BY LOCAL TALK STAFF
Caption – NJ State Senator Britnee Timberlake taking oath of office with friends and family. Photo By Dhiren Shah
Back in 2022, then-Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange) introduced the Community Wealth Preservation Program bill, which sought to help needy families who could be on the verge of losing their home by giving them the means to keep it.
Now, in her first moments as a newly minted State Senator, Timberlake might finally see Gov. Phil Murphy sign off on it, as reports indicate he is leaning toward doing so in the near future.
Here is how it works: Banks are shrewd, charging an enormous number of penalties and interest for homeowners who missed their payments at least twice. Once this vicious cycle starts, a homeowner does not have a way of getting out of it.
Now for the gist of the bill: It helps homeowners or renters by allowing them to own the home with only 3.5% cash down. Ms. Timberlake gave a good example. If a homeowner owes $400,000 (principal, interest and penalties combined) and the bank places it on the sheriff’s auction starting at $200,000, (usually the bank’s starting auction is 50% of what the owner owes to the bank) the owner will get that house under the bid process. However, the key is that the homeowner must be approve for the loan with 3.5% down (which is right now 20%) and instead of 30 days, the sheriff must get the balance of the loan, with the help of government programs, within 90 days.
This way, the asset that is the home stays with the community, rather than some out of town developer getting their hands on it.
At a rally a long time back to persuade Murphy to sign off on the measure, Mayor Dwayne Warren of Orange voiced his support, stating, “It is no secret to us that the acquisition of real estate is a major pathway to prosperity for black and brown people worldwide. Homeownership has proven to be the best way to move into the middle and upper class.”
At the end of the aforementioned rally, Timberlake said, “Homeownership is the number one wealth-building tool in the country. Unfortunately, New Jersey has one of the country’s highest foreclosure rates and the largest racial wealth gap. Leading New Jersey in foreclosures are urban areas hemorrhaging wealth through the loss of property.
“Since COVID, suburban communities have also seen an increase in foreclosures. This bill provides an opportunity for your neighbor or their children to save their family house from foreclosure, creates a lane for friends who want to buy a foreclosed property to live in and contribute to the community, and for nonprofits to create affordable housing homeownership and rental opportunities. Working families often do not have deep enough pockets to participate in foreclosure.”
