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CENTRAL JERSEY HOUSING RESOURCE CENTER
600 First Avenue, Suite 3, Raritan, NJ | 908-704-8901 | cjhrc.org
Many consumers do not know about
a housing non-profit in Raritan NJ
known as the
Central Jersey Housing
Resource Center (CJHRC)
.
CJHRC
is a full service housing coun-
seling agency and to many
CJHRC
serves
as a critical community resource whose
services are FREE.
CJHRC
has been in
existence for nearly 30 years helping the
Somerset County community and sur-
rounding area achieve a broad range of
goals related to housing and financial lit-
eracy, which include looking at finances
and credit and determining, creating or
reviewing a household’s budget to figure
out their debt to income ratio.
CJHRC
can also provide a tri-merged
credit report with scores for those who
complete the required documentation/
authorization. The
CJHRC
counselor can
review the report with their client with
the goal of addressing/resolving any
issues. It is important in this day and age
of “hacking” that consumers pay close
attention to their credit reports, bank
and credit card accounts and look into
anything suspicious.
CJHRC
explains
financial literacy either one-on-one with
clients by appointment at their Raritan NJ
office or at a financial literacy workshop.
The next workshop will be held in mid-
February from 5:30-9:00pm in Bridgewater.
Pre-registration is required.
CJHRC
offers a unique “Savings
Match Program” which can provide up
to $1,200 to those that qualify. After
they complete all program requirements,
the funds are provided to the entity they
set up when first accepted into the pro-
gram. Savings Match Funds can be used
for an approved goal such as paying
down credit or student loan debt, buying
a home or paying rent or security and
health care bills/costs.
CJHRC
housing counselors continue
to help existing Somerset and Hunterdon
County families facing delinquency or
foreclosure. Counselors will usually touch
on the following options with clients:
reinstatement, loan modification, refi-
nancing, a payment plan (also known as
forbearance), filing bankruptcy (Chapter
13), selling, short sale and deed in lieu. In
addition, they are told about New
Jersey’s Hardest Hit Fund (NJHHF) which
through a federal grant from the US
Treasury offers two programs for eligible
homeowners: New Jersey HomeSaver
and the New Jersey HomeKeeper pro-
gram. Homeowners must have suffered a
qualifying involuntary hardship that
caused or will cause them to fall behind
on their mortgage payment – hardships
include involuntary loss of employment,
reduction in income (hours), financial
hardships such as medical, divorce, dis-
ability or death. Those wishing to apply
for NJ Hardest Hit Fund assistance with
the possibility of getting up to $50,000
can go to www.hardesthitnj.org.
Whether you are trying to rent an
apartment, need financial literacy, want
to purchase a home and learn about first
time homebuyer grants and programs,
are an existing homeowner just looking
for post-purchase information on weath-
erization, rehab or other information or
a homeowner struggling to keep the
home, please contact
CJHRC
between 9-
5 Monday through Friday and a coun-
selor will be able to assist you. For those
wishing to meet with a counselor in-per-
son, appointments are suggested. Call
CJHRC
at (908) 704-8901 or 704-9649.
CJHRC Staff
PAGE 50
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