Helping residents realize the dream of owning their own home requires education and intensive one-on-one counseling. To provide this type of assistance the Authority has staffed a Homeownership Case Manager to assist those residents who are ready to make the move to homeownership.

To prepare residents for homeownership, the Authority is pleased to be able to provide, through a grant from the City's Community Development Block Grant program, first-time homebuyer educational workshop courses.

The purpose of the Holyoke Housing Authority's homebuyer counseling program is to educate and counsel prospective homebuyers to make informed, voluntary decisions regarding the homebuying process. The series covers such topics as: finding the right mortgage product, working with a Realtor, fair housing, home inspection and budgeting.

The three-part educational series offered by the Authority has earned the Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative "Collaborative Seal of Approval".  The Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative, a collaboration of non-profit homebuyer counseling agencies, lenders, real estate professionals, government officials, and other key players in the homeownership industry in Massachusetts, was formed to recognize Massachusetts homebuyer counseling agencies that meet or exceed a minimum standard in providing effective pre-purchase, group homebuyer counseling and education to low and moderate-income, first-time homebuyers.