Housing Counselor – Requisition ID: 3889

Requisition ID: 3052

OBJECTIVE AND POSITION SUMMARY

The Housing Counselor is responsible for providing comprehensive housing counseling services focusing on the areas of pre-purchase, foreclosure prevention, and homeowner services. The Housing Counselor is required to have a strong technical background with emphasis on mortgage lending (both originating and servicing), credit repair counseling and real estate and foreclosure law. Other strategic abilities include active listening, analytical and organizational skills and steady boundaries. It is critical that the Housing Counselor be an artful negotiator. Flexibility and an optimistic, realistic attitude are necessary to best manage a client’s expectations.

SPECIALIZATIONS

Knowledge/Experience:

• Good working knowledge of mortgage loan documents.
• Good working knowledge of the loss mitigation process.
• Knowledge of the housing market and potential obstacles for homeownership.
• Knowledge of lending products and various homebuyer assistance programs.
• Ability to analyze financial information.
• Ability to calculate loan rates/terms.
• Demonstrated ability to work with others in establishing goals and objectives.
• Ability to effectively communicate and work with individuals from diverse backgrounds and experience.
• Demonstrated skill in organizing time and prioritizing work load.
• Two years of experience and clearly demonstrated skills in credit repair and mortgage lending procedure including loan servicing, mortgage underwriting concepts and loss mitigation option

OR

• An equivalent combination of training and experience.

Language Skills:

• Ability to interpret, evaluate, and communicate detailed written or verbal instructions/information to others accurately and quickly, including answering phones, attending meetings, written correspondence, routine reports or other forms of communication.
• Ability to communicate effectively (expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken or written word.
• Ability to read and interpret specific documents such as loan documents, disclosures and loan program information.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups.

Customer Service Skills:

• Comfortable working with diverse communities and clients in a tactful and empathetic manner.
• Ability to work with complex demands of customers and to resolve customer problems and concerns.

Mathematical Skills:

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
• Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent.
• Understand mathematical concepts identified above.

Reasoning Ability:

• Ability to identify problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Ability to take decisive action.
• Ability to use solid organization and time management skills.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

HUD Certified Housing Counselor

Education

• Two years of experience and clearly demonstrated skills in credit repair and mortgage lending procedures including loan servicing, mortgage underwriting concepts, and loss mitigation options

OR

• An equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Fluency and literacy in Spanish is optional but not required.

Equipment and Software:

Computer with internet and E-mail capabilities; Projection equipment, telephone, Facsimile and Photocopier. Knowledge of Microsoft office including: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Publisher.

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations:

HUD Certified Housing Counseling Certification or ability to acquire Certification within 90 Days if employment.

National certification from Neighborhood Works or UNIDOS US are required within one year of hire. A valid driver’s license and proof of auto insurance.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AND COMPETENCIES

Foreclosure Prevention:

• Analyze customers’ overall financial condition or position including mortgage delinquency status, cash flow, budget, assets, debt, and credit to identify viable foreclosure prevention options.
• Determine customers’ desire and ability to retain their home.
• Create and implement action plan and timeframe to overcome financial hardship and accomplish goal of retaining home.
• Assist homeowner in negotiating with his/her servicer to identify pre-foreclosure options (i.e. repayment strategy, loan modification, short-sale, or other effective remedies to avoid foreclosure.)
• Work cooperatively with all clients. Help them to learn and understand the mortgage foreclosure process; help them explore possible home retention options; develop sustainable and/or provide appropriate referrals to find transitional housing if mortgage foreclosure is certain; provide appropriate referrals to other assistance programs.

Pre-purchase/Homeowner services:

• Analyze customers’ overall financial situation including cash flow, budget, assets, debt, and credit to determine mortgage readiness.
• Determine customers’ desire to purchase or refinance their home.
• Create and implement an action plan and timeframe to overcome financial hardship and accomplish the goal of purchasing a home or refinancing their current mortgage.
• Act as intermediary between customer and all housing industry professionals (lender, realtor, title company, inspection company) and identify and advocate on behalf of customer for best product and services.
• Provide expert advice and help customers understand the home purchase process by identifying key players, explaining roles and responsibilities of key players, reviewing mortgage documents, purchase contracts and closing documents.

General Duties & Responsibilities:

• Document customer interaction. Use professional standards as they apply to privacy and confidentiality while documenting customer information.
• Document the scope of the problem and maintain statistics on outcomes of assistance provided.
• Create customer hard copy file and promptly input new client data into CounselorMax, an electronic database containing client counseling information.
• Add counseling information after each additional counseling session or client event.
• Provide prompt response to client requests. Perform regular follow-up with clients and servicers. Periodically review files with Tucson Housing Coordinator.
• Build relationships with lenders, realtors, and other professionals in the housing field to develop referral sources.
• Assist with other outside counseling and teach or assist with homebuyer/homeowner education workshops and crisis budgeting classes as needed.
• Attain and maintain required counseling certifications.
• Maintain up-to-date information on lending and homeowner assistance products.
• Participate in outreach activities aimed at marketing programs and services.
• Other duties as assigned.

JOB DEMANDS

• Ability to travel statewide as needed.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Able to present operational information to personnel at all levels.
• Able to identify and recruit potential funding sources.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, talk, and hear. The employee is frequently required to use hands and fingers to handle or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee is regularly required to drive.

CONTINUOUS EDUCATION

Employee will be expected to participate in continuous learning, competency building and maintenance of competency skills.

TYPICAL WORKING CONDITIONS

Work is performed in structured environments. This is not necessarily and exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other different tasks be performed when circumstances change.

COVID-19

Effective January 3, 2022, all CPLC employees and all Service Providers, are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-!9. Newly hired employees who are not Fully Vaccinated at the time of hire, are expected to begin vaccination series immediately upon hire. CPLC recognizes medical and religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement, in accordance with an applicable law and upon approval by CPLC.

However, any person approved for an exemption, without exception, is subject to masking, weekly COVID-19 testing at their expense, and other requirements established by CPLC from time to time.