Housing Counseling Process Evaluation and Design of ... - HUD User

agencies reorienting their services toward foreclosure prevention counseling and other forms of postpurchase
counseling. At the same time, there may be renewed support for pre-purchase counseling
given the widespread view that the current crisis was brought on in part because too many
homebuyers made poorly informed decisions about how to finance their homes—and whether to buy
at all.
Another important trend in the industry has been the growth in financial literacy education as a means
of preparing clients to purchase homes and helping existing homeowners better manage their
finances. The growing prevalence of financial literacy education reflects an understanding that more
general competence in financial concepts is needed to help consumers handle routine decisions on
financial matters. By reaching out to low-income households generally to provide financial literacy
education—aside from whether they are currently pursuing homeownership or responding to a
financial crisis—counseling agencies may also be more likely to provide clients the resources they
need to make good financial decisions when they do reach the stage of buying a home.
The growth in the industry spurred by the increased funding for foreclosure prevention counseling is
likely to renew concerns about ensuring that agencies meet minimum standards for the qualifications
of their counselors and for the content and duration of counseling services provided, taking into
account the method of providing the counseling (e.g., by telephone or in person). To the extent that
the national standards for homeownership education, homeownership counseling, and foreclosure
counseling are broadly adopted by counseling agencies, we may also see a similar push for standards
in other areas, such as predatory lending workshops, HECM counseling, mortgage refinance
counseling, and financial literacy education.
Given the aging of the U.S. population, HECM counseling in particular will continue be a major
growth sector in the industry, forcing HUD and agencies to come up with a solution to current
funding constraints. Given the size of the potential market for reverse mortgages and the
vulnerability of some elderly homeowners, the industry will also need to develop a strategy to ensure
that potential borrowers receive counseling—even if they plan to take out a non-FHA reverse
mortgage—to help them avoid any unscrupulous lending practices. This may require counseling
agencies to explore creative methods to reach elderly clients most effectively, either coming to their
homes for face-to-face counseling or conducting telephone counseling followed up by mailings, or
possibly by providing video counseling online or through cable television.
Another demographic trend that is likely to affect the industry is the continued growth of the
immigrant population and the movement of this population to new market areas around the country.
Immigrants can clearly benefit from counseling to help them navigate the unfamiliar U.S. housing
and mortgage markets. They also have unique needs for assistance that is sensitive to their cultural
background and is offered in their native language. To respond to the needs of this growing
population, the counseling industry will have to attract staff with the necessary language skills and
cultural understanding.
In general, the industry is likely to devote substantial resources to grappling with new technology
over the coming decade. In terms of providing counseling services, local agencies will need to learn
to work more effectively with national call centers providing telephone counseling. All providers will
also need to consider whether and how to incorporate the Internet into their counseling, particularly
Chapter 9. Policy Considerations 161