Home Buying Tips Online

• Community Realty www.yourownhome.org
• FannieMae www.fanniemae.com
• FreddieMac www.freddiemac.com
• U.S. Dept. of HUD
  http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/i_want_to/buy_a_home
• Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. 
  www.buywithmi.com

Energy Efficiency

• Get started with a comprehensive home energy assessment
  www.greencapitalregion.org
• Green remodeling ideas
  www.regreenprogram.org
• Database of state incentives for energy efficiency www.dsireusa.org

Using Debt Wisely

• FreddieMac CreditSmart®
  www.freddiemac.com/creditsmart/
• Shopping for a Credit Card
  www.federalreserve.gov/Pubs/shop/
• Behind on Your Mortgage
  www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/econ/econ.cfm
• NYS Consumer Protection Board
  www.consumer.state.ny.us/
• NYS Attorney General on Consumer Debt
  www.nydebthelp.com
• Federal Trade Commission
  www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm
• Payroll Card Questions and Answers
  www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/
  000920.html

Foreclosure Prevention

• Information and foreclosure related links at our HomeSave page
  HomeSave

Help Outside the Capital District

• Search for New York State agencies by county at HomeSmartNY.org  

• National List of HUD-Approved Counseling Agencies
  www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm
• Find NeighborWorks® Organizations
  http://nw.org/network/Utilities/NWOLookup.asp

Home Inspections and Home Repair

• National Association of Home Inspectors
  www.nahi.org
• American Society of Home Inspectors
  www.ashi.com
• Check NYS home inspector license status online
  www.dos.state.ny.us/lcns/
• NYS Attorney General "Know Your Contractor" 
  www.nyknowyourcontractor.com/cfmqstaticdocs/

Credit Reporting Information

• Free Annual Credit Report
  www.annualcreditreport.com
• Federal Trade Commission
  www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit/rights.shtm
• Equifax
  www.equifax.com
• TransUnion
  www.transunion.com
• Experian
  www.experian.com

Mortgage Loan Programs

• State of New York Mortgage Association (SONYMA)
  www.sonyma.org
• USDA Rural Development Financing
  http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov
• Federal Housing Administration (FHA)http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/
  federal_housing_administration

Beware of Predatory Lending

• Consumer tips from the Center for Responsible Lending 
  http://www.responsiblelending.org
• BorrowSmart consumer education campaign
  http://www.borrowsmart.org
• NYS Banking Department brochures
  http://www.banking.state.ny.us/cs.htm

Other Consumer Sites

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has good consumer financial tips:  www.consumerfinance.gov​
• Repaying Federal Student Loan Debt:   StudentAid.gov
• To determine which of your loans are Federal loans, go to National Student Loan Data System - www.nslds.ed.gov.  From there, go to "Financial Aid Review"

Recursos en Español (Home Buying and Credit in Spanish)

• Puntos destacados de HUD
  http://espanol.hud.gov/index.html
• Federal Trade Commission
  www.ftc.gov/bcp/index_es.shtml
• Preguntas Comunes de los Empleados sobre las Tarjetas de Nómina (Payroll Cards)
  www.consumersunion.org/espanol/
• Utilizar su hogar como garantía
  www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/riskyhomeloans/
  riskyspanish.htm