5-day ‘Achieve the Dream’ event aims to make it easier for Newark residents to buy homes

Want to buy a home in Newark with no down payment, closing costs or fees? An “Achieve the Dream” event aimed at doing just that started Friday at the Robert Treat Hotel and will continue each day through Tuesday.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka joined Bruce Marks, CEO of the Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America, and Chris Anderson, CEO of Vantem, at the opening of the five-day confab of workshops and conferences, which are aimed at determining and establishing eligibility for NACA’s Best in America Mortgage.

The event will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. For more information and to register, click here.

“Homeownership in Newark is one of our highest priorities,” Baraka said. “It not only serves as a solid foundation for a secure and vibrant life, it builds wealth and stabilizes communities.

“With only about 24% of city residents owning their own homes right now, and corporations trying to purchasing houses for rental investments, we need to provide Newarkers with affordable pathways to homeownership. I’m extremely grateful to NACA for its innovative and unwavering commitment to helping our residents achieve the American dream.”

The event will provide low- and moderate-income homebuyers access to NACA’s Best in America Mortgage, which features no down payment, no closing costs, no fees, no mortgage insurance and a below-market fixed interest rate (4.375% fixed 30-year loan/3.375% fixed 15-year loan as of Aug. 3, 2022) without consideration of one’s credit score. NACA has more than $20 billion committed to this mortgage with $15 billion from Bank of America.

“The next five days will be nothing short of amazing as Newark residents obtain the full spectrum of tools for affordable homeownership, from household budgeting to NACA’s Homeownership Through Public Housing Assistance program and the $1 Home Revitalization Program,” Marks said.

“NACA is just getting started in Newark and not going anywhere. We are committed to working with Mayor Baraka to remove predatory practices in housing, close the wealth disparity and stand on the side of residents who want to continue to call Newark home.”

Anderson said the need is there.

“According to the NAHB, nearly half of U.S. households are unable to afford a house priced at $250,000. With the median home price today at approximately $407,000, according to Redfin, this holds an unbelievable amount of Americans back from achieving a big part of the American dream: becoming homeowners,” he said.

“Vantem and NACA share a similar goal of bringing affordability back into homeownership as Vantem simplifies construction and introduces energy efficiency into the home to make it more cost-effective and scalable, while NACA works to increase access to affordable mortgages in the city of Newark and throughout the United States.”

At this one-stop Achieve the Dream event, the homebuyer attends a workshop, meets with a NACA HUD certified counselor and then an underwriter, with many being NACA qualified same day for NACA’s Best in America Mortgage. Eligible homebuyers can apply for $1 property homeownership.