Press Release 1/31/22
TRENTON – Throughout the 19th legislative district, many residents have been quietly struggling with mortgage payments as the pandemic drags to the end of its second year.
In response, Sen. Joe Vitale, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez applaud the governor’s office for creating the Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance Program (ERMA), administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA).
Under the plan, residents can receive up to $35,000 in assistance to cover mortgage arrearages, delinquent property taxes, and other housing cost delinquencies if they have been impacted by the lingering pandemic.
The three state lawmakers, who represent Carteret, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, South Amboy and Woodbridge, are urging residents throughout the district to take advantage of the program.
Vitale said the program taps into $325.9 million of federal Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) money, and is expected to help thousands of families get back on their feet, stabilizing New Jersey’s most at-risk communities and reducing the threat of residents losing their homes.
“Foreclosures don’t just hurt the family experiencing them,” Vitale said. “They negatively impact the surrounding properties in their neighborhood and hurt their larger community. This assistance offers struggling families a lifeline, and can make other loss mitigation options, such as refinancing, viable.
Coughlin said the program will go a long way toward alleviating pandemic-related housing insecurity for many families in the 19th District, described ERMA as a smart strategy to prevent housing foreclosure.
“Housing continues to be foundational to economic and social opportunity,” the Assembly Speaker said. “Helping lift the burden of owed mortgage and property tax payments due to pandemic-related financial struggles that no individual family could have foreseen, this assistance will ensure the most vulnerable homeowners among us are able to keep a roof over their families’ heads.”
Coughlin noted the program includes free counseling services to help our fellow residents apply for this program, learn about the many available options, and even work with creditors to achieve the best outcome available, noting the counselors will also be able to work with residents who do not have easy access to the Internet.
Lopez, who chairs the Assembly Housing Committee, said many working families in the 19th District have contacted her legislative office over the past two years, desperate for relief from their mortgages.
“Our constituents have been waiting for a program of this scale,” Lopez said. “It is my hope that news of this program spreads far and wide and that any individual struggling to pay their mortgage or other housing obligations takes full advantage of ERMA funds.”
Take the next step by calling 855-647-7700. Residents will be connected with a housing counselor who can explain the program.
Visit www.njhousing.gov/dca/hmfa/covid19/haf to review program eligibility. The ERMA application portal will open for applications at: www.njerma.com on Feb. 8, 2022 at 9 a.m.
To qualify for the ERMA program, homeowners must meet the following requirements:
• Be a New Jersey homeowner with a demonstrated COVID-19-related financial hardship occurring after January 20, 2020;
• Own and occupy an eligible primary residence;
• Have an income below 150% of their Area Median Income (AMI).
The three lawmakers expressed their appreciation to fellow lawmakers, advocates, and federal partners to launch the program, financed through the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
