EDISON – Mayor Thomas Lankey has unveiled a distinctive new program that is designed to convert more than 100 market-rate homes into permanent affordable housing for low-and moderate-income people and families.
“Many hard-working, lower-income adults and families dream of owning a home, but they need a little help to take that step,” Lankey said on Aug. 2. “Our new program may offer the assistance and incentive they need to buy a home in our community.”
Edison’s “Affordable Home Ownership Program” would provide up to $40,000 in zero-interest loans and grants to qualified homebuyers, according to Randall Gottesman, president of Cranbury-based Community Grants, Planning & Housing (CGP&H), the town’s affordable housing consultant.
“I am proud to say Edison has come up with a creative way to promote homeownership using contributions from commercial and residential developers to the township’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund,” Lankey said in a prepared statement.
As of Aug. 3, Edison began accepting preliminary applications from people and families interested making affordable home purchases.
After subsidies, one-to-four bedroom market rate homes would generally be priced from $100,000 to $200,000 depending upon their size and purchasers’ incomes, Gottesman said in the statement.
Edison, through its affordable housing trust fund, has set aside $25,000 to $30,000 per unit to lower the cost of market rate homes for qualified buyers.
An additional $10,000 down payment assistance loan, at zero-percent interest and zero monthly payments, will be provided to help reduce mortgages for total assistance from Edison Township of either $35,000 or $40,000.
Gottesman noted that first-time homebuyers may also be eligible for an additional $5,000 from Middlesex County, using money from its “American Dream Down Payment” program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Homebuyers who qualify for both programs may be eligible for $40,000 to $45,000 in assistance, Gottesman said in the statement.
Homes purchased through the township program would be deed-restricted so they remain part of Edison’s affordable housing stock for at least 30 years and available to future lower and moderate-income buyers, Gottesman said.
Applications should be submitted as soon as possible. A lottery will be held Sept. 6 to determine applicants’ positions on a waiting list.
Applicants who live or work in Middlesex, Somerset or Hunterdon counties will receive preference over residents of other counties or states. Eligible incomes can range up to $84,000 for a family of four.
For more information, visit www.Affordablehomesnewjersey.com/Edison. The website offers an online calculator to help determine assistance eligibility and the maximum price for a housing purchase.
