Private lenders are always looking for reliable mortgagors.

when we were looking to buy we looked into various government programs for first time buyers.
the website below contains the information on the various programs in the state of new jersey to help first time homebuyers.

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/hmfa/consu/buyers/ownprg/firsttime.html

hope it helps.

Depends on what sort of house they are looking for... there should be something they can afford in their area.

Having lived in Northern NJ, i can say it would be highly unlikley to own in Northern NJ with a salary of 40+-k...If you use 3x gross income as a barometer for a mortgage loan, that would be 120k, then factor in the 10k in savings , i seriously doubt anything(single family home) livable could be bought in most of Nj for 130k...

We lived in northern NJ as well, about three years ago we moved to south Jersey just because the houses here were so much more affordable. Houses in north Jersey are well more expensive now than ever, and the homes are not even woth it.
Your neice and her husband may want look beyond that area and see what other option they may have. And since he is a truck driver for Federal Express, couldn't he able to transfer to another location in NJ? Just something they may want to consider.

Hope this work-
maria

I agree with the other posters, it is going to be very difficult to find something even half way decent in central NJ at that pricepoint. Would your niece consider eastern PA or far western NJ such as Warren County?

Deborah

Having recently relocated to SE Pa, there are more affordable homes, but none in the 150k range...

I'm in Burlington County, homes are still pretty reasonable. In my area there are a lot of homes for sale due to military being reassigned.

When ytou say Central NJ, are you talking Union County?

I know I'll get flamed for this, but here goes...there are plenty of affordable houses in northern NJ. The only problem is, they're in older urban areas.

For example, my brother bought a huge house with 6 bedrooms, 3 baths and a big backyard for $125k seven years ago. It has doubled in value. The catch? It's in Newark.

Of course, Newark is a scary place. But North Brunswick, Highland Park, North Plainfield, Edison, East Rutherford, and Totowa all have great family neighborhoods and reasonable prices. And have they looked in Bloomfield?

pipersville_carol--you just proved the OPPOSITE of your point: the niece and her DH could't afford to buy your brother's house, or even one just like it, not even in Newark!

Did you realize what you wrote?
"$125k seven years ago. It has doubled in value."

That means it's $250k now--a 10% downpayment is $25k, which 1.5 MORE than what the niece has in savings.

She may be able to find one down here for a little over $125

North Plainfield is getting expensive. It's where I came from. Roselle was cheaper, my parents just sold a 2 family house w/ 2 car garage for $280.

The thing about the localities you list, is they are areas where subprime loans are prevalent, and the ensuing resetting of such loans will cause dire consequences..And there is NO way a home can be bought in East Rutherford for 130k+-

zero single family homes in bergen county for 150k or less...There were 3 mobile/trailer homes for less then 50k..

So far not too much hope as far as I can see unless they relocate. They live in Monmouth County and he was just transferred there not too long ago from Hudson County. Very discouraging. Thanks for your interest.

Burlington County isn't too far from Monmouth, depending on where his job is located. If they look over in Wrightstown, he can take 537 to work. There are a bunch of back roads to travel.

oceanbaby, as a realtor, I see this stuff every day. I feed so bad for first time homebuyers. Houses in NY and NJ arent in those price ranges anymore. Maybe they can buy a condo for now and build up. No one on the east coast gets to buy their dream home the first time around anymore. It takes 2 or 3 houses to get there.

The OP asked if they will EVER be able to afford a single family home.

I think expecting to buy a single family home in an expensive area on a single moderate salary is extremely unrealistic and it's probably foolhardy to try. I'm wondering if they could even easily afford the utilities, taxes and upkeep (what are they going to do when they need a new roof?).

At 40k I'm guessing that your niece's husband doesn't work a lot of overtime, so maybe your niece can spend two nights a week training for a really good p/t job or training to become a teacher (I'm assuming that having time for her children is a priority for her). When the kids are school age she can work and then maybe they can afford a house. I think it's lovely that she stays home with her young children, but not owning a single family home in the near future is the price that they pay for that. It's unrealistic to think otherwise.

I had some wonderful times with my boys when they were very young and we were temporarily living in a small apartment. We were cramped, but I had very little to do in the way of upkeep and we had a lot of fun.

We live in Gloucester County and their are homes still in 150's....but that mean they will have to relocate.If they really want to own a home, maybe they should look in this county......they will have more option.

Good Luck--

I live in Monmouth county. There are few if any single family homes in their probable price range. There are more rural areas of Howell or Jackson where they might be able to pick up a really small fixer-upper for the low 200s, and even those are few and far between. There are no townhouse developments for even 2 BRs in that price range- and then they'd have to consider HOA fees in addition to other expenses. My son and his wife both work and live in a townhouse with their 18 month old twins - they are struggling to be able to afford a single family home in this county.

blubird, aren't the taxes outrageous in Jackson? It was one reason I suggested Wrightstown, even the town I live in, has low taxes. It's a trade, house for having to commute.

Ma28, love it down there. We were going to mive down there 5 years ago. Hubby works in Port Jersey, so the commute would have killed him.

When my husband and I started out, we bought a two family and rented out the unit we weren't living in. The rent paid the mortgage for us so we could put into savings what we would've been paying. After a few years, we sold the two family and used the profit and our savings to buy a very nice single family home in a better neighborhood. If your niece doesn't have the money to buy a single family home right away, might she consider taking an intermediate step to get there?

I agree with what Solie said.

Train for a good paying part time job,
or accept that the tradeoff for staying home is not
owning a home.

(or request a job transfer to a less expensive area of the country)

Lorraine has a good idea. A huge bungalow can provide two usable floors. One to rent out. Maybe 1/4 of all homes in my current area have apartments built in. Good income source.

In everyone's opinion, how much would the house they'd qualify for cost? I'd like to check the site I'm using to show they may be able to swing it.

I agree with a part time weekend job. No sitter expense, plus she may be able to work nights eventually. This would be a good way to get some extra cash to pay some of the bills.

Thanks for your help. I've determined they would qualify for a house in the neighborhood of $135,000 to $145,000. I'm not optimistic.

Roselvr, you'd mentioned that taxes in Jackson are high - they are - they run about $3.50 per 1,000 assessed valuation - therein lies the rub, as they say. The tax rate is only part of the story, as it's based on assessed values - and just about everywhere in Monmouth and Ocean counties reassessment is taking place. Obviously, the tax RATE will change, but I don't have hopes that TAXES will decrease anytime soon, despite the news reports.

would they consider moving to a less expensive area? for example, I live in Texas, in a top school district, my 1700 sq ft all brick house, single story, 3 BR, 2 bath, 1/4 acre yard house is currently valued (on the tax rolls) at $103K = it wil go on the market next year at $112K and most likely will sell for $108K.

Thanks for your help. I've determined they would qualify for a house in the neighborhood of $135,000 to $145,000. I'm not optimistic.

Can you email me from my member page? I'll give you the web site I've been using to look for houses. I'm pretty confident they can find something around here, if not in my town but one of the surrounding towns. The commute for him won't be too bad, my ex worked in Perth Amboy at Raritan Bay Medical Center, his ride was not quite an hour. My DH currently drives to port Newark, and depending on where he'd buy, and time he'd go to work, his ride wouldn't be too long.

Our taxes IIRC are less than $3,000 for an L shaped ranch on an 80 x 100. In my town, we have a 3 & 4 year old school program, which may allow your neice to find a part time job.

Right now I would say there is no way they can afford to own a house in NJ. But that isn't that big of a deal. I would rather have one of my relatives renting than trying to pay for a house they couldn't afford.

In the next few years house prices will be coming down and the kids will be going to school so the wife can go back to work. So they should be able to afford a house then.

The best thing they can do now is to stay out of debt and save as much as they can.