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TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Barbara Buono which would establish a comprehensive program to transition foreclosed property into affordable housing was approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today by a vote of 7-2, with two abstentions.

“This bill would give local officials and the State a valuable tool to help clean up blighted neighborhoods and convert abandoned, foreclosed homes into affordable and market-rate homes,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “We’re currently experiencing a nearly-unprecedented foreclosure crisis in New Jersey, with home values far less than they were a few years ago, during the housing boom of the last decade. This bill creates a mechanism to reclaim and renovate foreclosed properties in order to create affordable homes and market-rate housing for New Jersey families to live and grow.”

“More than 100,000 homes in New Jersey are in the foreclosure process, according to estimates published in the Star-Ledger,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “This program opens a five-year window for the state to step in and jump start the resolution of our foreclosure crisis.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Barbara Buono which would establish a comprehensive program to transition foreclosed property into affordable housing was unanimously approved by the Senate Economic Growth Committee today.

“This bill is about giving municipalities and the State the tools needed to clean up blighted neighborhoods and convert foreclosed homes into affordable and market-rate homes,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union, the Chairman of the Economic Growth Committee. “Right now, our home state is reeling from the dual crises of a massive increase in home foreclosures and lack of affordable housing opportunities for low- and middle-class families. This bill would create a mechanism to reclaim and renovate foreclosed homes to combat the economic drain of foreclosed properties within a municipality.”

“This bill represents a creative approach to beginning to solve the affordable housing problem facing many New Jersey families, while dealing with the issue of urban and suburban blight and without contributing to rampant overdevelopment and sprawl facing so many communities,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “It’s a positive first step to revitalize struggling communities and provide housing opportunities for working-class families. At the end of the day, it’ll result in more New Jersey residents on the path towards home ownership, fewer abandoned properties in our neighborhoods, and redevelopment of our communities.”