---
kind: "section"
citation: "24 C.F.R. § 982.630"
title: "24"
number: "982.630"
heading: "Homeownership option: Homeownership counseling."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/24/982.630"
---

# §982.630. Homeownership option: Homeownership counseling.

- (a) **Pre-assistance counseling.** Before commencement of homeownership assistance for a family, the family must attend and satisfactorily complete the pre-assistance homeownership and housing counseling program required by the PHA (pre-assistance counseling).
- (b) **Counseling topics.** Suggested topics for the PHA-required pre-assistance counseling program include:
  - (1) Home maintenance (including care of the grounds);
  - (2) Budgeting and money management;
  - (3) Credit counseling;
  - (4) How to negotiate the purchase price of a home;
  - (5) How to obtain homeownership financing and loan preapprovals, including a description of types of financing that may be available, and the pros and cons of different types of financing;
  - (6) How to find a home, including information about homeownership opportunities, schools, and transportation in the PHA jurisdiction;
  - (7) Advantages of purchasing a home in an area that does not have a high concentration of low-income families and how to locate homes in such areas;
  - (8) Information on fair housing, including fair housing lending and local fair housing enforcement agencies; and
  - (9) Information about the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ([12 U.S.C. 2601](/usc/12/2601.md) et seq.) (RESPA), state and Federal truth-in-lending laws, and how to identify and avoid loans with oppressive terms and conditions.
- (c) **Local circumstances.** The PHA may adapt the subjects covered in pre-assistance counseling (as listed in [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section) to local circumstances and the needs of individual families.
- (d) **Additional counseling.** The PHA may also offer additional counseling after commencement of homeownership assistance (ongoing counseling). If the PHA offers a program of ongoing counseling for participants in the homeownership option, the PHA shall have discretion to determine whether the family is required to participate in the ongoing counseling.
- (e) **HUD-certified housing counselor.** Any homeownership counseling provided to families in connection with this section must be conducted by a HUD certified housing counselor working for an agency approved to participate in HUD's Housing Counseling Program.

## Notes

### Amendments

[65 FR 55163, Sept. 12, 2000, as amended at 89 FR 38304, May 7, 2024]

### Source

Source: 65 FR 55163, Sept. 12, 2000, unless otherwise noted.

### Source

Source: 63 FR 23865, Apr. 30, 1998, unless otherwise noted.

### Authority

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437f and 3535(d).

### Source

Source: 59 FR 36682, July 18, 1994, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[65 FR 55163, Sept. 12, 2000, as amended at 89 FR 38304, May 7, 2024]