Wisconsin first-time homebuyer grants and down payment assistance (2026)

Easy Close Advantage: WHEDA’s open loan, repaid over 10 years

Easy Close Advantage DPA is not a grant and is not forgiven. It is a fully amortizing second mortgage with a 10-year term and the same interest rate as your WHEDA first mortgage ⁠². The amount is at least $1,000 and at most 6% of the purchase price or the appraised value, whichever is lower ⁠². It can pay the down payment and closing costs on either first mortgage. With a conventional loan it can also pay a mortgage insurance premium, and with FHA the upfront mortgage insurance premium ⁠².

For illustration, 6% of a $250,000 home is $15,000. At a 6.5% rate over 120 months, that adds about $170 to your monthly payment. A payment 15 days late costs 5% of the principal and interest due, and the loan cannot be assumed by a later buyer ⁠².

Because of this loan, WHEDA can finance close to the whole purchase. A one-unit WHEDA Advantage Conventional purchase needs none of your own money. A 2-4 unit purchase needs 3% of the price from you plus six months of reserves ⁠¹. WHEDA Advantage FHA keeps FHA’s 3.5% minimum investment, but either WHEDA DPA loan can cover it ⁠¹.

Capital Access paused on Sept. 30, 2026

WHEDA Capital Access DPA (its matrix calls it Capital Access Advantage) was the gentler loan. It paid a flat $7,500 at 0% interest with no monthly payments. The full amount comes due when the first mortgage is paid off or refinanced, although WHEDA may agree to stay in second place if you refinance into another WHEDA loan ⁠³. It cannot be combined with Easy Close ⁠³.

After a period without funding, WHEDA reopened it on a limited basis on Jan. 15, 2026 ⁠¹. By Sept. 9, 2026, six loans were left. WHEDA said that once those were reserved, the program would pause until more funds became available in 2027 ⁠⁵. On Sept. 30, 2026, WHEDA announced that all funds were reserved and stopped accepting new Capital Access registrations ⁠⁴. If it reopens, it uses its own, lower income caps of 80% of area median income. For a household of four, the cap runs from $76,800 in most rural counties to $106,800 in Dane County and $105,200 in Pierce and St. Croix ⁠⁷. Its purchase price cap is $541,287 for a one-unit home, or $552,000 in Pierce and St. Croix counties ⁠⁷.

WHEDA income and price caps by county (June 13, 2026)

WHEDA counts the income of every household member 18 or older who will live in the home, not just the borrowers ⁠⁸. Its limit chart has two sets of columns that matter to buyers. The standard WHEDA Advantage limit applies to every WHEDA loan, including Easy Close. A lower first-time home buyer (FTHB) limit applies if you take WHEDA’s reduced-rate FTHB or VALOR pricing on the conventional loan ⁠⁶.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: ⁠⁶⁠⁷. In federally designated target areas, the FTHB limits are higher and you need not be a first-time buyer. Examples include parts of Milwaukee ($130,080 / $151,760) and Madison ($162,360 / $189,420), and all of 15 rural counties such as Ashland, Barron and Sawyer ($126,960 / $148,120) ⁠⁶.

WHEDA publishes a purchase price cap only for FTHB, VALOR and target-area pricing. The cap is $566,364 for a one-unit home and $725,146 for 2-4 units. In target areas it is $692,222 and $886,290 ⁠⁶. Otherwise the ceiling is the loan limit. For FHA that is $541,287 for one unit, or $552,000 in Pierce and St. Croix. For conventional loans it is $832,750 ⁠⁶. In WHEDA’s limits PDF, city rows marked with an asterisk are target areas ⁠⁶. WHEDA also offers lower rates to eligible buyers in 15 rural counties, including Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Crawford, Iron and Trempealeau ⁠¹.

Credit score, DTI and education rules on WHEDA loans

Credit. WHEDA Advantage Conventional requires an average median credit score of 620 when Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter approves the loan. The debt-to-income limit is then whatever DU allows ⁠⁸. If WHEDA underwrites the loan manually, the DTI cap is 36%, or 45% with higher scores and more reserves. For a one-unit home financed above 75% of its value, that means 680 or 720 ⁠⁸. WHEDA Advantage FHA requires a 640 score and caps DTI at 45%, whether the loan is approved by automated or manual underwriting ⁠⁹.

Education. First-time buyers on any WHEDA conventional or FHA loan must finish pre-purchase homebuyer education before closing. A first-time buyer is someone who has had no ownership interest in a principal residence in the last three years. One borrower who signs the note is enough. The rule is waived if any borrower is not a first-time buyer. Everyone must take it if all borrowers rely only on nontraditional credit. WHEDA accepts Fannie Mae’s Framework or HomeView courses, a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, or a provider that follows the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education. The certificate is good for 12 months ⁠¹⁰.

Recapture tax. If you use FTHB, VALOR or target-area pricing, you may owe federal recapture tax when you sell. WHEDA signs a guaranty to reimburse it ⁠⁸.

WHEDA Way Home. This is a pilot first mortgage offered only through approved pilot lenders and underwritten manually by WHEDA. It is built for buyers with no credit score or past credit problems, who document three positive credit references with a 12-month history instead. It requires no mortgage insurance, and caps DTI at 45%, or up to 50% with compensating factors. It comes with a WHEDA closing cost credit of up to $2,000 and can be paired with WHEDA DPA ⁠¹².

No Wisconsin mortgage credit certificate since Nov. 1, 2025

WHEDA’s mortgage credit certificate (MCC) gave a federal tax credit on part of each year’s mortgage interest. WHEDA stopped accepting new MCC registrations on Nov. 1, 2025, because it had too little private activity bond volume cap to convert into certificates ⁠¹¹. None of WHEDA’s 2026 Lender Updates announced a relaunch, so ignore older pages that still advertise a Wisconsin MCC.

City money in Madison and Milwaukee, and HOME funds elsewhere

Madison, Home-Buy the American Dream (HBAD). This program lends $1,000 to $35,000 for homes inside Madison city limits. Eligible homes are single-family houses, condos and one half of a duplex, and there is no purchase price limit ⁠¹³. You must be a first-time buyer with no ownership in three years, with exceptions such as a single parent with a minor child or a displaced homemaker. Income must be at or below 80% of the Dane County median: $74,800 for one person, $106,800 for four, $141,000 for eight ⁠¹³. Other rules ⁠¹³:

• You put in at least 1% of the price.
• The first mortgage must be 30 years and escrow taxes and insurance.
• Ratios are capped at 38% housing and 55% total, with a 25% housing-ratio floor.
• After closing you cannot hold more than 12 months of payments in liquid assets.

The loan is a 0% deferred mortgage that shares appreciation. You repay the larger of the original amount or the same percentage of the sale price, when you sell, move out, transfer title or cash-out refinance. The city’s own example is a $35,000 loan on a $300,000 home: that is 11.6%, so a later $375,000 sale repays $43,500 ⁠¹³. Every borrower needs HUD-approved homebuyer education plus a counseling session, completed within 18 months of closing ⁠¹³.

Milwaukee, Milwaukee Home Down Payment Assistance Program. This program gives forgivable grants of up to $5,000 anywhere in the city. In the city’s Community Development Block Grant area the grant is up to $7,000 ⁠¹⁴. Buyers must already live in Milwaukee and must not have owned a home in three years. They must complete 8 hours of HUD-approved counseling, put in $1,000 of their own money, get a home inspection and live in the home five years. The income caps posted when we last read the page (February 2026) were $62,000 for one person and $88,550 for four ⁠¹⁴. The city’s site blocks automated reading, so confirm current limits with a counseling agency.

Other counties. The state Department of Administration’s HOME Homebuyer and Rehabilitation Program (HHR) awards federal HOME funds every two years to local governments and nonprofits. They provide down payment and closing cost help to households at or below 80% of county median income. Each provider sets its own amounts and terms, and you apply to the local provider, not the state ⁠¹⁵.

Getting a WHEDA loan with down payment help, step by step

1. Check your county’s limits

   Open WHEDA’s June 13, 2026 limits chart. Count everyone 18 or older who will live in the home, and compare that income with the WHEDA Advantage column for your county ⁠⁶⁠⁸.

2. Pick a lender from WHEDA’s Master Lender List

   Only approved WHEDA lenders can register WHEDA loans and reserve DPA. Ask whether they offer Easy Close with conventional or FHA, and whether they are a WHEDA Way Home pilot lender ⁠¹⁠¹².

3. Finish homebuyer education early

   First-time buyers need a certificate dated within 12 months. Madison’s HBAD needs education plus counseling within 18 months ⁠¹⁰⁠¹³.

4. Gather documents

   Expect 30 days of pay stubs, W-2s and 1099s for every adult in the household. Self-employed buyers need two years of complete tax returns. Adults with no income sign WHEDA’s zero-income form ⁠⁸.

5. Layer local help if you qualify

   In Madison, your first-mortgage lender submits the HBAD package. The city allows 20 business days for review ⁠¹³. In Milwaukee, start with ACTS Housing, Housing Resources Inc. or United Community Center ⁠¹⁴. Elsewhere, find your HHR provider on the state’s county map ⁠¹⁵.

6. Register and close

   Your lender registers the WHEDA first mortgage and the Easy Close loan with WHEDA. WHEDA funds both mortgages at the same time, and the Easy Close loan is serviced by WHEDA ⁠².

If Madison denies an HBAD loan, you can appeal to the city’s CDBG Committee at its next regular meeting, and its decision is final ⁠¹³. If a WHEDA lender turns you down, you can apply with another approved lender, or ask about WHEDA Way Home ⁠¹². Rules in other states are on the first-time homebuyer grants page, and other Wisconsin guides are on the Wisconsin page.