Wells Fargo is planning a $5 million expansion of its NeighborhoodLIFT program in Essex County, NJ. (Photo: Shutterstock)

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Want to buy a home in Essex County? A new grant program from Wells Fargo bank can give you $20,000 towards making your dream come true.

On Friday, Wells Fargo is expected to announce plans for a $5 million expansion of its NeighborhoodLIFT program in Essex County, with the goal of creating 180 new homeowners in the area.

Through LIFT, the bank will be offering prospective homeowners $20,000 down payment assistance grants. Military service members and veterans, teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians are eligible for an extra $2,500.

The grants will be available on a first-come, first served basis. Mortgage loans made through LIFT programs are not exclusive to Wells Fargo.

Learn more about the Wells Fargo LIFT program.

Interested applicants must complete a free, HUD-certified homebuyer education class, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel, 1000 Spring Street in Elizabeth.

Registration for the event begins online at 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16. (Learn more about this workshop)

Wells Fargo has also committed $325,000 for up to 650 consumers to receive complimentary, face-to-face homeownership counseling. Interested homebuyers can get a voucher at the Essex County NeighborhoodLIFT launch event on Oct. 5.

The 2019 Essex County NeighborhoodLIFT program comes on the heels of the 2013 CityLIFT program, which included Newark and created 352 homeowners, the bank stated.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka offered words of support for the new wave of grants.



"Newark is predominately a city of renters, and an important element of our equitable growth strategy is to enable renters to become homeowners," Baraka said. "We have created programs to make that possible including grants, low-interest loans, low-cost property sales, financial counseling and our upcoming land bank. The LIFT initiative with its $20,000 down payment assistance grants and home ownership counseling is a valuable addition to those tools."

The LIFT program will be a welcome boost for Essex County residents struggling to save enough to purchase a home, as nearly one-third of U.S. households spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, according to Greg White, Wells Fargo Community Bank’s Northern New Jersey region bank president.

“Through the NeighborhoodLIFT program, Wells Fargo is providing down payment assistance to hardworking families and individuals in Essex County so they can realize the dream of homeownership,” White said.

Here’s how the program works, according to Wells Fargo:

“New Jersey Community Capital will administer the $20,000 grants and determine eligibility. Local HUD-certified housing counselors will provide the required homebuyer education… To reserve a $20,000 down payment assistance grant, eligible homebuyers must be pre-approved for financing with an eligible lender to purchase a home in Essex County and earn 100% or less of the area median income, which is $100,600 in Essex County for a family of four… Approved homebuyers will have up to 60 days to finalize a contract to purchase a home in Essex County and can obtain mortgage financing from any participating lender. To reserve the full grant amount, participants buying a primary residence with the NeighborhoodLIFT program must commit to live in the home for five years.”

WELLS FARGO BANK AND ESSEX COUNTY

The announcement about the NeighborhoodLIFT program in Essex County follows on the heels of Wells Fargo’s recent $1 billion commitment over the next six years to address the U.S. housing affordability crisis.

The banking giant, New Jersey and Essex County have a checkered past, however.

In December 2018, Wells Fargo agreed to pay nearly $17 million to the state of New Jersey as part of a multi-state settlement after it reportedly cheated some of its Garden State customers for more than a decade.

Prosecutors cited a laundry list of alleged consumer protection violations, including unauthorized accounts, improper referrals and shady auto financing.

The massive payout agreement came less than a year after a flurry of government bodies in Essex County pulled their funds from Wells Fargo in protest of its alleged predatory lending and aggressive foreclosure practices.

The LIFT program is a “philanthropic investment” and has no ties or connection to any settlement, a Wells Fargo spokesperson told Patch.

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