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About Us
Our mission is to partner with underrepresented communities to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable neighborhoods through education & counseling, housing development, empowerment, and advocacy. Let’s break that down.
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Preparing to Purchase
Home Ownership Counseling
NeighborWorks is passionate about helping members of our community become and remain homeowners.
We believe that homeownership is one of the most powerful tools for building strong communities.
Homeownership helps individuals and families secure a stable and affordable housing payment and enables them to build generational wealth through home equity at a much faster pace than through savings! It even adds to the wellness of the entire neighborhood by adding stability and encouraging more investment into the area!
We have a whole team of professional housing counselors ready to work with you, one-on-one. Our agency is Approved to provide these services by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and our counselors are HUD-Certified. NeighborWorks Sacramento provides two distinct homeownership services, both for renters looking to buy a home, and for existing homeowners.
Home Ownership Counseling
Pre-Purchase Counseling
We provide one-on-one counseling sessions for community members who want to purchase a home. During a session, we first look at your readiness to get a mortgage. This involves reviewing your credit report, developing a budget, and discussing the affordability of a mortgage versus a rent payment. Once you feel ready for a mortgage your counselor will help guide you through the process of purchasing, which may include discussing financing and down payment options, explaining how to put together your home buying team, reviewing closing costs, and much more. After each session, we will send you an action plan with specific steps you can take to get closer to your dream of owning a home.
Signing Up
To get started with pre-purchase counseling, the first step is to take our Intro to Home Buying class. This class goes over the basics of purchasing your first home, and is an orientation to Pre-Purchase Counseling.
You can signup for Intro to Home Buying here:
After you have completed the class, our Intake Team will work with you to signup for your first one-on-one appointment.
Home Ownership Counseling
Post-Purchase Counseling
We also have one-on-one counseling sessions available for current homeowners who are seeking support.
Our counselors can assist with several topics, including home maintenance, disaster preparedness, property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA and special assessments, refinancing, and selling a home.
(Please note, if you are having trouble making your mortgage payment, we have a separate service called foreclosure prevention counseling. Click here to learn more about Foreclosure Prevention.
Down Payment Assistance
SHRA Welcome Home Post-Purchase Session
NeighborWorks Sacramento provides a one-hour post-purchase session for new homeowners who purchased through SHRA’s Welcome Home program.
During this session, your counselor will review your budget as a new homeowner, review your Closing Disclosure with you, and answer any questions.
Working With My Counselor
ou and your counselor will work together as a team toward your goal of purchasing a home. As with any team, when you start, it is important that the roles of each party are clear. That’s why we define at the beginning what the counselor WILL DO, what the counselor WON’T DO, and what YOU CAN DO to have the most success.
Your Counselor WILL Do
Help you develop a monthly budget to achieve your savings goals.
Run a free copy of your credit report and review it with you.
Share information about financing, refinancing, down payment assistance.
Share down payment assistance programs provided by the Lending Department at NeighborWorks.
Guide you when choosing Real Estate Agents, Lenders and other housing professionals.
Give you advice on how to find a home for sale in your price range.
Send you an Action Plan and follow up on your progress.
10% of the Work.
Your Counselor WON’T
Dictate where you should or shouldn’t spent.
Give you a copy of your credit report (there’s a law against it).
Determine whether you qualify for a loan or program.
Qualify you for a NeighborWorks Loan or make a special recommendation to the lending department on your behalf.
Refer you to specific professionals.
Provide listings on homes.
Hound you to make sure you are following the action plan.
YOU CAN
Make the final decisions on how you will spend and save.
Order a copy of your credit report with the number we provide.
Use the information about programs to decide which might work best for you.
Review NeighborWorks products alongside the other referrals provided by your counselor. If you decide the NeighborWorks product is right for you, apply for the loan with NeighborWorks’ Lending Department to see if you qualify.
Research Housing Professionals and choose a team that best serves your needs.
Research homes in your price range.
Work on your action items, and keep communicating with your counselor.
90% of the Work.