Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Deputy Mayor of Economic and Housing Development Allison Ladd, Invest Newark President & CEO Marcus Randolph, and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) Founder and CEO Bruce Marks, held the first Newark Homeownership Revitalization Program (NHRP) lottery to select residents who will purchase city-owned properties for $1. The lottery took place in the Newark City Hall Council Chamber at 920 Broad Street.
The properties are deteriorated one, two, three, and four-family homes that will be rehabilitated into beautiful owner-occupied, multi-family homes. These prospective buyers are required to be residents who have lived in Newark for five years or more, or been displaced by gentrification. They must commit to reside in the properties for a minimum of 10 years.
“Across America, LLCs are buying up owner-occupied homes and turning them into corporately-owned, expensive rental units,” Mayor Baraka said. “In Newark, where we work hard to expand homeownership, we have created a wide-ranging strategy to do everything possible to counter this dangerous trend. The ‘dollar sale’ initiative is an innovative way to help longtime Newark residents become homeowners at costs that they can afford – and thereby simultaneously close the wealth gap, and increase equity and financial health for Newark residents.”
As the nation’s largest HUD-approved national non-profit homeownership and community advocacy organization, NACA serves as administrator of Newark’s lottery program and participants are required to become prequalified NACA members.
Today’s selection of Newarkers approved to participate is based upon their ability to carry out financial and other necessary obligations for successful homeownership. All accepted applicants are eligible for NACA’s Best in America mortgage that requires no down payment, no closing cost, no fee, and no mortgage insurance at a below market fixed rate, without consideration of one’s credit score. The mortgages will be used to cover the cost of rehabilitating existing deteriorated homes or building new ones. Accepted applicants also receive guidance and instruction from NACA’s HUD certified counselors to become well-informed home buyers and owners who can successfully redevelop their properties.
“This partnership will set the national standard for affordable homeownership on a large scale,” said Mr. Marks. “Homebuyers nationwide will be demanding the Newark model to purchase city-owned properties for one dollar to renovate or build on these vacant lots with NACA’s Best in America mortgage.”
“Invest Newark is proud to partner on this initiative to increase homeownership in the City of Newark,” said Mr. Randolph. “This initiative, similar to our work with the Newark Land Bank, seeks to make the dream of homeownership more accessible, in turn allowing more Newark residents to develop generational wealth for their families.”
With one of the lowest percentages of homeownership of any major American city, the NHRP lottery is one strategy that Newark is executing to expand homeownership, promote housing stability, and build wealth among city residents. It is part of Mayor Baraka’s focus on countering the effects of the purchase of owner-occupied homes by large-scale investors which cause rents to rise and owner-occupancy to fall, according to a Rutgers-Newark research report – “Who Owns Newark – Transferring Wealth from Newark Homeowners to Corporate Buyers” by David D. Troutt. Forty-seven percent of Newark home sales were to institutional investor buyers from 2017-2020, according to the study.
The NHRP lottery program is a recommendation that grew out of the city’s work with its Equitable Growth Advisory Commission.
Residents can learn how to apply, or get more information, by calling NACA Newark at 973-679-2601 or accessing the Homeownership Revitalization Program FAQ at http://tinyurl.com/Dollar-Lottery.
For photos, click here.