Committee hears briefing on homeownership assistance; counselors urge steady funding and reporting

Montgomery County housing staff, the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) and HUD-certified counseling agencies briefed the Planning, Housing and Parks Committee on June 9 on the county's homeownership assistance tools, including three down-payment programs and local counseling services. Committee members heard that counseling reduces foreclosure risk and that down-payment funds have been exhausted quickly when available, prompting a committee request for regular spend-down reports.

Summer Cross, chief of housing at the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, led an overview of the home-buying process and the tools available to first-time buyers. "Any conversation about the home buying tools and processes needs to take it step by step," Cross said, summarizing the sequence from HUD-certified homebuyer education and lender preapproval through purchase and post-purchase counseling.

Two HUD-certified housing counseling agencies operate in Montgomery County: Housing Initiative Partnership (HIP) and the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC). Mary Hunter, director of housing counseling and services at HIP, said the agency provided classroom education and one-on-one counseling in 2024. "We are a HUD approved housing counseling agency," Hunter said, and HIP reported that 132 county residents attended its homebuyer class in calendar year 2024 and 34 received individual mortgage-readiness counseling.

LEDC representatives…