About Bfa

At BFA, our mission is to bring together resources, in the form of the best and most ethical professionals in our communities, in order to help families and businesses that find themselves in difficult financial circumstances. We consider ourselves to be on the "front lines" in the battle against predatory business practices, which we respond to by educating the public and thoroughly screening every professional who participates in our network.

BFA is not like any other debt-workout or financial education organization! We've carefully built our network of people and technology to allow us to specialize in "tough cases", where the right path to take may not be obvious, or may require the assistance of several kinds of professional. We have a system in place that lets us trim time and money off the regular processes associated with foreclosure, bankruptcy, credit-card workouts, and more.

Here are some of the things that really set BFA apart:

• We can handle almost any type of financial situation, including ones with legal complications, ones that involve several people or entities, and ones where you've "already tried everything". We have access to a ton of professional resources and wonderful, creative people, and if we can't help you, we'll help you find someone who can!
• We're not a "come here fill out this form and here's what we do with people like you"-type organization. We treat every case as an individual one, and we'll help you determine what your options are based on your situation and your goals.
• We screen all of our participating professionals for predatory or unethical practices on a regular basis, so you know the people we send you to work with are trustworthy. Getting into our network is not easy!
• We provide free information and education to any resident, family or business on how to spot and avoid the scams and unscrupulous people who would defraud the financially vulnerable. Some of that information is on this very website! (This is separate from our counseling and budgeting services, for which we charge a small fee based on a sliding scale. Anybody can call us at any time and ask for our opinion about a service or offer at no charge, however.)
• We educate each of our clients on all of their available options, and help them pursue their chosen solution in the most cost-efficient way possible. We'll get complete information on your budget and help you find a solution you can afford, and then help you save money wherever possible. If there's a free or cheaper way to do something you need done, you have our promise that we'll make sure you know about it.

If you need BFA's help, or know someone who does, the first step is to give us a call at (734) 736-1775. (Sometimes call volumes can be heavy for us, so if you don't get through at first, please leave a message and one of our Admin team will get back to you asap.)

We'll ask you about ten minutes' worth of questions over the phone, to get an idea of what your situation is and what type of help you're looking for. You don't need to have all of your paperwork out to answer these questions -- estimates are okay. After we're done with the questions, we'll make you an appointment to come see us at the closest location we have available.

On the phone, we will tell you how much your counseling session will cost, based on your income. You will need to bring this fee, as well as proof of income, when you arrive. As a non-profit, we charge very reasonable fees, and costs for people with few resources are very low or sometimes free.

For the meeting, you'll want to bring all of your relevant paperwork: Anything that affects your budget or the situation we're trying to resolve for you. (If in doubt, bring it -- paper is light!) The meeting will take about an hour, and after we get your budget information we'll discuss your options and help you take the first steps in the direction you need to go. If you need professional help, we will tell you who in your area does the work you need, well, ethically, and at fair prices. We can often make an appointment for you, if you like.

After that, as you proceed with solving your financial problems, you will always have the ability to contact BFA, if you have any additional concerns or questions, or need extra help at any point. We will not charge you again, even for additional meetings; the fee you pay (if any) covers our ongoing services for as long as you need them.

If you still have questions about how BFA works, feel free to give us a call and one of our representatives will be happy to explain the process further. Thank you for visiting our site!