Are you thinking of buying your first home in New Jersey? Would you like a free gift of money to help you purchase that first home? The state of New Jersey currently does not provide free grant money directly to its residents who are first time home buyers and need help with the down payment and closing costs. However, there are local and Federal grants that are available. The grant awards can be in the thousands of dollars. It will be well worth your time to educate yourself about the grant programs available to New Jersey residents.
New Jersey Grants
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 First-Time Home Buyers and 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)
Federal Grants
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in New Jersey through the Homes and Communities program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. On their website you’ll find complete grant information, application forms, description of available funds, as well as many other helpful tools.
Every potential home buyer should investigate what they have to offer. You can visit the website by going here: US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Also, there is a website that has a complete list of all grant programs available through the United States Federal Government: Grants.gov. You should plan to spend the required time investigating to determine how many individual grants they may qualify for. You can visit the website by going to Grants.gov and searching to see what grants are available for you.
Other Grants 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 website.
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
Camden First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (856) 757-7284
East Orange Homebuyers Purchase Program (HPP) (973) 266-5416
Gloucester County Homebuyers Program (HP) (856) 384-6986
Hudson County First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (201) 875-5581
Jersey City, First Time Homebuyer Program (201) 547-4793
Monmouth County First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (732) 431-7490
Ocean County First Time Homebuyer Program (FTHP) (732) 929-2054
Vineland Strategic Neighborhood Assistance Program/Urban Coordinating Council Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) (856) 563-5376
