To ease the burden of foreclosure facing thousands of homeowners throughout New Jersey, Governor Jon S. Corzine signed legislation on Monday December 1, allocating $12.5 million in state funds to be administered by HMFA to strengthen counseling opportunities available to homeowners in distress and provide legal assistance as part of the Office of the Courts' Foreclosure Mediation Program.  The legislation also appropriated $51.4 million in federal funds for neighborhood stabilization assistance. The signing ceremony took place at the Faith Fellowship Ministries in Sayreville and was attended by state legislators, homeowners and housing counselors who have been trained in foreclosure prevention and asset preservation. More

Sabrina lives in Neptune. She has two children ages 5 and 17; she has been separated from her husband for two years.  Earlier this year, Sabrina, found out she needed surgery and had to take time off from her job.  She couldn't work for two months.  While out of work she qualified for $138 per week in disability payments. One month before she had the surgery, her husband filed for divorce. With all of this upheaval and loss of income, Sabrina fell behind on her mortgage.

One night while watching T.V., she came across an ad for the nationwide HOPE Hotline - 888-995-HOPE.  Sabrina called and was referred to the Affordable Housing Alliance based in Eatontown, NJ.  AHA tried to get Sabrina into the MAP program but her assets were too low to qualify for the program. Sabrina did not give up. She got a part-time job to boost her income.
Sabrina got the MAP loan, her mortgage was worked out with her lender and she and her two children got to stay in their home.
 
"If it wasn't for the MAP program, me and the kids would be out on the street. Whoever put this program together, God should continue to move their hearts." Sabrina 

THE NJ HOPE MAYOR'S MEETING

The NJ HOPE Mayor's Meeting with DOBI, DCA and HMFA took place at HMFA's offices on October 20, 2008.  The meeting was designed to inform the mayors of municipalities that have been heavily impacted by the foreclosure crisis of the state's foreclosure prevention efforts and to discuss local strategies for mitigating the impact of the foreclosure crisis.   

The grand opening of "The Cracker Factory" was held on November 22th. This historic Trenton building is the site where the first oyster cracker was produced. The factory is being converted into 18 for-sale condominiums as part of the Trenton Ferry Project, which will include a total of 29 homes. 
 
On hand to celebrate the ribbon cutting were Mayor Doug Palmer, Councilman Jim Coston, Developers HHG (John Hatch, David Henderson and Michael Goldstein), local residents and very excited new homeowners. A guided tour was given after the event to show the progress and showcase the remaining unsold units. HMFA provided a construction loan and subsidy funding under the Agency's CHOICE program to assist in the development. With this restored piece of the past and the creation of 29 high quality homes, the Trenton Ferry project is helping to put an indelible stamp on this Trenton neighborhood. More

Jon Bon Jovi, Gov. Jon Corzine, Mayor Cory Booker and HMFA's Executive Director Marge Della Veccia attended the groundbreaking for the Newark Genesis Apartments on September 2, 2008.  

The project, located in Newark's North Ward,  will include  51 affordable family apartments,  in addition to  15 apartments for persons living with AIDS.  The nonprofit developer, HELP USA, is partnering with Broadway House to provide housing with support services to the individuals living with AIDS.  Broadway House, a continuing care organization in the North Ward, has been serving residents of Newark with AIDS for more than a decade. More

HMFA's Live Where You Work Program ("LWYW") began in February 2008 with Trenton becoming the first participating municipality.  Since it's inception, the program has officially welcomed Jersey City, Woodbridge, Elizabeth, Rahway, Atlantic City into the program and is in the process of including 14 more municipalities with four other municipalities expressing interest.  In addition, 9 mortgage loans have been provided to homeowners purchasing in the LWYW communities and over 30 more mortgage loan applications are being processed. 
 
LWYW is a home mortgage incentive program designed to provide low-interest mortgage loans to homebuyers purchasing homes in towns where they are employed.  Other benefits include down payment and closing cost assistance in the purchase of homes in LWYW cities and flexible underwriting criteria for the loan qualification process.  Homes must be located in municipalities participating in the program.   The LWYW initiative further enhances Governor Corzine's efforts to revitalize and build sustainable communities that will provide a greener environment, access to transportation and affordable housing opportunities for residents. 

The NJ Green Homes Office is dedicated to helping transform the market by aiding in the development of sustainable housing as well as provide training opportunities and resources applicable to all NJ residents.