referrals and follow-up

   Afterward

   You are referred to local, state and federal resources, and the agency makes a reasonable effort to check on your progress.⁴

What should you bring? If you are going because of a mortgage problem, the CFPB says the counselor will ask how much you owe and the date of your last payment, which are usually on your last statement. They may also ask for pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements and your other monthly bills, such as a car loan or credit cards. They ask in order to understand your situation and how much you can pay each month, and to help you look at your options and decide what is right for you.⁸ If you are going to buy or rent, bring the same: your income, your expenses and your debts.

What you share stays protected. The agency keeps a confidential file with your action plan, and must protect your personal and financial information, including your credit reportscredit reportA credit report is a statement that has information about your credit activity and current credit situation: your loans and cards, the balances, whether you have paid on time, accounts in collection and who has checked your credit. Credit reporting companies, also called credit bureaus, compile it from what banks and creditors report; your credit score is computed from it. When you apply for a mortgage, the lender pulls your report from the three bureaus. You have the right to see it for free and to dispute anything that is wrong.See the full definitionClose.⁷

What it costs

Here the regulation is clear. Participating agencies may charge reasonable and customary fees for housing education and counseling, but only if the cost does not create a financial hardship for you; fees must match the level of service; agencies that charge must serve for free anyone who cannot pay; they must tell you their fee structure before providing the service and post the fee schedule in a visible place; they cannot charge you for the intake interview; and if a lender pays the agency for your counseling, they have to tell you.⁶

In practice, the CFPB describes the service as independent advice “often at little or no cost,”¹ and HUD-approved agencies provide foreclosureforeclosureForeclosure is the process by which the lender or servicer takes back the property after the homeowner fails to make mortgage payments. The rules and timelines depend on each state; all of them include advance notices and, in general, time to catch up or ask for an alternative, such as a repayment plan or a loan modification. If you fall behind, call your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counseling agency early: foreclosure counseling is free and exists for exactly this.See the full definitionClose prevention counseling free of charge.⁸

How to find one near you

HUD-approved counseling agencies by state

State	HUD-approved counselors
Alabama	25
Alaska	1
Arizona	21
Arkansas	14
California	81
Colorado	26
Connecticut	13
Delaware	12
District of Columbia	17
Florida	98
Georgia	42
Hawaii	17
Idaho	10
Illinois	81
Indiana	21
Iowa	11
Kansas	3
Kentucky	19
Louisiana	26
Maine	7
Maryland	41
Massachusetts	37
Michigan	59
Minnesota	33
Mississippi	16
Missouri	18
Montana	11
Nebraska	8
Nevada	8
New Hampshire	5
New Jersey	34
New Mexico	7
New York	93
North Carolina	52
North Dakota	3
Ohio	54
Oklahoma	6
Oregon	25
Pennsylvania	75
Puerto Rico	9
Rhode Island	5
South Carolina	13
South Dakota	13
Tennessee	32
Texas	51
Utah	7
Vermont	7
Virginia	49
Washington	15
West Virginia	8
Wisconsin	26
Wyoming	1

Only states with their own page on this site appear; for the rest, use the CFPB's tool. Source: HUD

• On this site. Your state’s page under Places lists HUD-approved agencies with their contact details and the languages they declare; many serve people in Spanish.
• The CFPB’s tool. It searches by ZIP code and uses HUD’s official list. If you would rather talk, the CFPB connects you with a counselor at 1-855-411-2372.¹
• If the problem is your mortgage. The HOPE Hotline, (888) 995-4673, answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.⁸ The If you can’t pay your mortgage guide explains what to do in the first days.

Not every counselor offers every service: the CFPB recommends checking each agency’s list of services.¹ If the agency does not offer what you need or has no room, the regulation asks it to refer you to another participating agency.⁵

When you call, ask three things: whether they serve people in your language, how soon they can give you a first appointment and which documents to bring. The document list in this guide covers most cases.

If this is you

You want to buy your first home

Homeownership counseling covers the whole road, from deciding whether to buy to the inspection and closing.⁴ Ask about down payment assistance programs in your area.

You rent and have a problem

Rental counseling covers the lease, rent delinquency and eviction prevention.⁴ If you have already received court papers, look for free legal aid too.

You are behind on your mortgage

Foreclosure prevention counseling is free at HUD-approved agencies.⁸ Bring your last statement.⁸

You have immigration questions

The counselor works on your housing and your money. For your immigration case, only an attorney or an accredited representative; notarios cannot give legal advice.¹¹

What a counselor does not do

A counselor cannot promise you will keep your home or guarantee you a loan: they help you see your options and choose. If foreclosure is imminent or you have been served legal papers, the CFPB says you may also need to consult an attorney.⁸ That is what free legal aidlegal aidLegal aid is the free civil legal help that nonprofit organizations and their lawyers provide to low-income people in civil, not criminal, matters. In housing, that includes representing families facing eviction or foreclosure, alongside matters such as custody, child support, protection from domestic violence and access to benefits. In the United States, the Legal Services Corporation, created by Congress, funds a nationwide network of these organizations; its finder points you to the one in your area. Each sets its own income limits.See the full definitionClose offices are for, linked at the end of this guide.

Nor do they give immigration advice. USCIS warns that a “notario público” is not authorized to provide immigration legal services in the United States.¹⁰ According to the Department of Justice’s immigration court office (EOIR), only certain people can represent you, such as licensed attorneys and accredited representativesDOJ-accredited representativeAn accredited representative is a non-attorney whom the U.S. Department of Justice, through its Recognition and Accreditation Program, authorizes to represent people in immigration matters before DHS and, with full accreditation, before the immigration courts. They may only do so through a recognized organization, which must be a non-profit, federally tax-exempt entity. It is the safe way to get low-cost immigration help: the Department of Justice publishes the official roster by state. Anyone who is not on that roster and is not a lawyer is not authorized to represent you.See the full definitionClose; notarios, document preparers and immigration consultants cannot give you legal advice.¹¹

Costly mistakes

• Mistake: Going to an “advisor” who is not on HUD's list.

  Instead: Search the CFPB's tool, which uses HUD's official list.¹

• Mistake: Paying for the first appointment.

  Instead: The intake interview is not charged, and anyone who cannot pay gets counseling for free.⁶

• Mistake: Showing up without papers.

  Instead: Bring your last mortgage statement, pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements and your monthly bills.⁸

• Mistake: Feeling you have to use the agency's other services.

  Instead: The agency must tell you in writing that you are not obligated to receive its other services or its partners'.⁵

• Mistake: Signing papers for someone who promises to save your home.

  Instead: No one needs to charge you to avoid foreclosure; show those papers to a counselor or to legal aid.⁹

The housing scams guide has more warning signs. And if a counselor does not feel right, you can look for another on the official list: the agency must give you information on alternative services, programs and products.⁵

What to do this week

1. Find a HUD-approved agency on your state’s page or with the CFPB’s tool, and confirm the language.¹
2. Ask whether they can see you in person, by phone or online, whichever suits you.⁴
3. Book the first appointment; remember that the intake interview is not charged.⁶
4. Gather the papers on the list: income, expenses, mortgage statement or lease, credit reports.⁸
5. Write down your three main questions before you go.
6. If you are behind on your mortgage, do not wait for the appointment to call your loan servicer: the counselor can help you prepare for that call.⁸