If you’re eager to own a home, you may want to sharpen some new pencils again and head to class.

Around the country, nonprofit groups have been offering free homebuying classes. But you won’t spend nine months in a classroom – everything is often packed into a one-day session.

At Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham, Ala., for instance, the day starts with understanding and improving your credit, and then moves on to budgeting and financial planning for homeownership, explains John Colon, executive director for NHS. The afternoon focuses on the steps in homebuying, with talks by attorneys, real estate agents, appraisers and lenders.

Often, participants receive a “diploma” or certificate at the completion of the course, adds Patti Anderson, housing program supervisor for Catholic Charities Diocese of Covington, in Covington, Ky.

Indeed, some who seek out local homebuying grants, like those sponsored by city housing departments, come to the classes because the certificate is required to get the grant, says Anderson.

But because of the foreclosure crisis, would-be buyers are now more prone to seek out education, says Anderson. “You have to know what you’re doing, and homeownership isn’t for everyone,” she adds.

Less than 5 percent homeowners who are now being counseled about foreclosure have ever had any pre-purchase education, according to statistics culled by NeighborWorks, a nonprofit that trains housing counselors. “People who have education,” says Doug Robinson of NeighborWorks, are more likely to “have a savings plan that helps them through temporary financial setbacks.”