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Housing & Financial Counseling:

Enhancing Your Stability with Pre-Purchase Counseling

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Our Program

About the Program

As a HUD approved Comprehensive Housing Counseling Agency, our Housing and Financial Counseling program is dedicated to assisting households in obtaining, maintaining or improving financial stability and permanent housing, bringing them from crisis to wholeness and helping to stabilize communities.

The Up Center provides these one-on-one services:

Foreclosure and loss mitigation counseling
Pre-purchase counseling
Post-purchase counseling
Rental counseling
Reverse mortgage counseling

Who We Serve

Housing and Financial Counseling Services are available to anyone in the Hampton Roads region who is seeking credit counseling or housing support services. We can also help clients outside of Hampton Roads on a case by case basis.

What Makes Us Different

At The Up Center, we believe that every individual and family can achieve financial success and stability given the right tools, information and guidance. Whether you are trying to create an effective spending plan, improve your credit, become a homeowner, or avoid foreclosure, we are here to help. Our HUD Certified housing counselors follow HUD and National Industry Standards, provide trauma informed care, and are well trained with the skills and competencies needed to help individuals and families reach their housing and financial goals. There are no fees for services with the exception of Reverse Mortgage Counseling.

Our program has helped more than 10,000 households and has been a HUD certified counseling agency since 2004. Our team has more than 26 years of combined experience in helping people secure safety and stability through housing.

What to Expect

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you provide grants to repair homes?

No, we are application agents for Virginia Housing’s Accessibility Grants. More information can be found at Virginia Housing.

Do you provide financial assistance for rent, mortgage payments, or utilities?

No, we do not provide financial assistance. Please contact the Housing Crisis Hotline at 757-587-4202, call 2-1-1, or go to Resources 757.

I am homeless. Can you assist me in finding housing/shelter?

We do not provide homeless services. Visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to find an agency near you.

I want to buy a home, do you provide down payment assistance?

No, we do not provide down payment assistance but we can connect you with the right organization for further information as part of our pre purchase counseling service.

Our Impact

A stable home and sound financial footing are essential for individuals to thrive. Our counselors help families navigate housing challenges, manage debt, and build financial literacy. Every year, The Up Center assists a multitude of families in dealing with their housing and financial goals.

In 2023, we helped:

155 households
improved financial capacity

246 households
received information on fair housing, fair lending and/or accessibility rights

1114 clients
have been served

True Stories

“The speakers were very informative and made me feel better about purchasing my first home ... thank you for this GREAT class!”

—Participant 8/22/2019 VHDA’s Homebuyer Education Class

“The help I received from The Up Center to purchase my first house was exceptional. The counseling services provided by Tiffany were tremendous. She helped with my credit score when it came to understanding how important credit is when purchasing a house. The program additionally taught me to budget by looking at my spending habits monthly and by cutting back on different activities. The first-time home buying class was influential because they helped me understand the process of buying a house and made it easier for me!”

—Teria Uzzle

“I thoroughly enjoyed this class ... Erica was very informative, descriptive and in depth with the details ... I learned quite a bit in her class and plan to use what I learned to help with a budget.”

—Participant 10/9/2019 Art of Debt Management Class

Meet the Team

Tiffany joined The Up Center as a Housing Counselor in 2012. She works closely with individuals and families to assist them in achieving their financial goals, whether that be by helping them to develop a budget, become mortgage ready, or counsel seniors on reverse mortgages. Tiffany is a HUD Certified Housing Counselor, Reverse Mortgage Counselor and a VHDA Homebuyer Education facilitator. Tiffany resides in North Carolina with her family and enjoys camping, gardening and being crafty in her spare time.

Erica started with The Up Center in 2016. Her primary role and passion is working with homeowners who are experiencing financial hardships and may be at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. She acts as an advocate for homeowners, assisting them with the comprehensive process of loss mitigation. Erica also facilitates our monthly Art of Debt Management class. She resides in North Carolina with her husband and is very active in her community where she serves in different capacities, from board member of the Habitat for Humanity to co-host of the River City Reviews radio show.

Charnette started with The Up Center as a volunteer in 2021 and joined the staff in 2023. Her passion is assisting clients in buying their first home. She works closely with clients to help them develop a spending plan, look for creative solutions to pay down debt, and help them become mortgage ready. She conducts financial education classes at the Union Mission, she is an instructor for Bank On Hampton Roads, and she serves on the Budget Committee at her church. Prior to joining The Up Center, Charnette worked for Wells Fargo Bank as a Credit Officer. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also likes to travel.

Morgan started with The Up Center in 2023 as an administrative assistant. She obtained her Bachelors in Human Service from ODU in 2015 and has a passion for helping individuals and families in our community achieve housing and financial stability. In her spare time she enjoys reading, going to the beach and spending time with her family.

Ready to get started?

Info Sessions

We also offer monthly housing and financial classes to either prepare you for homeownership or provide you information on basic financial planning, credit management and debt management. We are currently providing the following:

VHDA’s Homebuyer Education
The Art of Debt Management
Understanding the Importance of Credit
Leasing and Fair Housing

Please check our calendar for availability.

These classes can be requested by external organizations and agencies on-site for 6 or more participants. For further information on setting up a class for your organization, please contact us at financialcounseling@theupcenter.org

VIEW FULL CALENDAR

Other Resources

Additional information is available through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Contact Us

VIEW TEAM

Location: 222 W 19th St, Norfolk, VA 23517

Phone: (757) 965-8636

Fax: (757) 640-8402

Email: financialcounseling@theupcenter.org

Hours: M-Th 8:30am – 5:00pm and F 8:30am – 4pm

Please check the calendar for group class schedule

Also seen by appointment

How You Can Help

Our clients often need additional support. Below is a list of items that are needed year round:

Gift cards to local hardware stores
Visa gift cards to help us incentivize budgeting and saving
Gift cards to Pizza Hut or grocery stores to provide refreshments for our group classes
Gift cards to Staples for home office supplies

Please email us at development@theupcenter.org if you’d like to help. To see a list of items frequently requested by families, including items for children, please visit our Amazon Wish List.

Our Mission

We are committed to partnering with children, families, and communities to improve lives and outcomes through prevention, intervention, and support services.