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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Birch Arms Dedication and One Year Celebration Event
HMFA Offers Tax Credit "Prefund" to First Time Home Buyers
HMFA and MEND Join Together to Celebrate the Completion of 104-Unit Affordable Housing Development in Evesham Township
Governor Corzine Announces $78 Million In Federal Tax Credit Assistance For Low Income Housing Development
HMFA Announces New Energy Programs For Multifamily Housing
Mayor Booker Cuts Ribbon on Affordable Housing
7 New Towns Added to Live Where You Work Program
FEATURED BUILDING
Ewing Independent Living 
 
Ewing Independent Living-
Ewing Independent Living is a newly constructed, 72-unit affordable community in Ewing, N.J., dedicated to seniors 55 and over and adults with disabilities. With 56 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom apartments in an elevator building, Ewing Independent Living has 58,000 square feet of residential space. All apartments consist of, at a minimum, a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom. The building surrounds two large courtyards which contain a patio, bocce court, raised gardens, shuffleboard and a sandbox for children. For more information click here or call 609-883-8500.
 
Governor's Conference on Housing and Community Developement 2009  
REGISTER NOW!
SEPTEMBER 22 & 23, 2009
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 
 
INSIDE HMFA
 
Al Patel and Pam DeLosSantos 
LEED Accredited Professionals
  
Al Patel, Senior Mechanical Engineer, and Pam DeLosSantos, Green Technical Advisor, became LEED Accredited Professionals in June after passing the rigorous LEED AP examination.  More
 

 
Annual Report Cover 2008
 
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.
QUICK LINKS
We are dedicated to making investments in communities across New Jersey and building neighborhoods where people want to raise families and establish 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.

JOINING FORCES TO BETTER OUR COMMUNITIES
Birch Arms Dedication and One Year Celebration Event
 
Pamela McCrory, Gira Bose, Marge DellaVecchia, and Bob Guarasci.On May 22, the NJ Community Development Corporation celebrated the one-year anniversary of the opening of Birch Arms, a 15-unit supportive housing apartment complex in Paterson, NJ housing formerly homeless individuals with disabilities.  Funding for the project was obtained through the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund, both of which are administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.  Additional financing was provided through City of Paterson HOME Funds, HUD McKinney Vento Homelessness Assistance Funds and State Rental Assistance Program vouchers. Designed to reduce environmental impact and energy costs, Birch Arms was constructed under an Energy Star partnership agreement and with solar panels built onto the roof to generate solar power.
 
HMFA congratulates NJCDC and the staff of Birch Arms for their commitment to improving the lives of the residents by increasing their ability to live and function independently. More
HMFA Offers Tax Credit "Prefund" to First Time Home Buyers

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.
 
The Prefund program, which began on April 8, 2009, and has been very popular with hundreds of home buyers.  Nearly half of all of the Agency's home buyers have chosen to take a Prefund loan. The Agency's Board has set aside $5,000,000 for the program. The program allows First Time homebuyers who purchase a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 to be eligible for a refundable federal tax credit equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000. 
 
Because many homebuyers need down payment assistance in order to buy their home, the Agency provides its eligible first time Home Buyer Program purchasers with a 0% "Prefund" downpayment and closing cost loan of up to $5,000.  The Prefund loan will be repaid by the homebuyers with the proceeds of their federal tax refund in 2010.  "The refundable tax credit is a great idea and the Prefund program makes it better by getting the cash to the closing table where it is most helpful to the typically cash strapped first time buyer," Agency Executive Director Marge DellaVecchia said.  "Prefund is great for all Agency first-time homebuyers, but is an especially good deal for those using FHA insurance because the Prefund loan can be combined with the low down payment feature of FHA loans resulting in a very low and sometimes no down payment requirement. This FHA benefit is available to Agency borrowers under a special authorization from FHA."  
 
To apply for these funds together with an HMFA First Time Home Buyer Mortgage click here or call 1-800-NJ-HOUSE.
HMFA and MEND Join Together to Celebrate the Completion of 104-Unit Affordable Housing Development in Evesham Township
 
Sharp RoadThe Completion of MEND's newest affordable rental housing in Burlington County encompasses a total of 104 one, two and three-bedroom apartments located in a lovely park-like setting on a 48-acre site in north Evesham near the Medford and Mount Laurel borders. Each of the apartments has a balcony or patio, gas heat and central air conditioning, wall-to-wall carpeting, refrigerator, stove with vent range hood, dishwasher, microwave and garbage disposal. The two and three-bedroom apartments also have clothes washer/dryer hook-ups in the unit. The on-site Community Building/Manager's Office contains a laundry room, exercise room, computer lab and a lounge with kitchen. "Green" building features include tankless hot water heaters in each unit and solar panels on the Community Building and several of the 13 apartment buildings. Each apartment has received an Energy Star rating from the NJ Clean Energy Program. More
Governor Corzine Announces $78 Million In Federal Tax Credit Assistance For Low Income Housing Development   

Governor Corzine Announces $78 Million In Federal Tax Credit AssistanceOn May 28, 2009, Governor Jon S. Corzine announced the award of $19.5 million in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and the designation of $20.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding through the Tax Credit Assistance Program that will create 879 new rental housing units throughout the state. More
HMFA Announces New Energy Programs For Multifamily Housing 
 
The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) on July 27 introduced new financing programs for energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations in multifamily housing during a seminar at the Trenton Marriott, 1 West Lafayette Street. Funding for the programs is being made available through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
 
"Governor Corzine is determined to achieve a 20 percent drop in energy consumption and a 30 percent rise in renewable energy production by 2020 in New Jersey. The programs announced by the HMFA will help the state meet those goals," said Jeanne Fox, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. "The people who attended the seminar understand that together we can make a difference in our great state's environment and energy future." More
Mayor Booker Cuts Ribbon on Affordable Housing
 
Photo credits: E. Cameron, Newark Press Information Office
Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker, Deputy Mayor of Housing and Economic Development Stefan Pryor, Director of Housing and Real Estate Mike Meyer, Episcopal Community Development Corporation Executive Director Gerard Haizel and representatives from the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency joined with South Ward residents on August 20 to cut the ribbon to open a new eight-unit affordable housing rental development at 132-136 Hawthorne Avenue, this morning.

The new project includes two one-bedroom units, two two-bedroom units, and four three-bedroom units. The building is the final phase of a 21-unit Low Income Housing tax credit project sponsored by Episcopal Community Development, including 10 homes for formerly homeless households, sponsored by Apostle's House, which opened in Fall 2008. The City provided $1.3 million in City HOME funds for all 21 units and a long-term property tax abatement to support the project.

"This is a tremendous day. Day by day, block by block, brick by brick, we are building a stronger, safer and prouder city. This project is especially important to me on a personal level because I live on this block and passed by the blight that existed here previously every day. Today we are seeing the power that can happen as a result of our commitment to make Newark a place for everyone and now each of these apartment units are homes to a family in need so they can fulfill their dreams," said Mayor Booker on August 20. More
Seven New Towns Added to Live Where You Work Program

The Live Where You Work Program (LWYW) has finalized 7 new municipalities which include: Glassboro, Keyport, Newark, New Brunswick, Orange, Paterson, and Washington Township. 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 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.
Sincerely,
 
marge 
Marge Della Vecchia
Executive Director
NJHMFA
"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.