The Housing Counseling NOFA was published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2003.
� The HUD SuperNOFA clearinghouse [1-800-HUD-8929, and 1-800-HUD-2209 for the hearing impaired.]

Application submission requirements are listed in Section VI of the Housing Counseling NOFA, entitled "Application Submission Requirements."

Applications should be organized in the order in which they appear in Section VI of the Housing Counseling, entitled "Application Submission Requirements."

Similarly, the standard forms should be submitted in the same order they appear in Section V(H) of the General Section of the SuperNOFA

Yes. Applicants should keep answers as concise and direct as possible. The NOFA limits no more than 10 double-spaced, size 12 font, single-sided pages per rating factor. However, if you need to include more information to make your case, you should certainly do so. Applicants should not feel any pressure to submit less information than you think is adequate.

Also, applications must be bound or secured in a binder, tabbed and should contain page numbers. Applicants must submit an original and two copies of an application to the appropriate HUD location. HUD will not accept any NOFA applications via fax.

Similarly, applicants should make the document as reader-friendly as possible. You will not be penalized for any formatting choices you make. However, remember HUD receives hundreds of housing counseling applications and the reviewers will appreciate applications that are well-organized, contain clear details and direct responses.

No. LHCAs must choose one of the following three options: (1) apply to HUD directly through Category 1, Local Housing Counseling Agency, or (2) apply to a state housing finance agency as an affiliate, or (3) apply to a national or regional intermediary as an affiliate.

As mentioned above, LHCAs are also eligible to apply for and receive a grant under the other funding categories, Colonias, Predatory Lending, and Section 8 Homeownership Voucher - Counseling, in addition to receiving an award through one of the three options outlined in this response.

Yes.� All of the costs of doing business may be covered by the grant.� In other words, we know that you will have to pay salaries, but you also have "overhead" or "administrative" expenses that you pay, such as rent �on your building, equipment (computer) costs and the expense of training your employees to make sure they know the latest information to inform their clients.� Therefore, your grant can be used to cover the costs associated with providing your housing counseling services.

The NOFA also requires submission of an indirect cost rate. That rate will tell us how much of your reimbursement will cover the costs directly related to the counseling services, such as counselor salaries, vs. your indirect costs not directly associated with your counseling program. OMB Circular A-122 outlines eligible indirect costs. The circular can be accessed on the OMB web site (www.whitehouse.gov/omb).�

In the description of eligible activities in the Comprehensive Counseling NOFA it says under Homebuyer Education that 'Agencies that provide this service must also offer individual counseling to complement group sessions.� Does this mean that if I only do seminars or workshops and refer people to someone else for one on one counseling I can get funded for this?

When reviewing applications, reviewers aren't necessarily looking for agencies with the lowest costs, or agencies that serve the most clients. Some agencies, for example, might think it is worth the extra money to hire a counselor with tremendous experience and accomplishments, someone who can serve as a mentor to more junior counselors in the office.� This is your chance to justify this type of expense.� Similarly, you may have spent a little extra on overhead in the previous year purchasing or upgrading computer equipment or investing in training for your counselors.� Use this opportunity to explain and justify these types of� variations in costs and expenses.

Last year's HUD form 9902 and answers to rating Factor 1 will help us evaluate your responses to this factor. If, for example, the proposed number of clients served is significantly greater than the actual number served in the past year, you need to clearly justify the increase by identifying new resources, a significant change in approach, etc. to account for the increase. Similarly, if estimated costs, time, and resources are significantly different from what you reported in Factor 1, clearly explain why.