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.
www.homestore.com/Finance/FannieMae/NewHomes/AboutOwnership.asp?

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 finding a lender: www.ginniemae.gov/YPTH/index.htm

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. www.fanniemae.com/

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: www.homepath.com

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

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.

www.nhlp.org/html/sec8/sec8home/homeownership.htm

To contact your nearest HUD office, see
www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm

HOME BUYER COUNSELING SERVICES

HOMECorp Seminars
Restoring Montclair to Make Every House a Home
(1 Woodland Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042)
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 home buyers and tenants in collaboration with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Jersey, Inc. located at 185 Ridgedale Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ, 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 in the coming weeks.

For further details call 973-744-4141 or e-mail homecorp@verizon.net.

Urban League of Essex County offers Homebuyer Education Classes
A series of 5 week, 5 session classes (2 hours per session) that 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

For more information visit: www.ulec.org

For a List of HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies in NEW JERSEY
Click Here

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. Properties Call Esther Martinez, Essex County Div. of Housing and Community Development, at 973-395-8450.

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.
www.homestore.com/Finance/FannieMae/Finance/GetMortgage.asp?

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.
www.homestore.com/Finance/FannieMae/Finance/LowDown.asp?

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. Visit: www.njhousing.gov for more information about programs available to home buyers.

HUD's 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/buying/index.cfm

For information on the Home Loan Program for Veterans
www.homeloans.va.gov/veteran.htm

The North Jersey Federal Credit Union'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. www.njfcu.org/