National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). Low-cost printed materials can be found in their Economic Independence Clearninghouse, which has been established with American Express. [For example: “A Woman’s Guide to Taking Charge: Basic Tools for Managing Your Money” (book, $14.95), “Cutting Miscellaneous Housing Costs” (brochure, $1.53), “How to Save a Fortune on Housing and Utilities” (brochure, $1.53)]Housing: Saving for a Down Payment, Mortgage Shopping, & Homeowner Education, page 1
National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) -- a non-profit network of over 1,400 Neighborhood Financial Care Centers who provide assistance to people in stressful financial situations. Toll free: 1-800-388-2227. [They provide: Homebuyer Education: Seminars are held to explain the home buying process, how much mortgage is affordable, and how to develop a saving plan. Basic Money Management: Education about how credit works, how to budget and become financially responsible. Cedit counseling: Counselors examine current credit situation and work out solutions with creditors and help develop a spending plan to cover living expenses and payments to creditors.]
Fannie Mae Foundation -- print and on-line resources on buying a house and choosing a mortgage. Some material available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Korean, Portuguese & Haitian-Creole. Toll free: 800-688-HOME. [They provide: Directory of Home-Buyer Resources for 20 cities. This resource lists programs to help low and middle income first-time home buyers with down payment assistance, and housing counseling. Free monthly home buying fairs held around the country with multi-lingual panel sessions led by real estate professionals, lenders, and credit counselors on topics such as the "ABCs of Buying a Home" and "Let's Talk Credit". For more information: 888-752-7170.]
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