“HUD’s housing counseling grants and the additional funding they leverage will assist more than 1.4 million households find housing, make more informed housing choices, or keep their current homes,” the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s press statement announcing the federal housing counseling grants read.
The HUD is investing more than $50 million toward housing counseling. “This is a smart investment in helping families find and keep their homes,” Dr. Ben Carson, the Department Secretary, said.
He quoted the popular adage “Knowledge is power”, expounding, “We know that armed with the information they need, those who receive counseling services are far more successful in buying, renting or avoiding foreclosure.”
Who Gets What
More than $50 million in federal housing grants will be made available to organizations working on the national, regional and community levels. The funding allocation is as follows:
- The bulk of the funding, $47 million, will go toward housing counseling services.
- The remaining grants totaling $3.5 million will be for training housing counselors.
The funding will be shared among housing counseling agencies, including (a) 31 national and regional organizations, (b) 6 multi-state organizations, (c) 19 SHFAs (state housing finance agencies), and (d) 199 local housing counseling agencies.
As listed here, the recipients organized per state and their funding share are as follows.
Grant Recipient/ Grant Amount Per State
Data from HUD
1. Alabama $479,875
2. Arkansas $129,504
3. Arizona $22,594
4. California $3,643,265
5. Colorado $588,701
6. Connecticut $241,187
7. DC $11,392,939
8. Delaware $116,071
9. Florida $823,084
10. Georgia $707,578
11. Iowa $134,481
12. Idaho $267,723
13. Illinois $1,037,179
14. Indiana $142,766
15. Kentucky $428,016
16. Louisiana $600,323
17. Massachusetts $3,642,899
18. Maryland $2,530,950
19. Maine $200,057
20. Michigan $3,275,345
21. Minnesota $1,965,632
22. Missouri $345,426
23. Mississippi $822,573
24. Montana $459,160
25. North Carolina $1,324,827
26. North Dakota $59,318
27. Nebraska $211,129
28. New Hampshire $290,146
29. New Jersey $716,894
30. New Mexico $18,348
31. Nevada $41,905
32. New York $2,728,389
33. Ohio $237,073
34. Oklahoma $106,642
35. Oregon $93,824
36. Pennsylvania $3,153,500
37. Puerto Rico $24,251
38. Rhode Island $19,580
39. South Carolina $64,924
40. South Dakota $271,990
41. Tennessee $919,089
42. Texas $3,340,074
43. Utah $52,992
44. Virginia $2,342,338
45. Virgin Islands $25,910
46. Vermont $28,086
47. Washington $480,901
48. Wisconsin $48,628
49. West Virginia $50,545
Grand Total $50,672,051
‘Counseling Improves Housing Outcomes’
The HUD recognizes the importance and impact of housing counseling in homeownership and renting as its cited research shows.
“Counseling improves housing outcomes for homebuyers, homeowners, and renters,” the Department noted. And it is the national and regional housing agencies that distribute such HUD funding among community-based organizations that work with moderate and low income earning families in improving their housing conditions.
Per the HUD, the recipient organizations address the housing counseling needs of families in the areas of:
- Readiness of home purchase
- Understanding of financing and downpayment options
- Navigating the home buying process
- Finding affordable rental housing
- Offering financial literacy training about credit repair, etc
- Assisting homeless individuals look for transitional homes
- Assisting senior borrowers looking for reverse mortgages
- Assisting borrowers in their mortgage loan applications
- Offering foreclosure prevention counseling
