Our nation’s greatest promise has always been the chance to build a better life. For countless American families, throughout out history, owning a home has come to symbolize the realization of the American Dream. This quest for homeownership has become much harder for many to achieve. For some families, the American Dream is a faint shadow. Generations of families have missed out. They have nothing to leave for the next generation. Without the assets that homeownership provides, other important aspects of modern life elude many of these families as well: cars, computers, college and adequate housing. Housing Rights, Inc. through its Homeownership Information Center provides low income families with the information and skills they need to:

Become informed consumers
Get their finances in order
Prepare for homeownership
Hold on to the assets they have

Homeownership Information Center (HIC) is a project of Housing Rights, Inc. Our goal is to provide low income households with information that can be used to pursue homeownership. We provide a variety of services designed to meet this goal.

We are proud to provide the following servcies to low and lower income households in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. They may be a charge for some services. Call and check us out!

Homeownership Orientation. Monthly two hour sessions are held to orient interested individuals to HIC services and the home buyer process. Guest speakers from local financial institutions and real estate firms join us.

Homebuyer Education. Using NeighborWorks’ “Realizing the American Dream” curriculum, certified trainers work with small groups of 8-10 low income individuals. This curriculum meets industry standards. The workshops are help over two days. Thursday evening for two hours and Saturday for six hours. Attendees completing the 8 hour program receive a certificate of completion. These sessions are held once a month. The certificate is a requirement for some loan programs.

Financial Education. Using FDIC’s Money Smart, trained facilitators provide attendees with information that they can use to get ‘smart’ about their finances.

Credit Checks. For a small fee we will ‘pull’ a credit report and counsel our clients regarding the contents.

Home Owner Education-Predatory Lending. These once a month two hour session provide homeowners with important information that they need to protect their investment! We use curriculum available though the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute.

Public Computers. We have two computers in the office available to the public for housing and homeownership information searches.

HIC services are available to Berkeley Housing Authority Section 8 Voucher Holders free of charge. We are proud to work with BHA in preparing Voucher households for Section 8 homeownership.

Our services are available to others for a small fee. Sponsorships may be available.

Call 1800-773-2110

For upcoming events click here!