Some state funding for the program would come from an anticipated $75.5 million expected as New Jersey’s share of a settlement following court-ordered investigations into abusive foreclosure practices by mortgage lenders.

“Here is property already built, already in place,” Medina says. “Right now, there are many people living in houses eligible for foreclosure, but not paying a mortgage because the foreclosure process has come to a virtual standstill with the investigations. This program could put already-built properties into circulation as affordable housing stock.”

It could offer some of those living in foreclosed homes a chance to remain and possibly repurchase their homes when their economic situations improve, Medina observes.

Michael G. McGuinness, chief executive officer of the state chapter of NAIOP, a commercial real estate development association, commended the measure’s proponents for “thinking outside the box.”

“I don’t think it could be the entire answer to New Jersey’s affordable housing problems,” McGuinness says. “Quite honestly, the devil will be in the details as the bill develops.”

NAIOP is a part of a long-term coordinated battle by the state’s construction industry to overturn or substantially change Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) regulations that tie municipal affordable housing obligations to new construction approvals.

“But that is a bigger, broader matter that is ongoing,” McGuinness says. “I think this proposal may well have a place in the arsenal of tools the state has to deal with the need for affordable housing.”

If the program does wind up making existing housing available to those with low-to-moderate income, he suggested the program should include a method for continuously monitoring the residents’ income.

Meanwhile, one active builder of affordable housing, Edward Walters Jr., the founding partner of the Walters Group, called the proposed bill “a great idea."

“With our two projects now in Barnegat, and the one we did in Stafford that is 100% filled, we’ve seen there is a huge need out there for affordable housing – huge,” Walters said. More than 5,000 people called about 112 units at the Stafford Park apartments opened a year ago, he added. Construction is starting next month at the 52-unit Whispering Hills, and construction has not yet begun on 92-unit Laurel Oaks project, he said.

“There are literally thousands of people making $30,000 to $40,000 a year that can’t afford $1,200-to- $1,500 a month for an apartment,” he said. “This program could help stabilize whole neighborhoods by filling vacant and foreclosed homes that drag down value while at the same time filling an essential need.”