I'm extremely impressed by the NACA program. Their workshops are thorough, educational and helped me understand what it takes to become a homeowner. My counselor is extremely helpful, quick to respond, and great at communicating. I'm looking forward to becoming a homeowner one day, but only by doing it the right way and making sure I live within my means. The NACA program ensures I own a home the right way! I highly recommend this program! read more

Extremely disappointing experience -- accountability matters Our experience with NACA has been incredibly frustrating and disappointing. We entered the program in good faith, followed the instructions provided to us, and relied on information given directly by NACA's team while navigating the home-buying process. Unfortunately, we later discovered that information we were given was incorrect. This was not an error on our part. We followed the guidance provided by NACA, and we are now dealing with the consequences of information that their team gave us. Mistakes can happen. What matters is how an organization responds when its mistake has a real impact on the people who trusted them. We reached out to management directly to explain what happened, request accountability, and ask for a fair resolution. Our initial email went unanswered. We subsequently followed up because we should not have to repeatedly chase an organization for a response regarding an issue caused by its own team. That is what has been most disappointing about this experience. When you're dealing with something as significant as purchasing a home, you need accurate information, clear communication, and accountability. If your team provides incorrect guidance, the customer should not be left holding the bag. We are intentionally not putting every detail of the situation in a public review because we are still attempting to resolve the matter directly and professionally. However, prospective NACA participants should absolutely be aware of our experience. My advice: document every conversation, get important information in writing, ask questions when something doesn't seem clear, and do not assume that information provided verbally is accurate without verifying it. We sincerely hope NACA chooses to take responsibility, address the consequences of its error, and provide us with a fair resolution. Right now, however, we feel let down by an organization we trusted during one of the most important financial decisions of our lives. read more

Great program with an awesome way to make homeownership possible without a downpayment. Currently working with them now. Not easy but is helpful to have their help and support. read more

Currently working with them now to buy a home. The initial meeting is helpful to understand how the program works and how to prepare yourself. Lots of documents and paperwork but making progress. Looking forward to keep working with them as they are very informative and knowledgable. read more

My son went through a process that took over a year, ensuring he met all of the criteria and qualifications. Once he learned he was approved, he then met with the person who connects him to the realtor so they can begin to look at houses/condos. That meeting took place over 3 months ago. He has not seen one home. He has reached out numerous times and continues to call and email his NACA Counselor, and NACA Red Department to no avail. Their website claims they respond within 48 hours and tout their reputation for support. However, after over a year working with the NACA Counselor (F...h), and most recently the Red Dept, neither has even returned his call. I have encouraged him to report to the BBB and others. Don't waste your time and energy! read more

I'm so grateful for NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) "I am so grateful for NACA's incredible program! As a first home buyer, i was overwhelmed by the process, but NACA's knowledgeable and supportive staff guided me every step of the way. Their mortgage program offered the best terms i could find anywhere, and their commitment to affordable housing is truly admirable. I highly recommended NACA to anyone looking to buy a home-their program is game -changer! 5 stars isn't enough, i'd give them 10 stars if i could" read more

Ya'll.... whew. I definitely had to write an update (this time I'm going to name names). Thank you to Melinda Thomas, Jose Cruz, Erick Exum, Bruce Marks (yes the CEO). I realized that once you get through the housing counselor portion of this program, you will end up having a really good experience (hopefully... I did). I was having the most exhausting experience with my journey because I was purchasing a deed-restricted home (I have a covenant that runs with my land via the City of Boston). The whole NACA team was advocating for me... like to the point where I'm thinking, if I ever get rich, I might cut them a check (well... more like a large donation so other folks can achieve the dream like I did. Lol). I really appreciate their support and advocacy. I cried a lot during this process... I couldn't have made it without the support of the people I name above. I spare you the entire story. People interested in buying a home in Boston, it's possible. I have a tip: Harass your housing counselor. You know how they try to schedule meetings 3 months apart? smh.. don't wait. Upload everything they ask you to, then KEEP CONTACTING THEM until they make time to meet with you. Make sure you upload your LETTERS OF EXPLANATION. Keep uploading until you close. Keep saving EVEN AFTER you close. Act broke until you close... seriously.... If it wasn't for the extra drama with my deed, my entire process would have been about 7 months (first meeting with housing counselor to initial closing date, 10 months if you count the first webinar you have to go to). Trust me. if you keep uploading, you'll be in and out. Cheers to achieving the dream :D read more

Currently in the process of investing. If you're looking to get educated on home owning, they are very thorough and informative.

I don't review many places. This company has been working with me on the entire housing process. In general they are a good company who can assist you with the purchase of a home anywhere. Unfortunately, it can take some time, if you have it. But if you want to move quickly, you have to stay on top of the counselor that is assigned to you; to make sure things get done, timely. I did my first appt back in October, and had a hard time getting all the info together. But once I got all the info gathered and was able to upload everything, it was a little easier. It was the volunteer stuff that created the most issues, that was due to the pandemic (made things a bit difficult). Overall, good company, helpful and I am hoping to move on soon!! read more

Since joining NACA I have been pleasantly surprised and happy that my dream of home ownership is just around the corner. The online process and my assigned counselor, Gabrielle B., strive to make the home buying process easy and stress free. I heard about NACA from my brother's friend and was somewhat skeptical at first but having gone through most of the process to become a home buyer i am now a believer! Sometimes the adage "It sounds too good to be true!", does apply to NACA...it is true, and they are good!! read more

I am trying out NACA again this year--so far, very responsive and fast communication. I'm hopeful to finding a house this coming year with our counselor Faith. read more

A family member told me about NACA. I had never heard of the program. I signed up to participate in a NACA seminar online. The webinar was so informative. We were able to ask questions, so all my questions were answered about the program. The national director and an in-house coordinator came on to brief us, which I thought helped to validate the program. They also provided a member services contact number that you can call if you need assistance. I believe more people would choose NACA if they knew there's no down payment when buying a home through them. read more

This is a horrible program that wasted my time. I worked with a Housing Counselor for a year, paid the Membership Fee and participated in an activity for them because part of the terms is Volunteer work. They asked me for Tax Returns, Pay Stubs, letters showing where I lived, payment for a credit report, and a plethora of other documents that I still to this day don't understand why they wanted it. I was told my accounts would be under strict review for three months and would have to show a steady increase in my bank account. My banks showed steady increases for two months and I happened to go on vacation for one month and the process had to start all over again. Even with a good credit score they eventually requested for me to send them a bunch of other documentation from IRS Account Review to something called a Ledger from my Apartment Complex. Even with a 706 Credit Score and no issues with my Complex, since I had lived there for three years, they still required this. After sending it they them claimed it was not in the correct form. I believe this Outfit is one big scam. They insisted one of my Volunteer items be a review submitted by my wife. That is probably why you might see some good reviews for them. Complete waste of time. read more

I took the class back in Feb 2020 and dragged my feet and started the process in Oct 2020. Faith made me feel like I did not miss a beat !!!... she was very helpful with all my questions and was proactive with anything that I did not have ready !!!... Her customer service was top notch and her attention to detail was even better !!.. can't wait to get into my first home !! read more

I found out about NACA through a Co-Worker, who bought a house through them about 3-5 years ago. Between my wife and I we have 3 streams of income, a steady income from an employer, part-time side hustle, and my wife's small business. With a ton of student loan debt/credit card debt and almost zero in savings, we were nowhere near to buy a house through conventional mortgages. We went to our first intake appointment with our MC Jose out of Naca's Boston office (March 2020) with little expectations in being qualified to buy a house. After reviewing our documentations our MC Jose gave us the good news with hard work and perseverance with could get a house. We are working hard on our action plan become NACA qualified. Our second meeting in coming up (September 2020) and we are so excited to see what our MC Jose has to say about our financial improvements read more

When I began this process I started out thinking that it was too good to be true. During my intake I was told, if you put the work in it will be worth it, the time it takes is totally dependent on you. This couldn't be more true. If you do what is asked, provide what is needed and attend your counseling sessions the process can be smooth. There were times I felt like just giving up but pushing through has been worth it so far! read more

The home buying process can be taxing so it's important that you seek the help of these NACA professionals. We're still in the process, but so far they've been there every step of the way to ensure we're doing it the right way without being railroaded by various home loan agencies. I would recommend for first time buyers since they make the home buying experience a very educational one. This is a very big purchase and you do not want buyers remorse!! read more

I just had my intake appointment and it went very well. I actually found out about NACA unexpectedly while doing a search for home loans on Facebook and someone recommended them. I was very skeptical at first, but after hearing so many success stories, I decided to give it a try. I'm super patient and my ducks are pretty much in a row so I'm excited to take this journey! read more

NACA is giving me an opportunity to buy a house in this crazy market when otherwise I would not be able to afford it. I appreciate their history of activism for housing justice and I look forward to completely the process with them! They have lots of information available about their process - you attend an initial workshop as an overview, get a workbook to work through, and eventually get a housing counselor that can answer all of your questions. One thing to note is it's a very long and involved process. If you're looking to buy a house in a hurry, this might not be the program for you. If you're not in a rush, taking the time to go through the NACA program is worth it in savings and opportunity. read more

As a single mother with two small children and receiving no child support, I thought my chances at home ownership were near none. I came across a program that I initially thought was too good to be true. It gives working people an actual chance to get a leg up in buying a home. Its the best loan out there, from looking at your "credit character" instead of just your credit score like you are nothing more than a number on a paper, to no down payment required, no PMI, no closing costs and the option to buy down your interest rate. It has given me hope that I can provide the dream home for my children in a way that is affordable and healthy for my budget. I am still in the process but am already grateful. I hope other people take advantage of this opportunity to improve their quality of life as well. read more

Great place to go if you want to buy a home just go its a long process but it's worth it at the end I'm going today no down payment and our house is beautiful, Carmelle was our agent in helping look for the hone and did a great job she's helpful and professional Jose is awesome too he took a lot of time with us to make sure we would qualify I don't think we could have done it without naca. read more

I found out about NACA through my dad, who bought a house through them about 7-8 years ago and also has a 5-star review story (although he is not at all tech savvy and probably won't be coming to yelp any time soon). I have two steady jobs, but I have a ton of student loan debt/rent was high so while I'd managed to grow some savings, it was definitely nowhere near enough to buy a house through conventional mortgages. I went to NACA with small expectations. If I could buy a house, great. If not, I'd just have to live with it. I was willing to be patient if it took awhile. Patience, in hindsight, is definitely the key to any great NACA experience. If you're putting in the work/effort on your end (including things like keeping your stable job, monitoring spending, paying your rent on time, etc.) they will get you your house. It may just take awhile, that's all. The first appointment, I admit, was just okay. I brought all of my required documents in and we made an action plan, but my counselor didn't really explain things very well and so (although I didn't know it at the time) I had some gaps in my understanding. Turns out, the NACA office also realized that my counselor wasn't doing a great job, bc right before my next appointment with her (in Sept. 2017) they called to say that she no longer worked for them and rebooked me with another counselor. I had to wait until December to meet with the new counselor (remember what I said about patience?). In the meantime, I was feeling a little meh about the whole thing, but one day I happened to be chatting with someone I know through work (who is a real estate agent), and she mentioned how great NACA is, just a little slow, so that kept me going. The new counselor turned out to be LaToiya, who is AMAZING and unfortunately can not be anyone else's counselor anymore because she's so awesome that she's been promoted to something important (head of the Boston office I believe, but I could be mistaken; either way, NACA can only improve with her in charge). LaToiya went over everything with me, took a look at my docs, and made a plan to get me qualified. By early March 2018, I was qualified and ready to house hunt! NACA's in-house realtor, Lorraine, is also AMAZING. She's knowledgable and will go above and beyond for you. I started off with a different, non-NACA agent, but quickly switched to her. After 6 or so unaccepted offers between the two agents (such is the real estate game these days), I finally got an offer accepted on a three-family in June. Turns out, the seller and one of the tenants were having some legal drama. Lorraine helped me navigate through all of that as a buyer - what to put in the contract, advice on whether I should/should not wait it out. The closing was delayed three times (because of seller issues, NOT because of NACA), but it finally happened in November! It was almost delayed one more time, but like I said, Lorraine goes above and beyond so she made all kinds of phone calls to get things to clear. Now I own a beautiful three-family house. I love it, and it could not have been possible without NACA. If conventional mortgages are out of your reach, I encourage you to give them a try! read more

A friend referred me to NACA. Although at the time I lived nearby to their national office, I had no idea who they were, or what they did. I just assumed that home ownership was miles away for me, and resigned my self to that fate. Once I investigated I immediately started the qualification process. There certainly seemed no harm in learning what they were about, and their counselor patiently worked with me to correct my credit issues. As a word of warning, they are not the most communicative agency around. Emails often go unanswered. The counselors may, or may not be responsive outside of the scheduled counseling sessions. The counseling sessions themselves are long, tedious reviews of your documents, but this is what mortgage lending is. However this is still a wild improvement over other lenders who either accept, or reject an application and move on with their lives. NACA will work just as hard as you work to earn a mortgage; other lenders say "yea" or "nay", and go to lunch. I started this process a year ago, and near the final stages of my document review. I can attest that coming to an appointment without significantly addressing your document requirements is a waste of time, and the counselor will sit with you for the whole two hours. However if you aggressively gather your documents, the process can be reasonably fast, and worth while. The light at the end of the tunnel is exactly what they promised: a loan for the home of your dreams with no down payment. I will also add that the mortgage amounts they offer seem significantly greater than I could get approved for at other lenders, which is the main reason why I have stuck with NACA. Any one is welcome to use their counseling to address credit issues, and move onto another lender, but their mortgage product definitely seems the best market option for me. I have recommended them to my friends, and I recommend them here on Yelp. Give NACA a shot. They will not drag you across the finish line, but they will definitely coach you through the race. read more

If I could do a 0 review I would. The practices and the incompetencies of their staff have caused my family great harm. I was approved by NACA after undergoing extensive financial counseling and underwriting. After their approval, I went under contract to purchase a home based on their approved amount, paid inspection fees, and earnest money and was scheduled to close December 20th. On December 4th, 2018 I received an email from my assigned mortgage counselor that NACA would be unable to honor the approval due to their own error of calculation making the home that they previously approved me for now unaffordable. I have lost earnest money, inspection fees and my family which consists of 3 children (ages 8,4, and 1) will be without a home in 9 days due to NACA's lack of professionalism and lending knowledge. read more

I moved to Los Angeles less than 2 years ago, and I was shocked by the high prices of real estate property. But I knew I was giving away too much money on rent, so I knew I had to buy property. However, I could not see a way to do it. Cue NACA and now I believe I have my way to buy property, not only that, a multifamily property. I'm over the moon. Thank you NACA! read more

In hopes to purchase a home, I was recommended NACA as a tool to help me with financial education. The program helps you look at your cost of living and learn to budget them accordingly to help you be wise with your money and make good choices to financially stable. I had the luxury to have a phenomenal counselor, who returns my emails and answers all my questions. read more

(Worcester office)Everyone in the United States works so hard to achieve the all American dream. I believe in the "I Have a Dream" for Jobs and Freedom, etc. I grew up after this and still believe in social justice as well as equality. Today will make almost 9 months of going through the program. I have literally cleaned up my credit report to a good standing. NACA gives hope and offers a good product. Yet calling another office to speak with a Latoya, the RM, to make sure that I am being told the correct things is truly something that a prospective home buyer should not have to do. It doesn't give hope. It did not seem right that I was being told you must have extremely large sums of money. After attending the 2nd office visit I felt something wrong in my gut. Anyways calling the RM Latoya Shaw from Mass made me feel more comfortable and hopeful even though I was told I maybe should go to another councilor. She said that you should be approved by spring because you have mainly all that is needed. Then I mentioned to her, "I am an EA and came in overly organized with my binder! I had 95% of what was asked on my 2 aptm in the binder for the councilor but all of it was not uploaded nor was I able to sit and upload doc myself. I ended up getting another list back from the councilor asking for things I already had and I said 'but I have these here'.So I up loaded them at work onto the website. When i went back to the office for my next aptm, I was told that it was not there." I mentioned to her that I didn't want to through anyone under the bus and complain but something was not sitting well with me. Repeated requests for the same things, knowing that you did it, is just not professional nor does it make anyone feel confident in knowing that they are being taken care of correctly. Sitting in my office, in Boston, I would up load pdf documents to the website. I did this knowing how important it was to put this first. Recently, my last aptm was rescheduled. I called the receptionist in the office back right away, i missed her call. She mentioned that the aptm needed to be rescheduled and the next aptm I will be approved. Going on what I was told, I hired a realtor after meeting her at an open house. Essentially getting prepare for the next step as well as thinking of taking out the monies in my 401K. I got a call from the councilor a few days later and he asked if we could do a phone call aptm. Agreed. Meanwhile he sent me an email saying that I needed W2s, Tax Documents, Tax Transcripts, Bank statements, Credit card statements, and Student loan info. Now, I sat at work uploading them on the website. But I was doing it again to make sure everything was updated. Maybe I missed something? Some of the docs ended up being duplicates. When I was done, I sent an email stating that they are uploaded and ready for review. I volunteered, for a morning, at the local hockey/concert venue, during their 4 day event of getting hopefuls approved - Happy to do so! But I should've been studying for my college courses. Before I left, I asked to speak with my councilor. Literally, took 1 minute of his time. I said "Instead of us talking on Monday, why don't I come back later, after I take my son where he needs to go, and we can chat. Will you be approving me?" He said 'I don't know and you can try to come back - no promises". Only later to show up at 4 and wave to him. He acknowledged by waving back. He knew I was there. Yet I find out, sitting there, that if you volunteer - you get VIP treatment (go before others). I think he may have known this. I didn't. So I sat from 4 -6pm; He walked by me a few times acting like I was invisible. Patients, I said to myself. Don't cry. Yet a group standing there, he spoke to, and once a lady said "he's my councilor" he took her first and I sat there. When Miss Lydia came over, she made sure that I was seen by him. He said "I didn't know that you wanted to see me". Really? It took me a lot not to say anything since so many where there. I did not want to embarrass anyone as I was already embarrassed. I politely mentioned that I was told at my next aptm I would be approved. He insinuated it was a lie. Indirectly he was calling me a liar. After speaking with him and being told that I need to upload documents-AGAIN, I got up from him and walked out in tears. I really wanted to speak with the CEO.In the past, as a single mom, I have been faced with homelessness. It is not something that people chose, it just quickly happens and your world is turned up-side-down! My mom took us in 3 years ago and it has not been easy with her. This mortgage means the world to me. Now everything is stable with a job that pays well, then this. Where is the social justice? Where is the single mom's "I have a dream?" No one should be made to feel like crap, disrespected, embarrassed, called a liar even if it is indirect, and no one should be treating anyone this way at all. read more

My wife and I walked into a NACA seminar with no expectations and less faith in the little we already heard. There were videos and pamphlets about these predatory mortgage loans that NACA protects people from. The speaker explained more about how and why NACA existed. They claimed that they help people get qualified to buy a house even if they had a bad credit score and limited financial literacy. My wife and I don't qualify for our state affordable housing programs so we just waited until the end expecting to be told that we make too much money to take advantage of the downpayment and closing cost assistance but to our surprise we were told that we qualified! We made an appointment to see a specialist and were pre-qualified for over $1,000,000 dollars. We are in the process of completing the tremendous amount of paperwork that they make you fill out in order to make sure you can afford the mortgage. We have continued to research on this non-profit organization and we look forward to being in our own home without even paying a down payment because of NACA! read more

I relocated from the Midwest to attend graduate school in Cambridge and decided to stay and finish my military career in MA. After googling home purchase options in the Boston area, I chanced upon NACA and attended one of their info sessions. NACA claimed to offer better terms than what the VA could, so I bit. After learning about the Boston area for about a year or so, my wife and I decided to proceed with NACA with plans to buy down points to make our mortgage as affordable as possible. We got an appointment approximately one month out, but they changed it without telling us in writing from 24 July 18 to 25 July 18. To be fair, they did leave a heavily accented VM to confirm two business days before the appointment, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I called to confirm the appointment, but the office was not open despite the published office hours. When I finally reached them en route to my appointment, I was told I made a mistake and they couldn't fit me in. As a Soldier, medical professional, and veteran, I make it a habit of writing down pertinent details of important events, times and dates from years of pre-mission briefs on deployment and during routine hospital rounds. I didn't make a mistake. That's why I took leave on 24 Jul to make my appointment. Wasted 1.5 hours in Boston traffic and 8 hours of hard earned leave for nothing. To all would be dupes, stay away from NACA. Go with FHA or VA if you can, avoid these incompetents like the plague. read more

NACA is a great organization that gives first time homebuyers the ability to purchase homes with NO DOWN PAYMENT. I just purchased my home a week ago through NACA. As someone who knows quite a bit on mortgages, I know these types of mortgages are hard to come by. The process to qualify is not the "ordinary" process to qualify for a mortgage as it takes some time, however, the long-term gain is well worth the wait and headaches. In addition, the Boston office has excellent counselors and realtors that can really make the process seamless. Jose was my counselor and I couldn't have asked for more from him, there were numerous times where he would call/email me at nearly 8-9pm to follow-up. Hung was my realtor and has been in the business for a very long time and is extremely knowledgeable and honest. I couldn't be happier with the process and everyone along the way! read more

Incredibly disorganized group. My "file" was passed along to 2-3 different people who repeatedly requested the same documentation over and over again despite me sending it to them several times. If you don't have terrible credit or aren't poor, they don't care much about you. In fact, their loan officers don't make as much money off you if you have good credit and enough money for a down payment on a home. In reality, in the Boston market, their product is not competitive at all. FHA and 5% down mortgages look a lot better than a naca mortgage with an offer. read more

I found out about NACA through a real estate course I'm currently taking. Going through the workshop really opened my eyes to the benefits and opportunities that NACA can provide for those seeking homeownership. I especially like the fact that they focus on low to mid income personnel and shy away from using credit as a baseline for approval. This is one of the biggest factors that contributes to the lack of homeownership. I think it's a wonderful program that I'm planning to take full advantage of. I just recently completed my initial intake counseling and the process as a whole was long but very informative. My counselor was excellent!!! She went above and beyond in making sure I understood everything and answering my questions. She even took the time to email me examples and items that I needed to complete for my action plan. Great counselor!! I'm looking forward to continuing the process and eventually getting to the final stage of homeownership! Highly recommended!! read more

I've heard of the NACA program through a mutual friend. They had really good things to say about the program. My wife and I wanted to buy a house so we decided to try the NACA program. Once we started we were all in. The process was easy and the people at NACA were very helpful and informative with what we needed to do to get the process started. I'm very happy with the NACA program especially since they protected us from predatory lenders and have us on our way to buying our first home. I recommend that everyone should try the NACA program. read more