Housing Recovery Session Set For Ocean City Next Week

Ocean City, NJ -- The 40th Housing Recovery Information Session will be held in Ocean City next week, Gov. Chris Christie announced on Friday.

The event to help storm-affected homeowners participating in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program and the LMI Homeowner Rebuilding Program, as well as rental property owners participating in the Landlord Rental Repair Program (LRRP) is set for Thursday, Dec. 8.

It takes place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Howard Stainton Senior Center, 1735 Simpson Avenue.
There will be individualized, hands-on assistance for eligible RREM Program, LMI Program and LRRP participants with housing recovery questions or issues.

It is the second session to be held in Ocean City, following one in August of 2015.

Information Sessions have been held in each of the nine counties the federal government determined were most impacted by Superstorm Sandy (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union).

Nearly 2,500 applicants have attended previous Information Sessions held since October 2014 in communities hard hit by Superstorm Sandy.

“We encourage applicants in our housing recovery programs to come to the Information Session if they have questions about their project. With experts on hand to provide answers and offer guidance, it is a great opportunity for applicants to get the information they need to keep moving forward with their recovery,” said New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Charles A. Richman, whose Department administers many of the State’s Sandy housing recovery initiatives.

Representatives from the DCA’s Sandy Recovery Division and Housing Recovery Centers, as well as RREM and LRRP Program Managers, who can answer specific questions about the RREM Program, LMI Program and LRRP, will be present.

Additionally, representatives of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs will be available to discuss best practices in selecting a reliable contractor to undertake rebuilding work.

Housing Counselors from the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program will also be in attendance to offer RREM Program and LMI Program participants free HUD-certified housing counseling services for a wide array of housing-related issues, including foreclosure prevention, mortgages, budgeting, and rental guidance.

Information will also be available about the Rental Assistance Program (RAP), which helps homeowners in the RREM Program and LMI Program pay for temporary housing while their primary homes are being repaired, rebuilt or elevated.

Through the RAP initiative, homeowners who have signed their grant agreement and meet other eligibility criteria are eligible for up to $1,300 per month for up to a total of 21 months of rental assistance.

The RREM Program is the largest of the housing recovery programs launched by the State following Superstorm Sandy.

The program provides grants to Sandy-impacted homeowners to cover rebuilding costs up to $150,000 that are not funded by insurance, FEMA assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration loans, or other sources.

The LMI Homeowner Rebuilding Program provides reconstruction, rehabilitation and elevation assistance to Sandy-impacted homeowners of limited financial means whose storm-damaged primary residence is located in one of the nine most impacted counties as determined by the federal government.

The program aims to provide assistance to low- to moderate-income homeowners who did not apply to the RREM Program.

The LRRP Program provides up to $50,000 per storm-damaged rental unit to assist eligible rental property owners in repairing their residential rental properties. To be eligible for the award, a landlord must rent the repaired unit(s) to LMI households after project completion.

For more information on the Information Session, contact the DCA’s Sandy Constituent Services Office by calling 609-292-3750 or by emailing sandy.recovery@dca.nj.gov.

For more information on the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program and the Rental Assistance Program, visitwww.renewjerseystronger.org/homeowners/sandy-recovery-housing-counseling-program/ and www.nj.gov/dca/hmfa/homeownership/owners/ssbg/index.shtml.