Credit counseling agencies are equipped with many services; someone who is in need of economic advice or help has the ability to choose among a rich arsenal of weapons in order to find the best way to approach a very specific financial situation. Through these services, even the people who are in the most severe economic situations have the chance to make things better. Specifically, the services offered by such agencies are listed below. Budget and credit advice is the most basic service available. This is a service available at all credit counseling agencies. Specific advice and general guidelines are provided to customers to raise awareness of financial issues. Housing counseling is a service aimed at helping clients with issues concerning their housing needs. For example, when a family considers borrowing money (applying for a loan) in order to start a new home, they can ask for the assistance of credit counseling agencies. This way, they can evaluate whether this is a financially sound action. Reverse mortgage is one more service that is provided (usually for people who are older than 62 years old) by credit counseling agencies. In this case, clients can obtain a loan against their own home, and they are not obliged to pay it for as long as they live in their home. Finally, education services include workshops, speakers, and financial education material. This service is similar to budget and credit advice; however, this service is mostly oriented to general situations. It doesnt address ones specific economic situation. Variations of the above services can be found throughout the different agencies. All these services are available to those who need them, no matter what their financial situations may be. |