The List of Homeownership Counseling Organizations (our Cx17874) is provided per 12 CFR § 1024.20, which requires the lender or mortgage broker supply the loan applicant a list of homeownership counseling organizations located closest to the applicant within three business days after receipt of application.
The list must be compiled using data provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on their website within 30 days prior to the date the list is given to the applicant. The list may be generated directly from the CFPB’s website (http://www.consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor/). The List of Homeownership Counseling Organizations, our Cx17874, is not reflecting an active link for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) website that allows for the extraction of the necessary information. The active link has been moved to: https://hudgov-answers.force.com/housingcounseling/s/.
Per the Homeownership Counseling Organizations Lists and High-Cost Mortgage Counseling Interpretive Rule (2015), this regulation, which was originally finalized on January 10, 2013, provides that if the data is extracted it must be “used in accordance with instructions provided with the data” (Ibid. § 1024.20[a][1][ii]). These instructions were finally promulgated by the CFPB on November 8, 2013, in an interpretive rule which was updated in 2015, which can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/04/21/2015-09244/homeownership-counseling-organizations-lists-and-high-cost-mortgage-counseling-interpretive-rule
Specifically, the rule requires the language:
“The counseling agencies on this list are approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and they can offer independent advice about whether a particular set of mortgage loan terms is a good fit based on your objectives and circumstances, often at little or no cost to you. This list shows you several approved agencies in your area. You can find other approved counseling agencies at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Web site: consumerfinance.gov/mortgagehelp or by calling 1-855-411-CFPB (2372). You can also access a list of nationwide HUD-approved counseling intermediaries at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/ohc_nint.”
Since this language is required, we will not be removing the reference to the now-defunct website “http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/ohc_nint” from Cx17874. However, in keeping with the aforementioned website changes, language is being added to the last sentence so that it reads as follows: “You can also access a list of nationwide HUD-approved counseling intermediaries at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/ohc_nint, at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor/, or at https://hudgov-answers.force.com/housingcounseling/s/.”
Effective Date
These changes will be in effect on April 28, 2022. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please contact Client Support at 1.800.497.3584.
TW 379678
DR-12472