Effective January1st, 2009, first time home buyers who have lower credit scores or are looking at a loan taylored for low or moderate income buyers, will need to receiving home ownership counciling. 
While Fannie Mae already requires pre-purchase counceling for borrowers purchasing a 2 or 4 unit property using a MyCommunityMortgage loan, this new requirement will be a reinstatment for the first time home buyer.
Counceling topics will include: budgeting, management of credit, selecting a home, and obtaining a mortgage. The home buyer will receive a personalized assessment of thier finances and readiness for home ownership. The process will even go further to analize thier credit history and current financial situation. This seems to be a welcome improvement to the lending process, when in the not too distant past, all a person had to do was sober up for 20 minutes, fog a mirror and they qualified for a loan.
Counceling can be completed in a face to face situation, over the phone or online. Strict guidlines for standards have been established by the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counceling.
Fannie Mae has a tool on thier website which can be used to find a councelor. To find it go to www.fanniemae.com
