County Offering Mortgage Assistance

Milwaukee County will offer mortgage assistance to homeowners struggling to make payments because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program is part of the county’s effort to maintain housing during the pandemic. In total, $15 million has been budgeted for programs that help keep a roof over people’s heads. All the funding comes from the county’s allocations from the federal CARES Act.

The mortgage assistance program is being supported with a $3 million allocation. And, recently, the county struck a deal with the non-profit Housing Resources, Inc. to manage the program.

Housing Resources, Inc. has been providing counseling and education to low- and moderate-income, first-time homebuyers for nearly 30 years. It will administer mortgage assistance to people in the county that are financially in trouble because of the pandemic.

To be eligible for mortgage assistance, the building must be owner occupied, with no more than four separate units. You need to be at least 30 days delinquent on your mortgage payment when you apply, and your household cannot make more than 80 percent of the area median-income.

If this sounds like you, apply for mortgage assistance here.

Crowley’s administration has made housing assistance a priority of its response to the pandemic. Housing related programs received the largest single allocation out of the $77 million CARES Act Funds the county received.

Not only did the county put $10 million into rental-assistance, but its Housing Division partnered with the circuit courts to work with tenants and landlords, connecting them with resources and preventing evictions in “real-time” as Mary E. Triggiano, Chief Judge of the state’s First Judicial District, said.

In a statement, Crowley said, “Homeownership is a key social determinant of health. For the health of our residents and the health of our community, the Mortgage Assistance Program is a critical initiative.”

James Mathy, housing administrator for the county, said the county hopes to help hundreds of families with the mortgage program. Specifically, the program is intended to help lower-wage workers who have been hit “exceptionally hard” during the pandemic.