Office of Housing/
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Language Access Resources
FHA provides more than 40 common mortgage documents and other educational resources for single-family homeowners in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. These translated documents allow for lenders, servicers, housing counselors, and other FHA program participants assisting those with limited English proficiency to better understand single-family mortgage programs before borrowers and existing homeowners execute legal mortgage documents in English.
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA)
PHFA offers everything from access to free homebuyer counseling and education through one of its approved counseling agencies to home purchase loans with competitive interest rates and lower fees to assistance loans available with home purchase loans. What you choose will depend on your individual situation.
Philadelphia-Area Housing Counseling Agencies
City-funded housing counseling agencies can help prepare people to buy a home. Trained housing counselors offer free group and individual counseling on mortgage application and purchase process, budgeting, and money management.
How Much House Can I Afford? Affordability Calculator
This free mortgage calculator lets you estimate your monthly house payment, including principal and interest, taxes, and insurance.
Urban League’s Homebuyers Guidebook
The Urban League’s Homebuyers Guide has everything you need to become acquainted with the homebuying process, from getting a mortgage to receiving the keys to your new home.
Fair Housing Guide for Consumers
This guide was developed to assist you in better understanding your rights under the Fair Housing Act, and to increase your ability to recognize the signs of housing discrimination.
Buying a Home in 2023
Freddie Mac and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offer a plan for homeownership.
Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC)
The Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation highlights several programs that will support renters and/or first-time homebuyers.
Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs)
Under federal law, lenders are permitted to create SPCPs which extend credit to individuals who would otherwise not qualify or would receive on less favorable conditions.
Tangled Title
When a resident’s name is not on a deed and therefore is unable to demonstrate homeownership, the result is a tangled title.
Financial Literacy
Financial literary is an important part of the homebuying process, and there are a variety of resources to assist first-time homeowners.
“Being able to see clients get to their goal of wanting to become a homeowner, being a part of that settlement, seeing their faces when they get the key to their home. That’s why I'm a housing counselor.”
Brendi Lopez , Housing Counselor
