Fair Housing and Lending Program

PROUD Homeownership Initiative

Foreclosure Prevention Assistance

Abusive Lending / Foreclosure Prevention Forum

Free and Confidential Financial Help!*

Operation Threshold's Housing and Fair Lending Counselors Offer:

1) Homebuyer Education

    Classes:  Both the pre- and post-purchase homebuyer education classes are taught in four sessions over the course of a month.  Class topics include financial management and budgeting information, energy conservation, anti-predatory lending information, and home maintenance. 

• Flyer

• 2008 Class Schedule for Black Hawk, Buchanan, and Grundy counties

PLEASE NOTE:  Black Hawk County Classes will be held in Waterloo on August 7, 14, 21, & 28 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm.  Classes will be held at the Iowa State University Extension office located at 3420 University Avenue, Suite B.

    Pre-Loan (Purchase) Counseling includes:

• Understanding the home-buying process and the key players

• Decide how much home you can realistically afford

• Review your credit and help you prepare your credit for home ownership

• Develop a savings plan for your down payment

• Decide what kind of mortgage is right for you

    Post-Purchase Counseling includes:

• Understanding the different financing options: Home equity loans, refinances, home equity lines of credit

• Consequences of delinquency/default mortgage payments

• Budgeting and Building and Emergency Fund Reserve

• Foreclosure prevention counseling

• Home maintenance and repair

2) Anti-predatory lending education.  Predatory loans may include pay day loans, car title loans, rapid refund loans, home equity loans, home equity lines of credit loans.  Our counselor presents anti-predatory lending information to public forums, church groups, housing fairs, and other public outlets. 

3) Financial Literacy Education

    Credit Counseling includes:

• Advice on managing and budgeting your money

• Steps to rebuilding your credit

• Identifying solutions to your current financial problems

• Developing a personalized savings/spending plan to help prevent future financial difficulties

• Danger of payday lending, car title loans, rent-to-own purchases

• Understanding debt consolidation loans

• Foreclosure Prevention Services, click here to view.

CASH Course: This is a free four-week program designed to teach people about money management, credit banking issues, identity theft and getting a loan.  The class sessions are taught by experts from several area agencies, including Operation Threshold.

• To view the CASH Course Brochure, click here.
• 2008 CASH Course class schedule

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance:  This service is provided from late January through early March in Black Hawk Buchanan and Grundy counties.  Tax forms are prepared for free by trained volunteers for low-income families. This program promotes the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program to help insure that low-income people are accurately receiving their income tax refunds.  We will be scheduling appointments for 2007 taxes, beginning in January 2008.  For more information, click here.

"Drop us a line before you sign. One bad loan and you could lose your home."

*There are no income limitations to this program, all are eligible, regardless of level of income. Home Buyer Ed and Post Purchase classes cost $20. All other classes offered through the program are free of charge.

For a downloadable brochure, click here.

(c) 2006. Operation Threshold. All rights reserved.