There are many resources online to help you sort through the process of buying a home. Here are some of the best sites we have found.

Section 2: Credit

• American Bankers Association
• National Foundation for Consumer Credit
• Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
• Equifax
• Experian
• Trans Union
• Federal Trade Commission
• FICO Score Estimator
• FICO Scores
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Consumer Debt Counseling
• The Federal Reserve Board’s Consumer Handbook to Credit Protection Laws
• Consumer Information from the Federal Trade Commission

Section 3: Find a REALTOR^®

• Understanding REALTORS® Acronyms
• Checking Real Estate Agents’ State Licenses - (look under Real Estate Broker/Affil.)
• Is your real estate agent a REALTOR®?

Sections 4: Pre-Qualification

• Fannie Mae’s Housing Affordability Calculator
• Homestore’s Moving Advice

Section 5: Homebuyer Education

• Memphis Housing Counseling Network
• Financial Counselors of America
• LeMoyne-Owen College Community Development Corporation
• Neighborhood Housing Opportunities, Inc.
• The Works Community Development Corporation
• United Housing, Inc.
• West Tennessee Legal Services

Section 6: Find a Home

• Arlington Profile
• Bartlett Profile
• Bartlett City Government
• Collierville Profile
• Town of Collierville
• Germantown Profile
• City of Germantown
• Lakeland Profile
• Memphis Profile
• City of Memphis
• Millington Profile
• City of Millington
• Binghampton CDC
• Cooper Young Development Corporation
• LeMoyne-Owen College CDC
• United Housing Inc.
• Uptown Memphis
• Memphis Police’s crime mapper
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Veterans Administration
• USDA/Rural Development
• Home Steps (Freddie Mac)
• Buy Bank Homes
• Freddie Mac’s Consumer Home Inspection Kit
• Earnest Money from Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®

Section 7: Mortgages

• Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions:
  • License list
  • To f ile complaints
• Affordable Mortgage Products
• Fannie Mae
• Freddie Mac
• FHA Loans – Housing and Urban Development
• Veterans Administration
• USDA/Rural Development
• Tennessee Housing Development Agency
• City of Memphis Office of Housing and Community Development
• Shelby County Department of Housing
• Fannie Mae True Cost Calculator
• FICO Calculator for Monthly Payments
• Area Media Income Search
• “Buying your home: Settlement costs and helpful information,” a booklet from HUD
• Appraisals (from MAAR)
• To make fair housing complaints with HUD

Section 8: Closing

• Property disclosures (from MAAR)
  • Link 1
  • Link 2
• Consumer Home Inspection Kit from Freddie Mac
• What Your Home Inspection Should Cover (from MAAR)
• Boundary Lines Surveys (from MAAR)
• TN Land Surveyors Board
• Lead-based Paint (from MAAR)
• Lead-based Paint (from HUD)
• Lead-based Paint Help (from USDA/Rural Development) -
• Appraisals (from MAAR)

Section 9: Owning Your Home

• National Association of Home Builders
• Memphis Police Department
• National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association
• Memphis Area Association of Home Builders
• U.S. Fire Administration’s Kids Fire Page
• City of Memphis Fire Services
• Fire Safety, U.S. Fire Administration
• Smoke Alarms, U.S. Fire Administration
• Carbon Monoxide, U.S. Fire Administration
• Home Depot
• Lowes
• Do it Yourself Home Repairs
• Home Tips
• Memphis Area Home Builders Association Directory of Members
• Mid-South Better Business Bureau
• Tennessee Board of Licensing Contractors
• United Housing, Inc.
• HUD 203(k) loan
• Area Media Income Search

Section 10: Avoiding Foreclosure and Bankruptcy

• FICO Calculator for Effects of Prepayments
• Help for Homeowners Facing the Loss of Their Home, U.S. Housing and Urban Development
• Memphis DEBT Collaborative

Section 11: Avoiding Predatory Lending

• Checking Real Estate Agents’ State Licenses
• Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions:
  • License list
  • To file complaints
• Memphis Fair Housing Center
• West Tennessee Legal Services
• Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs
• Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions -
  • License list
  • File complaints
• Tennessee Real Estate Commission
  • License list
  • File complaints
• The Mid-South Better Business Bureau
• The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Web site – “Stop Mortgage Fraud”
• Fannie Mae’s Borrowing Basics – “What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You”
• U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development’s “Predatory Lending”
• U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development’s “Don’t be a Victim of Loan Fraud”

Section 12: Refinancing and Second Mortgages

• Fannie Mae’s, “Is now a good time to refinance?”
• “When your home is on the line” information about home equity lines of credit from the Federal Reserve Board
• “Putting your home on the line is risky business” from the Federal Reserve Board

General Resources:

• Fannie Mae Foundation
• Fannie Mae Home Buying Guides
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Consumer Resources http://www.stlouisfed.org/consumer/resources.html
• Freddie Mac “Your Route to Homeownership”
• HUD’s “Buying a Home”
• Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®
• National Association of REALTORS®
• Northern California Housing Opportunity Coalition’s Web site