Are you thinking of buying your first home in New Jersey? Would you like information about programs that provide money to help you purchase that first home? The state of New Jersey offers several programs and incentives to its residents who are first time home buyers who need help with the down payment and closing costs. It will be well worth your time to educate yourself about the programs available to New Jersey residents.
NJ First Time Home Buyer Programs from NJMFA
The agency in New Jersey that provides assistance to first time home buyers is the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. They provide a below-market, fixed interest rate to urban target area buyers. Down payments of as little as 3.5% are required and must come from the borrower’s own assets. Loans are 30-year fixed rate. Certain closing costs can be gifted by family members, non-profit organizations or government agencies. To find out more about this grant program, please visit the New Jersey Division of Community Resources website page specifically describing the program.
The contact information for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency is:
New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency
637 South Clinton Avenue
P.O. Box 18550
Trenton, NJ 08650
Phone: 1-800-NJ-HOUSE (1-800-654-6873)
Local Programs in New Jersey
In addition to the grant programs described above, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides home buyer assistance and grants in every state. There are multiple grant programs designed specifically for people that meet certain requirements, such as grants for people with disabilities so they can continue to live independently at home. It is worth visiting HUD’s website to see what assistance is currently available. For your convenience, simply go to this page for grant programs in New Jersey.
Here is the contact information for the HUD office in New Jersey:
Newark Field Office
One Newark Center
1085 Raymond Boulevard
13th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102-5260
Phone: (973) 622-7900
Fax: (973) 645-2323
There are also these local programs:
Atlantic City Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) Brighter Tomorrow Home Loan Program (HLP) (609) 347-0500
Burlington County First Time Homebuyer Program (FTHP) (609) 265-5072
HOME Affordable Housing Developer Program
HOME is a flexible program designed to work in partnership with local nonprofit and/or for-profit groups to fund a wide range of activities that build, buy, and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or home ownership. The purposes of the HOME program are:
- Expand the supply of affordable, decent, safe and sanitary housing.
- Preserve and improve the existing residential areas through rehabilitation of existing housing.
- Strengthen public-private partnerships to further affordable housing development.
- Promote the development of Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO’s) and their role as affordable housing developers and sponsors.
- Provide gap financing that will make housing development feasible with costs affordable to low income residents.
- 1st Time Homebuyer ProgramBurlington County receives an allocation of HOME Investment Partnership Program funds each year from the Federal government to provide assistance to low and moderate income residents through a variety of local housing-related projects. The Board of Chosen Freeholders has designated a portion of these funds to be made available through the First-time Homebuyers Program, which is administered by the Department of Economic Development.The First-time Homebuyers Program provides direct financial assistanceto low-income Burlington County residents to help with the purchase of a first home. Eligible applicants may receive a loan for up to $4,000 in closing cost assistance and Lower-income applicants may receive an additional $5,000 toward their down payment.Program Brochure and Income GuidelinesPlease click on the link below to receive more information. Brochure
Camden First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (856) 757-7284
| BUREAU OF HOUSING SERVICES First Time Homebuyer’s Program Stanley Witkowski Housing Coordinator 520 Market Street City Hall Room 218A P.O. Box 95120 Camden, NJ 08101-5120 Phone: 856-757-7323 Fax: 856-757-7389 Subsidy of $5,000.00 applied towards cost (down payment, closing costs) associated with purchase of property to be used as principal residence of applicant(s). |
| Eligibility Requirements All applications will be processed on a first come serve basis and meet the following criteria: |
- Applicant must not have owned a home during the three-year period immediately prior to applying for this assistance.
- Applicant must occupy the property being purchased as their principal residence.
- Annual income of all household members cannot exceed 80% of the median income.
- Property to be purchased must meet City Code Standards. No HUD-owned properties or homes sold in as-is condition will be considered.
- Applicant(s) must attend and complete pre-purchase counseling with designated non-profit housing agency and obtain certification of satisfactory completion of training sessions prior to settlement.
- Agreement of Sale must show evidence of applicant depositing a minimum of $500 toward property down payment.
East Orange Homebuyers Purchase Program (HPP) (973) 266-5416
The City of East Orange HOMEBuyers Purchase Program currently provides assistance in the form of deferred payment loan to homebuyers, and low-interest loans or subsidy grants to developers. The City of East Orange (hereinafter referred to as the City) may choose whether to carry out full underwriting and loan-to-value analysis.
ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS
Prospective homebuyers must meet five requirements to be eligible for HOME funds. They
must:
• be a first-time homebuyer,
• be a qualified low-income or very low-income household,
• be the owner of the property after purchase,
• occupy the property as their principal residence after the purchase, and
• attend HUD-certified housing counseling certificate classes offered locally, and be
committed to post-purchase counseling.
Gloucester County Homebuyers Program (HP) (856) 384-6986
This Program is intended as a means of stabilizing property values and overall quality of life in targeted neighborhoods throughout the County. The major objective is to increase the supply of affordable housing for low and moderate income families. By providing assistance in the form of down payments and closing costs, Gloucester County allows more low- and moderate- income applicants to qualify for a mortgage. It is not necessary to be a 1st time homebuyer to qualify for assistance; however, the unit must be your primary residence. Other crieria include certification in a HUD approved homebuyer credit counseling course, minimum 3% personal financial investment, and the unit must be located within Gloucester County. Further explanation of these criteria are outlined in the application.
Hudson County First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (201) 875-5581
This program gives qualified residents an opportunity for home ownership. The program provides income qualified households with homebuyer assistance. Residents may contact the Hudson County Housing Resource Center First –Time Homebuyers Program at (201) 795-5615/16/17, ext. 209 for information.
Jersey City, First Time Homebuyer Program (201) 547-4793
I am pleased to announce a partnership between the City of Jersey City, the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) and private lenders to offer the Jersey City Live Where You Work Program. This special home mortgage incentive program provides more flexible underwriting criteria for the loan qualification process, low-interest mortgage loans, and down payment assistance to home buyers who will live and work in Jersey City.
This important program will foster homeownership, create better communities, reduce traffic congestion and spur continuing investment in our city. Whether you work and live in Jersey City already, or you work in Jersey City and would like to live here, I encourage you to take a look and determine if this program is right for you. This program is open to all occupations in all government, business and non-governmental organizations. Teachers, firefighters, police officers, and nurses are particularly encouraged to apply.
Monmouth County First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (732) 431-7490
Another program administered by the Community Development Division is the First-Time Homebuyers Program. Created in 1994 and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this program enables lower income families to purchase a home.
Working closely with numerous lending institutions, the county provides up to $10,000 in the form of interest-free, deferred second mortgages to the lending institutions’ lower income applicants which can be used for down payment, closing and other necessary loan costs.
Ocean County First Time Homebuyer Program (FTHP) (732) 929-2054
The County of Ocean Consortium receives HOME Investment Partnership Program block grant funding annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create affordable housing for low and moderate income households. Ocean County has allocated funding from the HOME Program to initiate the First-time Homebuyer Program for income eligible households.
The purpose of this program is to assist the homebuyers with the biggest hurdle to homeownership: down payment and closing costs. The goal of this program is to assist Ocean County residents in achieving the dream of homeownership. The County of Ocean Consortium can provide you the opportunity to afford a home of your own through the First-time Homebuyer Program.
Vineland Strategic Neighborhood Assistance Program/Urban Coordinating Council Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) (856) 563-5376
