We have managed down payment assistance programs that have provided over $25 million to help more than 6,000 low and moderate-income Wisconsin households buy homes. At least half of those homebuyers have received pre-purchase counseling.
Using funding from the Housing Partnership Network, we have provided financial support for counseling to another 5,000 Wisconsin homebuyers and over 400 renters.
Our work on expanding home ownership opportunities is part of our mission to expand the housing choices available to lower-income housing consumers and revitalize neighborhoods. We always look for ways to work on home ownership within the framework of public-private-nonprofit partnerships.
City of Middleton Down Payment Assistance
Summary: Under a consulting contract with the City of Middleton, the Partnership helped design and now manages a down payment assistance program that was created to facilitate home ownership by city residents with incomes between 40% and 80% of the county median. The Partnership’s role in the program includes providing program information to prospective borrowers, verifying borrower incomes, preparing documents and reporting. Click here to view or download the program brochure in PDF.
Staff contacts: Kathy Kamp
Wisconsin Partnership’s role: Financing Program Manager
Status of work: Closed
In 2004 the City of Middleton’s Affordable Housing Task Force set an action agenda focused on housing options for all kinds of community workers. One element of the agenda was a down payment assistance program with three primary goals:
- To create incentives for developers to meet the City’s workforce housing guidelines
- To encourage reinvestment in and redevelopment of Middleton’s existing housing supply
- To establish a replenishing fund to leverage the City’s original investment in the fund
Under a consulting contract with the City of Middleton, the Partnership helped design and now manages the program, which was created to facilitate home ownership by city residents with incomes between 40% and 80% of the county median. Funds may be used to purchase a single-family home or condominium located within the City of Middleton and can be applied to a down payment, closing costs or certain other costs that must be paid in advance of purchase. Assistance from the fund ranges from 5% to 10% of the purchase price and is repaid without penalty after 15 years if the original borrowers maintain the home as their primary residence. Borrowers who sell or refinance for gain, or who no longer maintain the property as their primary residence, must repay the amount of the down payment assistance plus a percentage of property appreciation. The required repayment will never be more than two times the amount of the original assistance.
The Partnership’s role in the program includes providing program information to prospective borrowers, verifying borrower incomes, preparing documents and reporting. During the first two years of operations, four loans totaling $37,880 were made on properties with a total value of $511,200.
Downpayment Plus®/Downpayment Plus Advantage®
Summary: The Downpayment Plus® (DPP) and Downpayment Plus Advantage® (DPP Advantage) programs are down payment assistance programs funded by the Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC) and managed in Wisconsin by the Partnership. These programs offer assistance to income-qualified buyers and are accessed either through Members of the FHLBC (for DPP) or through nonprofit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity (for DPP Advantage). Lender Members of the FHLBC can follow this link to theDownpayment Plus® screens. Home buyers wishing to access DPP or DPP Advantage funds can go to the Downpayment Plus® home buyer screens.
Wisconsin Partnership’s role: Financing program manager
Staff contacts: Lisa Kratz
Status of work: Ongoing
The Downpayment Plus® program (DPP) is a home purchase assistance program funded by the Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC). Through the program, income-qualified home buyers can received grants of up to $5,000 toward a down payment, closing costs, reserves, home ownership counseling or other expenses related to home purchase. All Wisconsin lending institutions that are Members of the FHLBC are eligible to enroll in the program and make it available in the communities they serve. The online application process developed by the Partnership has proved useful to loan officers throughout the state. Prospective buyers interested in applying for DPP funds are advised to contact a local lending institution.
The Downpayment Plus Advantage® program (DPP Advantage) is also a home purchase assistance program funded by the Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBC). However, DPP Advantage funds are available only to income-qualified buyers who purchase their homes through nonprofit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.
Both DPP and DPP Advantage funds become permanent grants after five years. Buyers who sell their homes before five years have passed must repay part of the grant. Basic information for home buyers can be found in the online Downpayment Plus® home buyer screens, which are part of the Partnership’s website.
The Partnership was selected to administer DPP in 2001, with DPP Advantage added in 2004. The contract has been renewed annually, with the 2007 allocation estimated at $2.4 million.
Program lending statistics demonstrate that the program is effective in reaching households that are underserved in the real estate market. Historically more than 25% of the loans have gone to racial or ethnic minorities. Borrowers’ average annual household income has been just over $30,000.
“Downpayment Plus,” “DPP,” “Downpayment Plus Advantage” and “DPP Advantage” are registered trademarks of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.
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