Setting the Standard for Success

Homeownership counselors and educators play a vital role in building strong communities. Unifying the industry on the issue of education and counseling standards is the first step to achieving that goal on a national level.

The National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling have drawn upon a variety of sources, including existing standards used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and local, regional, and national housing counseling organizations. Input on the standards was gathered by the Advisory Council for the National Industry Standards from many industry partners, including national lenders, GSEs, HUD, mortgage insurers, executive directors and counselors of local, regional, and national organizations.

Encouraging Nationwide Quality

The National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling focus on a set of six core areas.

Competency, including strong knowledge of the homebuying process, money management, etc.
Training, with recommendations for a minimum number of hours of training.
Code of Ethics and Conduct, which practitioners should sign and abide by.

Skills, including communication and listening skills, adult education and facilitation skills.
Operational Knowledge, regarding programs, marketing, etc.
In addition, there are Performance Standards for practitioners, which include standards curriculum, recordkeeping, and reporting.

The Standards documents were created by the Advisory Council for the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling. Members of this group include the following:

Bank of America
Chase
Chrysalis Consulting Group, LLC
Citi
Community Development Corporation of Long Island, Inc.
Consumer Credit Counseling Services of San Francisco
Countrywide Financial Corporation
Fannie Mae
Federal Reserve Board
Freddie Mac
The Housing Partnership Network
Minnesota Housing
Mortgage and Credit Center
Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC)
NAREB-NID
National Association of Realtors®
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies
NeighborWorks® America
NHS of Great Falls
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Wells Fargo

The Advisory Council for the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling was convened and staffed by the NeighborWorks® Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC).

Mike Haley, Minnesota Housing
Chairman
Cora Fulmore, Mortgage & Credit Center
Vice-Chair
Jayna Bower, NCHEC Director