HUD-Certified Housing Counselor: Foreclosure Prevention - Rental - First-Time Homebuyer

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced bilingual HUD-Certified Housing Counselor to provide foreclosure prevention, rental counseling, and first-time homebuyer counseling. The counselor will assess client needs, develop individualized action plans, prepare and submit complete housing-assistance applications, maintain accurate HUD-compliant client records, and update all client information and documentation in Compass CMS in accordance with HUD, program, grant, funder, and agency requirements. The position also includes community education, outreach, presentations, workshop facilitation, and collaboration with agency staff to provide high-quality housing counseling services. Only applicants who already hold an active HUD Housing Counselor Certification will be considered.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide confidential one-on-one foreclosure-prevention, rental, and pre-purchase counseling in English and Spanish.
• Provide rental counseling to tenants, including education on tenant rights and responsibilities, eviction-prevention strategies, fair housing protections, budgeting for housing expenses, and referrals to rental assistance and community resources.
• Review income, expenses, credit, mortgage documents, hardship circumstances, savings, and homeownership readiness.
• Prepare household budgets, affordability analyses, individualized action plans, and complete loss-mitigation or mortgage-assistance packages.
• Explain foreclosure timelines, repayment plans, forbearance, loan modifications, reinstatement, refinancing, mortgage products, closing costs, fair-lending protections, and homeownership responsibilities.
• Identify appropriate down-payment, closing-cost, mortgage-assistance, rental-assistance, legal-service, and community resources.
• Communicate with servicers, lenders, landlords or property managers, attorneys, government agencies, and nonprofit partners when authorized by the client.
• Maintain timely, accurate, confidential, and HUD-compliant client files; track outcomes and comply with applicable HUD, program, grant, and funder documentation and reporting requirements.
• Facilitate or support first-time homebuyer and tenant-education workshops, outreach events, housing fairs, and community presentations, including presentations after business hours or on Saturdays when needed.
• Collaborate with counseling, intake, outreach, and management staff to coordinate client services and program activities.
• Perform other related duties and responsibilities as assigned in support of Housing Help Inc.'s programs and organizational needs.

Required Qualifications

Applicants must meet all of the following requirements:

• Active HUD Housing Counselor Certification at the time of application.
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university.
• At least three years of professional housing-counseling experience, including foreclosure prevention, rental counseling, and first-time homebuyer or pre-purchase counseling.
• Professional fluency in English and Spanish, with strong oral and written communication skills.
• Knowledge of mortgage servicing, loss mitigation, budgeting, credit, lending practices, fair housing, and the home-purchase process.
• Experience managing a caseload and maintaining HUD-compliant counseling files.
• Knowledge of case/client-management systems; experience with CounselorMax or Compass is a plus.
• Strong organization, attention to detail, follow-through, and ability to meet reporting deadlines.
• Ability to serve diverse households respectfully, including low- and moderate-income families, older adults, immigrants, people with disabilities, and clients with limited English or computer proficiency.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint; familiarity with Google Workspace is a plus.

Work Location and Transportation

• This is a full-time, onsite position. The counselor may work at and travel between Housing Help Inc. offices in East Northport, Central Islip, Riverhead, and Hempstead, based on program needs.
• The regular schedule is Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a 30-minute unpaid meal period, for a regular 35-hour workweek. Occasional evening and Saturday work is required for outreach events, presentations, or workshops. All hours worked will be recorded and compensated, including overtime when required by applicable law.
• Reliable transportation and the ability to travel between agency offices and community locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties are essential functions of the position. Because the role requires driving, a valid driver's license in good standing and reliable access to a vehicle are required. Approved business mileage and other authorized travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with agency policy and applicable law.
• The position requires approximately one to two weeks of overnight travel each year for required training and professional development. Housing Help Inc. will pay approved travel, lodging, transportation, and meal expenses in accordance with agency policy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using Compass, CounselorMax, or another HUD-compliant client-management system within a HUD-approved nonprofit counseling agency.
• Familiarity with New York foreclosure-prevention, settlement-conference, rental-assistance, mortgage-assistance, and down-payment assistance programs.
• Experience conducting homebuyer workshops in English and Spanish and knowledge of Long Island housing resources.

Compensation and Benefits

The good-faith salary range for this position is $68,000-$75,000 annually, based on directly related qualifications and experience. Benefits currently include paid time off, personal and sick leave, health insurance, dental and vision coverage, retirement savings account with employer match, life insurance, and professional development opportunities. Eligibility, employee contributions, waiting periods, and other terms are governed by the applicable benefit plans and agency policies and may be amended from time to time.

This position will be classified as exempt or nonexempt in accordance with applicable federal and New York law. Housing Help Inc. will pay overtime compensation when required by law.

How to Apply

Email a cover letter, resume, proof of active HUD certification, and contact information for two professional references to jobs@housinghelpinc.org. Housing Help Inc. does not request salary-history information and will consider applicants based on lawful, job-related qualifications.

Subject line: HUD-Certified Housing Counselor - Application

Applications that do not demonstrate active HUD certification, bilingual English-Spanish proficiency, a four-year degree, and at least three years of relevant experience will not be considered.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Housing Help Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all employment practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, age, sex, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, marital or familial status, military or veteran status, domestic-violence victim status, lawful off-duty conduct, protected arrest or conviction history, or any other characteristic protected by federal, New York State, or local law. Employment decisions are based on lawful, job-related qualifications, merit, and organizational need.

Housing Help Inc. provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees as required by law. Applicants needing an accommodation during the application or interview process may contact jobs@housinghelpinc.org.

Employment is at will and may be ended by either party at any time, with or without notice or cause, subject to applicable law. This posting does not create a contract of employment.

Benefits currently include paid time off, personal and sick leave, health insurance, dental and vision coverage, retirement savings account with employer match, life insurance, and professional development opportunities.

Spanish fluency