A home is a family's refuge and valuable investment. It's where they seek shelter in times of difficulties and share their dreams and triumphs as well as create great memories together especially on special occasions. This is the reason why when a house gets sold or is facing foreclosure, most families get devastated.



Many homeowners today who find it hard to cope with their mortgage payments while raising a family are feeling helpless and frustrated. They know for a fact that missing several months of payment will lead to foreclosure of their home. And indeed, not knowing where to live next when a house gets foreclosed can give homeowners a nightmare. However, it's not too late to find ways to solve the problem. It's best to act now than never.

Lack of proper knowledge is the most common problem of homeowners who easily give up on their situation. Fortunately, financial experts are there to give advice and assist people facing various financial crises in their professional and personal lives. They offer consumer credit counseling service and debt consolidation service to help you through any kind of financial uncertainty notably in these times of crises.

When it comes to housing-related issues, the experts to turn to are the housing counselors. They have the expertise to help individuals and families belonging to the low and middle-income brackets with financial issues concerning their residential property. These counselors have extensive knowledge on the housing industry and can provide you with the right financial information that you need. They can educate and advice homeowners on their leasing and homeownership rights, homebuyer preparation, pre and post occupancy, home improvement, mortgage default, predatory lending, debt management and equity mortgages among others.

• Pre-occupancy pertains to information on how to select and purchase or rent a property, fair housing laws, household care and management, participation in homeowners associations and certification for HUD subsidies.



• Pre-purchase counseling covers the rights and obligations of homeowners, HUD mortgage programs, the process of applying for mortgage insurance, financing, refinancing to avail of lower interest rates, reverse equity mortgage program and the buying process.



• Pre-rental includes assistance on tenant rights, rent subsidy program, applying for rent subsidy, rental process, grievance process and fair housing laws.



• Post occupancy will assist homeowners and renters in managing their homes and solving problems related to mortgage and leases.



• Mortgage default counseling helps those having difficulty paying their monthly mortgage dues and at risk of default. Assistance given includes determining the cause of the problem, ways to reinstate, managing finances, loss mitigation, escrow funds, disposition of property and how to avail of alternative housing.



• Home improvement counseling will inform homeowners on ways to maintain their homes and rehabilitate them if necessary.



• Home equity conversion mortgage (HECM) covers social services, health and financial services which mortgagors can take advantage.



• Predatory lending counseling includes training consumers and make them aware of existing predatory lending practices. With this program, homeowners are taught about ways to detect predatory lending acts such as loans and how to stay away from them.

When you're having problems with your mortgage loans, payments and other debts in relation to your home, never ignore them. Take action right away to settle the issues so you can avoid going into further trouble.