TRENTON – A pair of bills sponsored by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak which would address New Jersey’s foreclosure crisis by transforming abandoned, foreclosed properties into livable homes and by requiring New Jersey to expand participation in the HomeKeeper mortgage assistance program was approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today.
“New Jersey is second-worst in the nation – behind only Florida – in the number of homeowners who are seriously delinquent in their home loans,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “And Governor Christie and his Administration have not lifted a finger to help mitigate the effects of a foreclosure crisis which is forcing New Jersey residents out of their homes and creating pockets of blight in once-thriving communities. It’s time that New Jersey gets serious about helping at-risk homeowners stay in their homes and about cleaning up dilapidated, abandoned properties to make them livable market-rate and affordable housing opportunities.”