TRENTON, N.J. – To coincide with the traditional start of home buying season, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) today launched The Road Home New Jersey, an education initiative that prospective first-time homebuyers can use to navigate the road to affordable home ownership.

“New Jersey families looking for their first house now have a roadmap to follow along the way to their ultimate destination -- home ownership,” said New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Lori Grifa, Chair of the HMFA Board. “The Road Home New Jersey will walk consumers through the home buying process and help them secure affordable home ownership and financing opportunities.”

The Road Home New Jersey’s user-friendly website, www.TheRoadHomeNJ.com, is the centerpiece of the initiative, delivering concise and valuable information and guidance to prospective homebuyers, including:

• A step-by-step home buying guide with downloadable checklists;
• First-time homebuyer finance program information;
• Mortgage and affordability calculators;
• Personal stories of real families who have achieved home ownership;
• List of approved, reputable lenders; and
• Daily interest rate updates.
  

“Buying your first home should never be a decision taken lightly, but it shouldn’t be overwhelmingly difficult either. This website was created to simplify the process and to help make finding the right mortgage and financial assistance easier, whether a buyer needs help finding a low-cost mortgage or needs additional financial assistance,” said Anthony L. Marchetta, HMFA Executive Director. “The HMFA is committed to helping homebuyers with financing and ‘know how.’ We’ve put a lot of thought into The Road Home New Jersey.”

The HMFA, which is an affiliated agency of the Department of Community Affairs, specializes in helping first-time and urban area homebuyers secure reasonable financing that provides the flexibility and purchasing power to buy their dream home.

The Agency provides competitive, 30-year fixed rate mortgages and allows down payments as low as 3%. Innovative HMFA programs include Smart Start, which offers down payment and/or closing cost assistance for eligible consumers purchasing in a designated Smart Growth Area, to Live Where You Work, an incentive program for homebuyers purchasing in the same participating town in which they are employed.

“With The Road Home New Jersey acting like a GPS and providing step-by-step instructions, the HMFA’s First-Time Homebuyer finance programs are the vehicle. Step on the gas and get ready for the journey,” said Jerry Keelen, Director of Single Family Programs for the HMFA.

Since its inception in 1967, the HMFA has been committed to making quality housing available at costs affordable to New Jersey residents. Aside from First-Time Homebuyers, the HMFA works with senior citizens in senior and assisted living facilities, the disabled in special needs communities, and New Jersey families in traditional affordable housing developments.

For more information about the HMFA and its housing assistance options, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or go to www.nj-hmfa.com. For more information on homeownership, log on to www.TheRoadHomeNJ.com