Bring Home Up to Code with the Freehold Borough Housing Rehabilitation Program

The Freehold Borough Housing Rehabilitation Program wants to help out homeowners looking to update their home with needed repairs.

The Mayor and Council Understand that home ownership can be a struggle, which is why they created the Freehold Borough Housing Rehabilitation Program. The program, which is apart of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), is a fund dedicated by the Borough for rehabbing existing houses in the community.

Mary Alice Gross, Borough resident and an Affordable Housing Case Manager for Community Grants Planning and Housing (CGPH), the agency Borough Rehabilitation Program goes through, explained how she used the program to benefit her Borough home.

 “I used the program to upgrade my furnace to a high efficiency furnace and bring myself up to code. I am at my six year mark with the program, and the furnace has already paid for itself once, if not twice,” said Gross. “It is a seriously fantastic program.”

Gross continued to explain that the Borough Housing Program is meant to bring homes up to code, not for redecorating. The program comes through a 10-year forgivable loan that has no monthly payment or interest.

“On the tenth anniversary of signing up for the loan the house will be fully up to code. The homeowners will be discharged on the tenth anniversary of final inspection.”

Additionally, Gross explained how the loan works if a homeowner decides to sell the residence before the tenth anniversary of the loan.

“If I were to sell my home at the six-year mark instead of the 10, all I would have to do is re-pay what I borrowed at the time that I sold the home without any interest. If someone were to buy my home and they were income eligible, and willing to take on the remainder of the commitment, that would be fine and I wouldn’t have to pay anything at the sale of the home.”

There is an application process residents need to go through before becoming involved with the program. There is no application fee. Additionally, a home needs to have three specific points in order to become eligible for the program.

According to Gross, the home must have equity and enough equity to cover the loan the borough will be expending. For example, the home must have at least $17,000 in equity if bringing home up to code costs $17,000. Secondly, the home’s taxes and water bill must be paid and up-to-date. Lastly, the owners must have homeowners insurance.

Residents interested in using the Freehold Borough Housing Rehabilitation Program can reach out to Gross by calling 609-371-1968 or emailing her at maryalice@cgph.net. An inspector will be sent out to a home after application is filled out and reviewed with necessary documents.