U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Documents the Benefits of Pre-Purchase Counseling

TRIP & RCHR, our customers, and our supporters know all about the importance of pre-purchase homebuyer counseling, but now the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released a study corroborating that knowledge.

Released in May, the study written by Jennifer Turnham and Anna Jefferson, sampled 573 individuals and found significant levels of achievement in homebuyers who received pre-purchase housing counseling. They were more likely to be mortgage-ready, have a signed purchase agreement, and havevdecent credit scores as a result of the financial, budgeting, and homebuying information received.  Additionally, the study tracked participants at 12 to 18 months after receiving pre-purchase counseling services and found that "only one of the purchasers had fallen at least 30 days behind on his or her mortgage payments and none had a major derogatory event on a mortgage account."

If you or someone you know is considering homeownership, don't miss out on pre-purchase education and its benefits. At the TRIP NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center we offer free, professional housing counseling with certified counselors. For more information, go to http://www.triponline.org or call us a (518) 690-0020.

To read the complete HUD Pre-Purchase Counseling Outcomes Study go to  http://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/pre_purchase_counseling.pdf.