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| FEATURED BUILDING |
TRENT CENTER WEST - Located in Trenton, NJ, it has 246 one-bedroom and studio apartments. On-site amenities include a community room, store, full-time staff and various social services. Trent Center West is within a bus ride to the Trenton Train Station, the Light-Rail Station and Roebling Market. It has on-site management, is installing a new roof, has completed energy efficiency upgrades and will soon have a solar photovoltaic electric system. Rents start at $695 for an efficiency, $767 for a one-bedroom, or $848 for a two-bedroom apartment. Follow this address
www.trentcenter.com
for futher information. |
AWARDS &
TRAINING SECTION |
Below are some of the training sessions that were held at HMFA recently and also awards, which HMFA has won over the past couple of months.
Housing Advocate of the Year was awarded to HMFA's Executive Director, Marge DellaVecchia from the Rose House.
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| INSIDE HMFA |
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Producing... Preserving... Providing...
At HMFA our programs are designed to keep up with the ever-changing world and 2008 was certainly no exception. Once again, HMFA is leading the charge in the digital age - we have gone paperless with our 2008 Annual Report. We are very pleased to announce the availability of our 2008 Annual Report which is available for download on our website. | |
We are dedicated to making investments in communities across New Jersey and building neighborhoods where people want to raise families and build businesses. Part of that vision means providing people of all walks of life with access to safe, clean and affordable housing options. Thanks to the efforts of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), we are creating homes for our state's families. HMFA is leading the way through innovative programs that are building effective relationships with developers, corporations, non-profits and for-profits to produce more affordable housing. HMFA puts people first by financing single family and multi-family rental housing and encouraging mixed use developments. These initiatives promote sustainable development that protects open space, curbs sprawl and improves regional transportation.
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HMFA ANNOUNCES NEW 5.5% RATE AND NEW TAX CREDIT LOAN ("TCLP") PROGRAM |
Agency Hosts Lender Appreciation Breakfast
 Commissioner Joseph V. Doria and Executive Director Marge DellaVecchia recognized the service provided by the HMFA's Home Buyer Program lenders at a breakfast hosted at the Agency on May 5. The lenders were honored with plaques recognizing their contributions to the first-time home buyer market. They were also treated to the announcement of a new lower interest rate of 5.5% for the Home Buyer mortgage loan and of the new Tax Credit Loan Program, which is also called the "Pre-Fund" Program. PreFund lets HMFA home buyers put their anticipated federal first-time home buyer tax-credit to work by lending them up to $5,000 in downpayment and closing cost funds at 0% interest. The home buyers will repay the Prefund loan when they receive their refundable tax credit in 2010.
Single Family's Ed Collins explained why the Agency's Home Buyer loan program is so helpful to first-time and urban buyers. Using the analogy of a bouquet, he explained that lenders can gather for their borrowers up to 10% of a home's purchase price by using Prefund, Smart Start and seller concessions - each program being like another flower added to the bouquet. More |
Tax Credit Loan Program "TCLP"
The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) has started a new loan program that will allow its first-time homebuyers to take immediate advantage of a federal tax credit for people buying their first home. Eligible households can get a loan of up to $5,000 in anticipation of receiving a federal tax credit shortly after filing their tax returns.
Qualified persons who purchase a home for the first time by Dec. 1, 2009, are eligible for up to an $8,000 federal refundable tax credit under the economic stimulus plan President Obama signed into law earlier this year. But homebuyers don't get the tax refund until after filing their tax returns. The HMFA, wants to give people participating in its Homebuyer Mortgage Program the opportunity to get an advance on their credit in the form of a "Pre-Fund" loan.
Income eligible homebuyers will receive a TCLP Pre-Fund loan, which is essentially a zero percent bridge loan that the homebuyer will pay back once they receive their federal tax refund, after filing their federal tax returns. The TCLP Prefund loan must be used for down payment and/or closing costs. The home owner may combine the Pre-Fund loan with the HMFA's down payment and closing costs program known as Smart Start to further assist with their down payment and closing costs.
To apply for these funds together with an HMFA First Time Home Buyer Mortgage click here or call 1-800-NJ-HOUSE. |
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JOINING FORCES TO BETTER OUR COMMUNITIES | |
Lessing Road, "Our House"
 Mayor John McKeon was joined by Senate President Richard Codey and HMFA's Executive Director Marge Della Vecchia to celebrate the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of Lessing Home on March 27th, a single family home located in West Orange that will provide permanent supportive housing to four women with developmental disabilities. Our House, Inc., a private, non- profit organization that provides residential, employment and recreational services to individuals with developmental disabilities, will provide the supportive services. After substantial rehabilitation, the project is fully handicapped accessible. The property has four bedrooms, three and one-half bathrooms and a staff office space. More |
HMFA Finances New Affordable Housing Development in Newark's Ironbound
 On April 15, HMFA Executive Director, Marge Della Vecchia, Newark Mayor Corey Booker, representatives of ETC Companies, LLC and the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC) broke ground on a new $22 million affordable housing development project in Newark's East Ward. The project, located at 10 Dawson Street, will be a multi-family residential building consisting of 80 units of affordable housing for Newark residents. Fulfilling its mission of urban redevelopment, HMFA provided an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits and a subsidy of approximately $3 million to finance what is the first affordable housing development to be constructed in the City's Ironbound section in three decades. More |
Abbett Avenue is a Place to Call Home for Two Homeless Families
Homeless Solutions, Inc. (HSI) recently completed development of the project known as Abbett Avenue Supportive Housing. The project consists of the acquisition and substantial rehabilitation of a two-family home in Morristown, and provides service enriched affordable housing for two homeless families.
The two-story structure was built in 1930 and was in need of upgrades and repairs. Extensive renovations were made to the second floor, raising the roof of the house to allow full size ceilings in all rooms, and attic space above the second floor. HSI also included a variety of green and sustainable features in the project that will improve energy efficiency, reduce overall maintenance, and improve the indoor air quality of the units. More |
HMFA CHOICE Program Helps Rescue Contaminated Site
Catherine S. Graham Square Projects
 On April 14, 2009, HMFA joined with the City of Trenton, the Northwest Community Improvement Association and developer Robert Kahan of Tara Developers to celebrate the construction of the first new home to be built on land once used by Magic Marker, Gould Battery and other industrial firms.
For over two centuries, the seven acre site on Calhoun Street in Trenton was home to a long list of manufacturers and growing contamination. The property's last industrial facility was closed in 1989. Since that time, the EPA, the State DEP and the City removed over 15,000 tons of contaminated soil and replaced it with clean fill. More |
Green Living is Affordable in Jersey City Webb Apartment Complex
 On February 25, 2009, the Webb Apartment Complex was opened to 40 families. The newly constructed affordable housing apartment complex is located on Martin Luther King Blvd in Jersey City. In addition to the 40 affordable rental-housing units the project includes ground floor retail, a community room, and courtyard space, all of which is consistent with the mixed-use character of the surrounding neighborhood. In keeping with the Agency's Green Homes Office, the project offers the families "green living", with environmentally friendly bamboo hard wood floors, low-VOC paints and sealants and Energy Star appliances. More |
Live Where You Work in the New Year
The Live Where You Work Program (LWYW) is finalizing the review of LWYW applications from Glassboro, Orange, and Passaic. These municipalities will partner with the HMFA in an effort to provide affordable housing to residents who work and live in these cities. HMFA will provide mortgage financing at a competitive interest rate, together with funding for down payment and closing costs. The loan securing the down payment and closings costs is forgiven after the homeowner resides in the home for either 48 or 84 months depending upon the borrower's income. Interest in the LWYW program is growing across the State. More than twenty municipalities are either in the process of completing applications or have indicated that they are interested in becoming LWYW partners. The following municipalities are currently participating in the Program: Atlantic City, Bayonne, Carteret, Elizabeth, Evesham, Jersey, City, Morristown, Neptune, New Brunswick, Paterson, Rahway, Trenton, and Woodbridge.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. |
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GREEN HOMES NEW WEBSITE
 The NJ Green Homes Office has updated its website to include a better interface and in-house ability to make timely web updates. It features new information sections. New sections include: (1) an expanded list of financial programs and incentives for both homeowners and developers; (2) a Green Living section that includes monthly flyers for how to live green day-to-day and answers frequently asked questions; (3) updated Trainings, event photographs and presentations; (4) a Green Links section that gives every viewer a background on green building in New Jersey; and (5) information on research being conducted by the Green Homes Office. Please keep checking back and sign up for the Green Homes listserve! | |
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Sincerely,
Marge Della Vecchia
Executive Director
NJHMFA |
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"Homefront" is produced and distributed by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. HMFA creates and implements programs to advance the rehabilitation, construction, preservation and financing of affordable housing for the State's residents, lenders, developers and contractors. HMFA is the state administrator for federal housing assistance programs and works in cooperation with State, municipal and non-profit agencies. HMFA secures program funding and operating expenses through the sale of taxable and tax-exempt bonds to private sector investors and is not dependent upon funding from the State Treasury.
No State tax dollars were used to design and produce this newsletter.
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