New Albany Housing Authority gains counseling certification
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has designated the New Albany Housing Authority as a Local Housing Counseling Agency. The designation allows the NAHA to provide housing counseling services to residents in Clark and Floyd counties, with the ultimate goal of improving financial literacy, expanding homeownership opportunities, and improving access to affordable housing.
“NAHA has provided support for families pursuing the dream of home ownership and financial improvement for many years by making direct referrals to certified housing programs that were only available in Kentucky because southern Indiana did not have a LCHA,” said NAHA Executive Director David Duggins. “Qualifying individuals and families would have to travel to Kentucky and often experienced long waits due to overburdened agencies.”
In order to earn the designation, NAHA family self-sufficiency employee Cindy Senter was required to take and pass the HUD housing counseling certification examination. Senter, who’s efforts were successful, now provides housing counseling services with the professional title of NAHA housing counselor.
“By providing housing counseling, Cindy (Senter) can assist homebuyers with a variety of issues, such as educating participants in finding a home, selecting an appropriate mortgage product, and resolving credit issues,” Duggins said. “Through her hard work on the examination and HUD’s approval, we can now offer one-on-one support for prospective homeowners in both Floyd and Clark counties.”
Following Senter’s certification, the agency then developed a HUD-approved work plan, allowing the NAHA to provide services that include: pre-purchase one-on-one homeownership counseling; pre-purchase home buyer education workshops; home maintenance and financial management workshops and counseling; and partnering with Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority and their foreclosure prevention program.