Affordable Housing Sales Program

All of Princeton’s affordable housing sales are resales of existing units.  Princeton’s Third Round Plan does not include any new sales units. In order for an affordable unit to be listed for sale, the owner must send a letter or email to the Municipal Housing Liaison indicating their desire to sell. The owner is required to market the unit on their own by hiring a real estate agent or publishing a “for sale by owner” advertisement on Zillow.  The Municipal Housing Liaison will work cooperatively with the owner by providing contact information to all eligible households on the municipal waiting list.  All potential buyers not already on the waiting list must complete a preapplication form and be added to the waiting list. The Municipal Housing Liaison income-qualifies all buyers and matches households to appropriately sized units. No real estate closing can occur until the Municipal Housing Liaison approves the buyer and the sales price.

Preapplications in both English and Spanish will be available at these locations:  

Affordable Housing Department : One Monument Drive Princeton NJ, 08540

The Princeton Affordable Housing Office will accept preapplications on an ongoing basis. Princeton Affordable Housing will contact each applicant once preapplications are received, stating either: 

Waiting List – Maintenance and Updating

Princeton Affordable Housing maintains a waiting list that includes sufficient information about each application to enable Princeton Affordable Housing to process applications when vacancies arise.  The following information will be included:

  •  Number of persons in household
  •  Unit or bedroom size for which the household is eligible, or has requested
  •  Annual income level based on the self-reported income of the applicant) (i.e., moderate-, low-, or very low-income)
  • The need for an accessible housing unit and any required accessible features

Princeton Affordable Housing will inform each household via email when housing unit becomes available. 

Matching Household to Housing Units

Per UHAC, Princeton Affordable Housing will refer certified households to specific bedroom sizes and strive to:

  •  Provide an occupant for each bedroom.
  •  Provide children of different sex with separate bedrooms; and
  •  Prevent more than two persons from occupying a single bedroom
  •  Match a moderate-income household to a moderate-income unit
  •  Match a low-income household to a low-income unit
  •  A moderate-income unit will be sold to a low-income household if after multiple tries to sell the unit.
  • In no case will a low-income unit be sold to a moderate-income household.

HOMEOWNERSHIP PROCESS

1.    The Municipality will repurchase an affordable housing unit at the appropriate resale price if, at the end of twelve (12) months, the Municipality has been unable to qualify an income-eligible and household-size-appropriate applicant for the affordable housing unit.   

2.    An Affordability Assistance loan program offers low-interest down payment and closing cost assistance loans to qualified purchasers. These loans do not have to be repaid on a monthly basis.  In fact, the purchaser is not required to repay the loan (with interest) until they sell the unit.  The purchaser can, however, choose to pay back the loan at any time after closing.   

3.    All affordable housing units are deed-restricted.  Third Round affordable housing units will be deed-restricted for at least 30 years or until Princeton chooses to release the lien. However, most of Princeton’s affordable housing sales units are deed restricted for 99 years.

Random Selection and Eligible Buyers

Random selection is a process by which households are selected for placement in affordable housing units (for example, by lottery) such that no preference is given to one applicant over another except for purposes of matching household income and size with an appropriately priced and sized affordable housing unit.  

HOUSEHOLD CERTIFICATION

Before any household can purchase an affordable unit, the Municipal Housing Liaison must certify the household as eligible. Certification of a household involves the verification of two critical pieces of data: 1) Household size and composition; and 2) The total income and assets for all household members over 18 years of age. The certification process begins with the applicant completing an application in its entirety and providing the required backup documentation.

Sales Documents

  1. Princeton Income Limits (PDF)