People getting ready to step into the Park City area’s work force housing market can gather some tips about buying a home during an upcoming set of classes designed for them.

For those who are preparing to compete for one of the Snow Creek work force houses City Hall is building nearby the Park Avenue police station, the classes are required.

City Hall is teaming with the Park City Board of Realtors and Mountainlands Community Housing Trust for the classes, which are free of charge and start next week. A group known as the Community Action Services and Food Bank will conduct the training. It is certified by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to a release from City Hall.

The class will cover a range of topics, the release says, including credit ratings and mortgages. Rhoda Stauffer, who is City Hall’s work force housing specialist, says the class could ensure somebody does not have problems later if they buy one of the units.

“We don’t want someone to buy a Snow Creek cottage and in a year end up in foreclosure because they weren’t ready for it,” she says.

The Snow Creek Cottages are City Hall’s most ambitious work force housing project, with 13 houses planned at the site. Stauffer says she expects they will be priced in the mid-$200,000s, well below the median price of houses sold on the open market in Park City.

She says 120 people have put their names on a list in anticipation of holding a lottery later in the year to select people to purchase one of the Snow Creek houses.

Stauffer says the discussion about obtaining mortgages will be especially important because lenders more closely scrutinizing applications in the months after the troubles in the housing market.

She says mistakes some people make include buying a new car or other expensive purchase at the same time they are trying to obtain a mortgage. Stauffer says mortgage brokers look down upon the practice.

“They’re tracking according to your spending habits,” she says.

Stauffer says mortgage assistance from the public and private sectors will also be covered.

Meanwhile, the presenters will discuss the responsibilities of home ownership. She says people who have rented for a while sometimes are not aware of some of the costs of owning their own place. They are accustomed to contacting a building manager when there are problems instead of handling them on their own. People moving into their own places should have money set aside for maintenance, insurance and other expenses, she says.

“It’s your dime now, not the management company,” Stauffer says.

The classes are scheduled in the Board of Realtors classroom on the second floor at 1889 Prospector Ave. Meals will be provided.

The times are:

Aug. 11 and Aug. 12 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. each evening, with the two sessions being needed to complete the class.

Aug. 29 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Sept. 12 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Stauffer says each session can accommodate 50 people, and she expects between 20 and 30 to participate in each class. Individual counseling will also be available.

People must RSVP at 1-801-691-5200. Stauffer prefers people RSVP at least a full day before one of the sessions is scheduled. For more information, contact Stauffer at 615-1573.