Specifications include, but are not limited to: The City’s US Department of Housing & Urban Development funded Community Development Block Grant program has set aside funding for the purpose of educating and counseling residents on homeownership. The services provided will follow the HUD Rule on Housing Counseling, 81 FR 90632. The City is seeking qualified HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to provide Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Education Classes. Pre-purchase homebuyer education services include providing outreach, information, and access to clients on affordable housing opportunities, mortgage loans, down payment assistance programs, mortgage qualification process, budgeting strategies, shopping for a home, good neighborhood principles, and the responsibilities and advantages of homeownership. Per HUD, this must include a combination of one-on-one counseling and homebuyer classes totaling a minimum of 8 hours of education using the curriculum in accordance with HUD standards. Classes must prepare and qualify clients, as applicable, for ADFA Home to Own, Down Payment Assistance (DPA), Arkansas Dream Down Payment Initiative (ADDI), and/or similar assistance programs, which proposers will be solely responsible for coordinating through providers. Experience in delivering mortgage and down payment/closing cost assistance qualifying programs is an important aspect of the proposal. Details of any HUD-funded programs including ADFA, ADDI, and similar down payment assistance programs the organization offers clients, either directly or through referral, program materials, and the role played by organization staff in qualifying buyers for mortgages or down payment assistance, will be reviewed and compared. Selection criteria also include the organization’s experience calculating HUD income eligibility, including methods such as Section 8 as per 24 CFR Part 5 or adjusted gross income as defined by the International Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 series for individual federal annual income tax reporting purposes.
