Cambridge offers a variety of non-profit, HUD-approved housing counseling services.
Our housing counseling services include:
- Check mark icon Foreclosure Intervention & Default Counseling
- Check mark icon First-Time Homebuyer Education Courses
- Check mark icon Reverse Mortgage (HECM) Counseling
- Check mark icon Rental Counseling for Landlords or Tenants
Complete the form below or call (800) 757-1788 for a FREE consultation!
Housing Counseling Services from a trusted non-profit agency.
Mortgage debt represents the largest source of consumer debt in the United States. Many consumers struggle to maintain their mortgage payments for many reasons, such as increases in interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages, unemployment, and medical issues. In response to this housing crisis, Housing Counseling agencies like Cambridge began offering services to help consumers avoid foreclosure and get their finances back on-track.
What is Housing Counseling?
Housing counseling is a broad term used for services offered by non-profit agencies, designed to help homeowners with a variety of issues they may be facing. In order to provide these services, agencies must first get approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing counselors must be certified by Neighborworks America for each of the counseling services they provide. Housing counseling services range from first-time homebuyer education courses to foreclosure intervention services. So, whether you're shopping around for your first home, or if you're a homeowner who's having difficulty paying their mortgage, or a landlord or tenant who wants to understand their rights and responsibilities, our housing counseling professionals are trained and ready to help you.
Foreclosure Intervention and Default Counseling
For most of us, owning a home is still considered to be the “American Dream”. We all want our own little slice of America to call our own…a place that we can raise our children and build memories. But being a homeowner comes with a ton of responsibilities. Most important, unless you bought your house outright, you have to pay your mortgage every single month. In the perfect world, we’d all have 6 to 12 months of emergency savings to fall back on in case something in our lives affected our ability to keep up with our payments. After all… life does change. People change. Careers change. Incomes change. Some of these life changes are a result of our own doing, while others lay beyond our control. The question is: how many of us are prepared for the unexpected? What would you do if your company downsized tomorrow or simply closed its doors? How would you pay your mortgage?
Unfortunately, this scenario is not out of the ordinary. In fact, it happens quite often, and most of us are simply unprepared. Thankfully, there are options available for homeowners who experience temporary setbacks that affect their ability to remain current on their mortgage. HUD-approved housing counseling agencies specialize in finding solutions to these types of mortgage issues by working with you and your loan servicer to establish workout plans that are beneficial to both parties.
It’s important to understand that lenders do not want you to go into foreclosure. It typically costs lenders more money to foreclose on a property than it does to help homeowners get back on track and stay in their homes. Unfortunately, most homeowners simply don’t understand that these options are available. Our NCHEC-certified foreclosure counselors will work with you and your lender to identify the best solution for your particular circumstances. For homeowners who have experienced temporary changes in their lives that caused their delinquency, but who are able to make their payments moving forward, lenders will typically offer mortgage modifications to bring the loans current and often make mortgage payments more affordable by reducing the interest rates. Click here for more information about mortgage modifications.
Cambridge's Foreclosure Intervention and Default Counseling services are funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), so our foreclosure counseling services are offered at no cost to you!
Since these services are free, there's no risk in speaking to one of our housing counseling professionals if you are having difficulty, so please do not delay. There are many options for homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage and our housing counselors are fully trained and certified in order to give you the most professional and expert advice available.
Visit our Foreclosure Counseling Page Foreclosure Counseling FAQsSchedule a Housing Counseling Appointment with one of our HUD-Approved counselors!
First-Time Homebuyer Education
Your home is one of the largest investments you'll ever make, so if you're planning on buying a home within the next two years, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of Cambridge's Homebuyer Education counseling. Our certified housing counselors will explain the steps you need to follow as you prepare yourself for homeownership. We'll review your current budget and credit report with you to help you determine what you can afford, not what a salesperson says you can afford. We'll also provide information on the advantages and disadvantages of the various financing options and assistance programs that may be available to you, and show you how to avoid predatory lending practices. From choosing the right home, to inspections and closing, Cambridge's counselors are here to help you learn about the home-buying process and how to make informed financial decisions for yourself and your family.
By reducing the interest rates – by an average of 64% - consumers can see average monthly payment savings of about 25%, which,depending on your balances, could equate to hundreds of dollars of savings every month. Most importantly, consumers are able to pay these accounts in full in an average of about 50 months, with the approval and cooperation of their creditors and without having to file for bankruptcy.
Visit our First-Time Homebuyer PageRental Counseling
For people who prefer to rent their living space, Cambridge offers both Rental Education Workshops and personalized one-on-one Rental Counseling sessions. Whether you're already renting or preparing to do so, our counselors will show you effective budgeting and money management techniques that will help make your rental experience a success. We'll teach you how to review your credit report and make corrections when needed, and we'll provide information on the application process, available subsidies, and the difference between leasing and rental agreements. We'll also teach you how to apply for tenancy, the typical expenses that you'll incur as a renter, and how to properly communicate with your landlord. We'll discuss how you can recover your security deposit if you're looking to relocate, what you need to know about keeping up with necessary maintenance and repairs, and the importance of understanding your rights and responsibilities as a renter.
Reverse Mortgage/Home Equity Conversion Loan (HECM) Counseling
Seniors, age 62 and over, may be eligible to use the quity in their homes to make funds available to help them enjoy their golden years. For those interested in obtaining a reverse mortgage, they must first participate in a one-on-one counseling session with a HUD-approved agency like Cambridge. This counseling is required as a condition of receiving the reverse mortgage.
Our counselors are HUD-approved to provide this objective counseling so that those interested in obtaining the loan will understand all of the pros and the cons. Our counselors remain completely impartial throughout the counseling process. We do not work for the loan companies. We are here to provide the information only and issue certificates for those participants who can demonstrate that they understand the reverse mortgage product.
Visit our Reverse Mortgage Counseling Page Reverse Mortgage Counseling FAQsWhy choose Cambridge Credit Counseling?
Cambridge has been providing consumer credit counseling and financial education services nationwide since our inception in 1996. Our nationally certified counselors are among the most respected in the profession, averaging more than 12 years’ experience in helping people get out of debt. Cambridge is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, and we’re proud to be the top-rated credit counseling agency by ConsumerAffairs.com. Cambridge is also a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, and we provide both bankruptcy and reverse mortgage counseling services. For a complete listing of license information, please visit our credit counseling disclosures page.