NJHMFA Approves Foreclosure Intervention Program
TRENTON – The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) approved the Residential Foreclosure Intervention Program (FIP) at its October 19 board meeting. The FIP will enable qualified non-profits to rehabilitate vacant or abandoned residential properties and sell them to low-, moderate-, or middle-income households.
“Vacant and abandoned homes are often purchased by institutional investors to rent back to the community or left to depreciate, adversely impacting neighboring properties,” said Executive Director Melanie R. Walter. “This program is a testament to the state’s commitment to finding innovative solutions to difficult problems. Instead of allowing those to be the only two potential outcomes, we are going to rehabilitate these properties and get them back into the hands of residents as ownership opportunities.”
In conjunction with the Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance Program (ERMA), which has already delivered more than $110 million in relief to prevent foreclosures, the FIP is part of NJHMFA’s efforts to offer communities a wide range of solutions to combat foreclosure contagion and increase the stock of available homes for purchase by low-to-moderate income families.
The FIP is financed by fees collected during sheriff sales and supplemented with $25 million from the state’s allocation of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. From these funds, nonprofit community development organizations are eligible for up to $400,000 per property in grants to use for the acquisition and rehabilitation of single-family homes, townhomes, or condominiums.
After these properties are rehabilitated by nonprofit community development organizations, they will be sold to low-, moderate-, or middle-income households. To help these eligible families complete home purchases, NJHMFA offers up to $22,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance through its successful Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program.
NJHMFA’s share of the proceeds will be deposited back into the Foreclosure Intervention Fund to ensure that the program grows with its successes. Grantee applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, with the program’s initial round of financing expected to benefit 60 properties.
Interested non-profits seeking to rehabilitate properties through the FIP are encouraged to visit https://www.nj.gov/dca/hmfa/consumers/nonprofits/ or reach out to FIP@njhmfa.gov for more information.
