Homebuyer Counseling

Housing Counseling programs at Great Lakes Community Action Partnership provide free, comprehensive services for home buyers, homeowners and renters. Services are available to Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca and Wood County residents. GLCAP is a HUD-approved counseling agency.

Counselors educate potential homebuyers on:

• Building a household budget
• Understanding credit
• Determining your affordability
• Getting a mortgage loan
• Shopping for a home
• How to build equity in your home

After purchase, we can provide one-on-one and group counseling for new homeowners to cover topics such as mortgage loan terms, property maintenance, home repair, and grant and loan assistance.

Additional services:

Foreclosure prevention

Should homeowners need assistance to resolve or prevent mortgage delinquency, we provide one-on-one counseling to cover debt restructuring, reinstatement plans, loan forbearance, and household finance management. Counseling also includes direct negotiation with the lender with the goal of preventing foreclosure.

Rental counseling

For renters, we offer one-on-one or group counseling on landlord and tenant rights, lease education, budgeting and renter responsibilities. Housing education classes are available to anyone interested in learning about the home buying process.

Mortgage-related assistance

GLCAP also offers help for mortgage-related expenses such as property tax (not escrowed), mortgage insurance, and other costs. We can also help with utility expenses such as water, sewer, electric, trash service, and broadband. The program is for income-eligible Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, and Wood County residents who have been affected by COVID-19. Residents must be at or below 150% annual area median income (e.g. $103,350 household of 1; 147,600/household of four)