Lowell National Park trolley

Seal of Approval / Code of Ethics

Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Inc.
The Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative

The Collaborative Seal of Approval

Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) is a statewide, non-profit housing organization that manages The Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative, a collaboration of non-profit homebuyer counseling agencies, lenders, real estate professionals, government officials and other key players in the homeownership industry in Massachusetts. Through the Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative’s “Seal of Approval,” the Collaborative sets minimum standards for agencies providing homebuyer education and counseling. All agencies that receive a Collaborative Seal of Approval are also expected to adhere to the Collaborative’s “Code of Ethics” (see attached page).

Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc. has received a Collaborative Seal of Approval. To maintain the Seal of Approval, Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc. must provide homebuyer education classes targeted to low and moderate income, first-time homebuyers, and cover the information about the homebuying process that was determined by the Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative to be most important.

The purpose of the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc.’s homebuyer counseling program is to educate and counsel prospective homebuyers to make informed, voluntary decisions regarding the homebuying process. Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc. should inform you of their funding sources for their homebuyer counseling program, so that you understand any inherent or unintentional biases they may have.

As manager of the Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative and the Collaborative Seal of Approval process, CHAPA wants to ensure that anyone who attends a homebuyer education class from an agency with a Collaborative Seal of Approval gets the best quality education possible. If you have any concerns about the quality of the homebuyer education you received, or have reason to believe Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, Inc. is not adhering to the Collaborative’s Code of Ethics, we want to hear from you! Your name will be kept strictly confidential. Please contact:

Elizabeth Palma-Diaz, Senior Program Manager, Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative
CHAPA, One Beacon Street, 5th Floor Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 742-0820 e-mail: epalmadiaz@chapa.org

CHAPA may request the names of participants in MVHP’s classes, and contact you to ask you about the quality of the education you received. If you do not want to be contacted, please notify your homebuyer counseling agency.

Code of Ethics

All homebuyer counseling agencies that receive a Collaborative Seal of Approval must adhere to the following Code of Ethics:

  1. It shall be the intent of the agency, its staff and its guest speakers to educate and counsel prospective homebuyers to make informed, voluntary decisions regarding the homebuying process.
  2. The agency shall disclose to prospective homebuyers how its counseling program is funded, including any financial support it receives from lenders or other relevant institutions.
  3. Agency staff must not limit the choices of any prospective homebuyer by directing the homebuyer to any one product or service, to the exclusion of other products or services for which the homebuyer may be eligible.
  4. Agency staff must not have any personal or financial stake in directing prospective homebuyers to any particular product or service.
  5. Agency staff and guest speakers must not deny services to any prospective homebuyer because of race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, family status, disability, sexual orientation, military history, or source of income.
  6. Agency staff and any guest speakers or other representatives must treat all prospective homebuyers with professional respect and courtesy.