$92M in Mortgage Relief Available to Homeowners in Wisconsin

You might be eligible for financial assistance from the government through a mortgage-relief program in Wisconsin.

By , Attorney · University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Update: The deadline to apply to the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners program is 11:59 p.m. on March 8, 2024.

In early 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law. This law created a Homeowner Assistance Fund, a federal program, to give around $10 billion to the states to help households that are behind on their mortgages and other housing expenses due to COVID-19.

Homeowners in Wisconsin who've experienced a financial hardship can apply for some of the approximately $92 million allocated to the state—up to $40,000 per household—from the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners program. This program uses federal money to help homeowners make mortgage payments and pay other home-related costs.

What Housing Costs Does the Program Cover?

Again, the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners program offers up to $40,000 per household. This money can be used to cover overdue housing bills, like mortgage payments, such as reinstatement costs, insurance, property taxes, utilities and home energy costs, homeowners' association and condominium fees, lot fees, and perhaps more.

Eligibility Requirements for the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners Program

To qualify for relief from this program, you must have suffered a financial hardship (a material reduction in income or an increase in living expenses) after January 21, 2020, due to a qualified financial hardship, such as being affected by COVID-19. Other eligible hardships include:

  • you've lost your job, experienced a loss of wages, or have fewer paid hours at work
  • if you're self-employed, your business isn't providing income or your income has been reduced
  • you're an independent contractor or gig worker who hasn't been able to earn fees or your fees have been reduced
  • you've become sick or have been advised by a governmental or medical professional to self-quarantine
  • you had to leave a job or reduce your work hours to take care of a person who is sick
  • you had to leave your job or reduce your work hours to care for dependents whose ordinary situations, like school or daycare, have been disrupted.
  • you have increased household costs, including fuel and utilities costs, or
  • you've had unexpected childcare or elderly care expenses.

Your hardship must have created or increased your risk of mortgage delinquency, mortgage default, foreclosure, loss of utilities or home energy services, or displacement from your home.​ You don't have to have caught COVID-19 to qualify.

In addition, you have to meet some other guidelines:

  • The property must be located in Wisconsin.
  • The home must be a single-family home, duplex, condo, or factory-built (manufactured) home.
  • Your household income must be at or below 100% of the county's area median income.
  • You must own and occupy the property as your primary residence. Second homes, investment properties, and vacation properties don't qualify.

You might also have to meet other eligibility requirements.

How the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners Program Works

Assistance below $10,000 is structured as a grant that you don't have to repay. Amounts over $10,000 are structured as a one-year, non-interest bearing, non-amortizing forgivable loan. You have to repay the loan if you sell, refinance, or transfer ownership of the home within one year. But if no resale, transfer, or refinance occurs within one year and you remain in the home, the loan is fully forgiven.

Payments go directly to the loan servicer or other approved entity, not to homeowners.

How to Apply for Assistance From the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners Program

To apply for help from this program, go to the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners website and click on "Apply Today." You'll have to register and use Neighborly software (an online program) to apply for assistance. You'll also probably need to provide some documentation with your application, like proof of your income and tax returns.

If you think you might qualify, it's best to apply as soon as possible.

Avoid Homeowner Assistance Fund Scams

If you get an unsolicited offer by phone, in the U.S. mail, through email, or by text message offering mortgage relief or foreclosure rescue services, be wary. Scammers sometimes target homeowners in financial distress.

The Wisconsin Help for Homeowners program is free. If anyone asks you to pay a fee to get housing counseling or to receive foreclosure prevention services from this program, it's a scam.

Learn More About the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners Program

If you have questions or need help with your application, call 855-246-6394 or speak to your regional program contact and read the program's FAQs.

You may also get help from a HUD-approved housing counselor who will assist you at no cost. To find a counselor near you, go to HUD's website or call 800-569-4287.

Facing a Foreclosure in Wisconsin?

Even if a foreclosure has started, you might still have time to get assistance from the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners program. Also, you might have time to work out an alternative to foreclosure with your loan servicer.

If you have questions about the foreclosure process in Wisconsin or want to learn about potential defenses to a foreclosure, consider talking to a foreclosure lawyer.