ACORN Housing Program Details
The main thing you need to go through ACORN’s homebuyer program is time. You have to commit to an “Intake” orientation/introduction session. Here, they’ll take some forms you’ve already filled out and give you some financial worksheets to bring to your one-on-one session with a counselor. You’ll also pay for your credit check at the Intake so your counselor will have all your numbers ready for the next meeting.
At the counseling session, the adviser will tell you your credit score and what you can obtain from the lenders participating in their program. If it is not what you want, the adviser can also help you formulate a plan and give you a time frame for improvements. That includes setting up a workable budget and creating a savings plan.
Then you have another seminar to attend, and this one is really helpful. They bring in a lawyer, a real estate agent, a mortgage lender, and a home inspector to explain what they do, and what you should look out for. After this, depending on what you actually want to buy (house, condo, etc.), there may be one more educational session to attend.
The actual house hunting part of the deal is all on your own. You’re just doing it knowing an exact amount for which you are pre-approved. Like I said, I love this program and am so glad that the boyfriend found it for us. That’s not to say that everything about the experience was perfect though. There are some negatives to keep in mind. I’ll save those for next time.
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