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New Jersey Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program)

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency offers Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program) to first-time buyers in New Jersey: up to $22,000, as a forgivable loan.

Amount
Up to $22,000
Kind of help
Forgivable loan
First-time buyers only
Yes

Forgivable loan: forgiven after 5 years if you keep living there and don't refinance.

A forgivable loan is written off once you have kept the home and its first mortgage for the years the program sets.

Who qualifies for New Jersey Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program)?

  • Varies by area and family size, with higher limits in Urban Target Areas.
  • Only for first-time buyers (usually no home owned in the past three years).

The exact income limit for your county and household size is on the agency's income chart. Our HUD income limits lookup shows your area's median income.

How to apply for New Jersey Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program)

  1. New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency pays this help out through its approved lenders, so you apply with one of them, together with your home loan.
  2. The lender checks your income, credit and the home against the program's rules and reserves the money for you.
  3. The help is paid at closing, toward your down payment and closing costs.

Read the full rules and whether it is taking applications on New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency's page for Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program).

Ask a lender about New Jersey Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program)

Tell us where you're buying and a lender that works with New Jersey's programs can tell you whether New Jersey Smart Start Program (Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program) fits you, and what you could combine with it.

Call 866-602-7460

Rather not call? Send your details and the lender will reach you.

When you send this request, you agree that one mortgage lender who works with these programs may contact you by email, phone or text, including by automated means, about this request. Agreeing is not a condition of any purchase. We are an independent guide, not a lender or a government agency; only that one lender gets your details, and it may pay us for the introduction. See our about page and privacy notice.

Other first-time buyer programs in New Jersey

All New Jersey first-time home buyer programs · Down payment assistance in every state