Where:
Oregon

Problem:
Residents do not have the information needed to purchase and/or maintain a home

Solution:
RCAC increased first time home buyer opportunities and awareness through its housing counseling services

 
RCAC became keenly aware of the abuses in the home mortgage lending industry and applied to become a HUD intermediary. RCAC assembled a multi-state network of agencies that provide reliable and objective financial education to prospective homeowners and to homeowners with troubled housing situations.

In Oregon, RCAC’s sub-grantees are ACCESS, the Community Action Agency in Jackson County, serving southern Oregon and Community Action Team Inc. (CAT), a private nonprofit agency serving northwest Oregon.

“As the area’s Certified HUD Housing Counseling agency, ACCESS’ goal is to keep people housed and make sure they have the skills, knowledge and resources to make more informed decisions regarding their housing options,” said Jackie Schad, ACCESS executive eirector.

Cindy Dyer, ACCESS housing director, added, “Having RCAC as our intermediary to help guide us and provide the necessary tools, training and resources to our housing counseling team is invaluable.”

The network of agencies provide housing counseling to respond to each family’s circumstances. RCAC provides our network agencies with program leadership, training, oversight and pass-through funding. In 2014, our network of rural counseling agencies served nearly 6,000 clients. Nearly 3,000 of those clients were supported with RCAC HUD pass-through funding.

As a HUD intermediary, RCAC can award conditional HUD approval to its sub-grantee agencies, which ensures that they meet and follow HUD guidelines. HUD approval status conveys to prospective housing counseling clients that they will receive current, accurate and objective counseling on their housing needs.

Under RCAC’s oversight, these agencies build bridges to self-sufficiency by providing housing counseling services including first time homeowners counseling, such as pre-purchase information and counseling to ensure homes that are purchased are sustainable for the family, in addition to providing counseling to renters, foreclosure intervention and loss mitigation.