About the Professional Certificate Program
Proficiency in Homeownership and Community
Lending
Earning a Professional Certificate
Program Courses
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Homeownership has been proven to create stronger families
and benefit communities by fostering stability, integrity, and
economic growth. Changes over the last decade in the availability
of flexible lending products has created an opportunity for
thousands of low-income families to own their own homes, begin
to create family assets, and become stakeholders in the future
of their communities. Homeownership programs are increasingly
an essential component of an effective community-development
strategy.
For many modest-income families, navigating through the homeownership
process can be complex, frustrating, and intimidating. Many
are unsure how to begin to buy a house, and often face barriers
that prevent them from attaining this dream — lack of
savings for down payment and closing costs, high consumer debt
loads, or poor credit histories.
Helping families address the many barriers that prevent them
from owning their own home requires a system that supports them
before, during, and after the home-buying process. This system
includes pre- and post-purchase homebuyer education as well
as flexible loan products that meet today’s buyers’
needs. Such a system creates long-term, successful homeowners
and, as a result, successful communities.
NeighborWorks America's training division
has designed a curriculum that focuses on the implementation
and development of successful homeownership programs. Participants
who successfully earn a professional certificate will have gained
the knowledge and tools to help more families achieve the dream
of home ownership, and to use such reinvestment as part of a
community development strategy.
About the Professional Certificate Program
Education with Results
The Professional Certificate Program for Homeownership and Community Lending consists
of a series of courses that together provide the specialized
tools and technical skills necessary to design and implement
successful homeownership initiatives. This program
will enable participants to:
-
Determine the components that make for successful
long-term home ownership;
-
Raise home-ownership rates among modest-income
families by removing barriers through appropriate education
and financing;
-
Stabilize families and communities by increasing
home ownership locally; and
-
Improve the quality of home-ownership services
provided by their agencies.
The curriculum focuses on fundamental homeownership development
strategies for low- and moderate-income communities through
homebuyer education, housing counseling, and community lending.
The courses emphasize a hands-on approach, combining
lecture with case studies, site visits, small-group exercises,
and other participatory methods.
Candidates
The courses are designed to be a useful resource
for beginner and intermediate-level professionals and those
looking to increase their training and professional status in
the areas of housing counseling, homebuyer education, loan processing,
loan origination, and related fields. Courses are appropriate
for staff of:
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Proficiency in Homeownership and Community
Lending
Participants earning their professional certificate take a
combination of required and elective courses that enables candidates
to:
-
Design and deliver a comprehensive pre- and
postpurchase homebuyer education program that supports homebuyers
before, during, and after the home purchase;
-
Develop an effective housing counseling program
that eliminates barriers to homeownership and offers alternatives
to foreclosure;
-
Understand the process and regulations of
mortgage lending; and
-
Identify flexible loan products that meet
the individual needs of their customers.
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Earning a Professional Certificate
Professional Certificates in Homeownership and Community Lending
will be awarded to individuals who successfully complete the
five required courses (preferably in the recommended order), pass the test for each required course,
if applicable, and the comprehensive exam at the end of all
coursework within four years of application
to the Professional Certificate Program. It is possible to complete all program requirements in as few as four institutes and, with
prior approval by training division staff, candidates may receive
credit for relevant courses taken no more than two years prior
to enrollment in the Professional Certificate Program.
Program courses are open to all training institute
participants, but in order to be eligible for the professional
certificate, candidates must complete and submit an application
to enroll
formally in the Professional Certificate Program.
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Program Courses
Listed below are the required and elective courses
for earning a professional certificate in Homeownership and
Community Lending.
NOTE: The Spanish language equivalent of any course is also acceptable in meeting program requirements. Learn more about the Spanish-language courses. Also, symposia offered within the homeownership track can also satisfy elective requirements
The recommended curriculum is listed below.
(R) = Required Courses
INSTITUTE 1:
INSTITUTE 2:
INSTITUTE 3:
INSTITUTE 4:
*This 5-day course became a requirement at the 2004 NeighborWorks Training Institute in Minneapolis . Candidates who completed courses under the previous curriculum should contact us at (800) 438-5547 for more information.
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