Buying

Frequently Asked Questions | Counseling | Downpayment Assistance | Mortgages/Loans/Credit Unions

IS HOME OWNERSHIP RIGHT FOR YOU?

Before you contact a Fannie Mae-approved lender to line up your mortgage financing, you'll need to make sure homeownership is right for you. Give serious thought to all the aspects of owning a home. Being a homeowner requires plenty of time, energy and financial resources. To find a lender in your area, Click Here.

Ginnie Mae was created in 1968 as a wholly owned corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD.) Its purpose was - and is - to serve low-to moderate-income homebuyers.

Among its many offerings, visit Ginnie Mae's web site for information about the positives and negatives of buying, the homebuuying information center, an affordability calculator, and information on finding a lender.

Make purchasing your home a family affair with Ginnie Mae's Home Zone. Parents will find interactive games and stories to help make the home buying experience fun and educational.

The Fannie Mae mission is to tear down barriers, lower costs, and increase the opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing for all Americans. Having a safe place to call home strengthens families, communities, and our nation as a whole.

Fannie Mae has developed tools to make it easier to find the right mortgage product -- including the True Cost CalculatorSM, a tool that lets you see the true total costs of a mortgage and compare one mortgage product to another. Other useful tools can be found at Fannie Mae's Homepath.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the nation's homeownership agency committed to helping everyone - especially first-time homebuyers and minority families. Visit www.hud.gov to learn more about home ownership and how they, too, can live the American Dream.

The HUD web site also includes: 100 Questions & Answers About Buying a New Home as well as common questions from first-time homebuyers.

HUD's Section 8 Homeownership Program permits certain voucher participants to use voucher payments to purchase single family homes, condominiums, manufactured housing, and interests in cooperatives. To find out if your community has a Section 8 Homeownership Program, contact your public housing authority or nearest HUD office. Please the "Home Buyer Counseling Services" section to contact Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Jersey, Inc. for more information re: Section 8 Homeownership HUD certified training.

To contact your nearest HUD office, visit www.hud.gov/local or HUD NJ.

Newark Field Office
One Newark Center
1085 Raymond Boulevard, 13th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102-5260
(973) 622-7900
Fax (973) 645-2323

Camden Field Office
800-840 Cooper Street, 2nd Floor
Camden, NJ 08102-1156
(856) 757-5081
Fax (856) 757-5373

HOME BUYER COUNSELING SERVICES

HOMECorp Seminars
Restoring Montclair to Make Every House a Home
HOMECorp is a community-based non-profit organization, formed in 1988 by concerned residents and religious institutions in Montclair, New Jersey to improve and develop housing in Montclair. Its mission is to provide safe, permanently affordable housing in Montclair and to promote neighborhood development.

HOMECorp co-sponsors HUD-certified seminars for homebuyers and tenants in collaboration with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Jersey, Inc. located at 185 Ridgedale Avenue, Cedar Knolls, NJ. Phone toll-free (888) 726-3260 or (973) 267-4324. Ask for Mary Johnson at ext. 3021. Seminars take place twice annually in the spring and fall. Dates and times will be posted at www.homecorp.org in the Upcoming Events section. For further details call (973) 744-4141 or e-mail homecorp@verizon.net.

HOMECorp
1 Woodland Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042

Urban League of Essex County offers Homebuyer Education Classes. A series of five-week, five- session classes (2 hours per session) help prepare potential first-time homebuyers to make smart decisions, avoid costly pitfalls and purchase properties that are better economically suited for them.

Topics covered include:
* Credit Management and Review
* Family Budgeting
* Understanding the Mortgage Approval Process
* Pre- and Post- Occupancy Maintenance
* Closing Costs
* Interest Rates and Points
* Home Inspection and Selection
* The Art of Negotiation
* Foreclosures and HUD Homes

Urban League of Essex County
508 Central Avenue
Newark, NJ
(973) 624-9535

For a List of HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies in NEW JERSEY Click Here or call (800) 569-4287.

DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE

Essex County's down payment assistance program is offered to very low and low income first time homebuyers. Eligible properties will include existing one to four family structures that meet all Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and have an appraised value not greater than the Section 203(b) mortgage limits for the are at the time of sale. Additionally, the program will make provisions for the new construction of structures for sale to first time homebuyers. Essex County down payment assistance is applicable only to properties located in Essex County.

Esther Martinez, Project Coordinator, Redevelopment
Essex County Division of Housing and Community Development
20 Crestmont Road
Verona, NJ 07044
(973) 395-8450
Fax (973) 655-0982

MORTAGES/LOANS/CREDIT UNIONS

Getting Started: A good place to start your search for the mortgage that's right for you is by reviewing the wide array of Fannie Mae mortgage products offered by Fannie Mae-approved lenders. Click Here for information.

Recognizing that saving enough money for a down payment can be a major stumbling block to buying a home. Learn more about Fannie Mae's wide array of low down payment mortgages by Clicking Here.

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) is dedicated to increasing the availability of and accessibility to safe, decent and affordable housing to families in New Jersey. Requests for information on purchasing a home with an HMFA mortgage and brochures on the home buying process can be made by calling 1 (800) NJ-HOUSE.

HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has mortgage insurance to help you become a homeowner. FHA doesn't actually make loans. Instead, it insures loans so that if buyers default for some reason, the lenders will get their money. This encourages lenders to give mortgages to people who might not otherwise qualify for a loan. You may be able to get an FHA loan 3% down, or even less! To learn more about FHA loans and HUD-approved lenders visit www.hud.gov

For help figuring out the various acronyms HUD and other government agencies use, Click Here.

For information on the Home Loan Program for Veterans, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at www.homeloans.va.gov/veteran.htm

The North Jersey Federal Credit Unon's web site is designed to be a comprehensive resource of Credit Union information for members and potential members. Find information on everything from office locations, business hours, the Credit Union's sponsor groups and the products and service offerings.