Minnesota Homeownership Center Secures More Than $1mm to Support Local Housing Counseling in Minnesota

Saint Paul, MN, July 13, 2017 --(PR.com)-- The Minnesota Homeownership Center was awarded $730K in grants from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This funding supports housing counseling services at the Center’s 22 sub-grantees across the state. Each agency will receive between $9,000 and $50,000 to serve low- and moderate-income households and households that have traditionally faced barriers to homeownership.

Members of the Center’s Homeownership Advisors Network work with clients to improve their financial management and budgeting skills, learn homebuying skills, avoid predatory lending, address mortgage delinquency and default, avoid foreclosure, and prevent homelessness. This is the largest HUD grant the Center has received since it became a HUD-approved intermediary in 2013.

In addition, NeighborWorks America has conditionally awarded the Center a grant of $402K under Project Reinvest: Financial Capability. This funding will support financial capability counseling for clients facing significant barriers to homeownership. Homeownership Advisors will work with families and individuals to stabilize their finances, build or rebuild credit, and establish savings for future home purchase.

“We’re thankful to HUD and NeighborWorks America for these significant investments in communities throughout Minnesota,” stated Julie Gugin, executive director of the Center. “With these awards, we’ll be able to help our network expand its capacity, with an emphasis on serving those households facing the greatest barriers to homeownership, including lower income households and households of color.”

A complete list of the Homeownership Advisor Network members that will receive funding through these two grants will be available in the coming weeks at www.hocmn.org.

The Minnesota Homeownership Center empowers smart homeownership choices through education, research and partnerships grounded in the belief that smart, sustainable homeownership has an essential role to play in fostering vibrant communities statewide. The Center’s education work includes Home Stretch™, the in-person homebuyer education course, and Framework®, the online homebuyer course, as well as free one-on-one consultation for people planning to buy a home and homeowners working to save theirs.