Homebuyer education class: when it's required, where to take it

A homebuyer education class is a course, online or in person, on how buying a home works: budgeting, credit, mortgages and closing, the day the home becomes yours. Many loans for first-time buyers, usually people who haven't owned a home in three years, and many below-market homes require one. Classes take 4 to 10 hours.

Before you sign up, ask the agency that runs your program which classes it accepts. A class that counts for one program can be turned down by another.

Why do programs require a homebuyer class?

Programs that lend you money or sell you a home below its market price want you to know what you are signing. A below-market home is one that a city or nonprofit sells for less than similar homes nearby. Only buyers under its income limit, the most a household can earn, can buy it.

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) is the state's home loan agency. It says education and counseling are critical to a homeowner's success, so it requires them for first-time buyers who use its loans. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the federal housing department. It says these classes cover whether you are ready to buy, your loan choices, fair housing and unfair lending, the steps of a purchase, and closing costs.

Who teaches homebuyer classes?

Most classes are taught by housing counseling agencies, nonprofits that HUD approves, with counselors HUD certifies. To find one near you, call HUD at 800-569-4287 or use HUD's counselor search. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's counselor search, from another federal agency, finds the same kind of agency.

"HUD-approved" doesn't always mean your program accepts the class. Many programs keep their own list:

• San Francisco requires an agency on the list approved by MOHCD, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, which sells the city's below-market homes.
• Philadelphia's Turn the Key program requires one-on-one counseling approved by PHDC, the city's housing development agency, before you sign an agreement of sale, the contract to buy the home.
• Oregon's Proud Ground, a nonprofit that sells lower-priced homes, accepts its own online class or one from a short list of local organizations.
• In Colorado, the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA), the local housing office, accepts three online courses from its own list.

Is a homebuyer class the same as housing counseling?

A homebuyer class and housing counseling are two different things, and some programs require both. HUD explains that a class, or workshop, gives a general overview to a group, in a classroom or online. Counseling is a meeting about your own money and plans with a counselor, who helps you make a plan and a budget you can afford.

CalHFA wants a class plus a one-hour one-on-one session, San Francisco wants a class plus a two-hour counseling session, and Philadelphia's Turn the Key asks for one-on-one counseling.

How long is the class, and what does it cost?

There is no one standard length, so check the hours with the agency that runs your program. HUD says its approved agencies may charge a small fee for classes, but must waive it if you can't afford to pay. They must tell you the fee before counseling begins.

Is a free online class good enough?

A free online class is good enough only if your program accepts it. Fannie Mae, one of two big companies that buy home loans from lenders, offers HomeView, a free online course with a certificate. Fannie Mae says it meets the class requirement for most mortgages.

CalHFA does not accept HomeView or Framework, another online course, because neither includes a one-hour one-on-one follow-up session. Aspen does accept Framework, and Proud Ground's own class is taught through Framework. Two of Aspen's three online courses end with a 30-minute phone call you book later, and you get the certificate only after the call.

So one course can count in one program and be refused in another. Before you pay or start, ask the agency that runs your program which courses it accepts, in writing if you can.

How long does the certificate last?

A certificate lasts as long as your program says, and a lapsed one can cost you a chance to apply.

• San Francisco: your Verification of Homebuyer Education Completion, the form you get after all 10 hours, runs out one year after your counseling session. It must still be valid on the day you apply for a home's lottery, the random drawing the city uses to pick buyers. An application with an expired form is removed from the lottery. If it ran out less than a year ago, you can renew it once with another counseling session. After more than a year, you start the 10 hours again.
• Somerville, Massachusetts: accepts a course certificate for 3 years after you finish the course.
• Aspen: APCHA's page doesn't give an end date, so ask APCHA how long a certificate counts before you pay. You send it with your qualification packet, the papers that show you qualify, and APCHA won't accept your bid on a home without it.

A timeline for a San Francisco lottery

Say you want to enter the lottery for a below-market home in San Francisco, and applications close on April 2, 2027.

You go to the 2-hour orientation on February 1, the 6 hours of workshops on February 20, and the 2-hour counseling session on March 9. Your form is dated March 9, 2027, so it is valid on April 2 and runs out on March 9, 2028. San Francisco says classes fill up fast and finishing can take weeks or months, so book each step as soon as you can.

Now say your counseling session was on March 10, 2026. Your form runs out on March 10, 2027, 23 days before the April 2 deadline. Because it runs out before you apply, you need one more counseling session first. San Francisco allows that renewal once, if the form ran out less than a year ago.

What should you do before you pay for a class?

Before you pay for a class, find out exactly what your program accepts and when, because many below-market homes ask for the certificate when you apply, not only at closing.

1. Open the listing's official page and find the line about homebuyer education or counseling.
2. Ask which classes count. Get the list of accepted agencies or courses, and the name of the certificate or form the program needs.
3. Ask whether it also needs counseling, a one-on-one meeting, on top of the class.
4. Check the dates. Note how long the certificate is good for, and whether it must be valid when you apply or only when you close.
5. Ask who has to take it: one person in your household, or every adult who will own the home.
6. Book early, and save a copy of the certificate where you can find it. Your lender may ask for it too.

To see which homes fit your household's size and income, use the qualify check, or browse open listings and our San Francisco page. Our guide to below-market-rate housing explains how these homes are sold. Our guide to first-time home buyer programs covers the loans and down payment help that may ask for a class.