Resources
Guides on the things that usually stand between renting and owning. Written plainly, for Milwaukee.
Start here
The ones people come back to most.
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Getting past what is holding you back
The things that most often stand between paying rent and getting a mortgage, and what to actually do about each one. This is where most people should start.
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How to Settle Your Old Eviction Judgments
Step by step through CCAP, finding your old landlord, form GF-129, and filing at the courthouse. The single most read thing we have ever published, and the one our staff sends most often.
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9 Secrets We Energies Doesn't Want You to Know
Budget billing, the direct payment plan, how estimates work, and how to keep a winter bill from becoming a barrier to housing.
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5 More We Energies Tips You Should Know
Energy assistance, repayment plans, and what to do when the bill is already past due.
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How to Protect Your Security Deposit When You Are Moving
What Wisconsin law actually requires of your landlord, and what to document before you hand back the keys.
Understanding rent to own
What rent to own is, how to tell a good program from a bad one, and whether it fits your situation.
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What Is Rent To Own?
The plain explanation of how a lease with an option to purchase works.
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Rent to Own: Don't Think You're Qualified? Read This
For people who have already decided the answer is no.
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Paying High Rent, But Not Mortgage-Qualified? 3 Pathways to Homeownership
Three routes from renting to owning, and who each one suits.
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Mortgage Denied? Luckily in Milwaukee You Have a Great Rent to Own Alternative
What to do the week after a lender says no.
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How to Do Milwaukee Rent-to-Own Right
What separates a real program from one designed to take your money.
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How to Compare Rent to Own Homes in Milwaukee, Part One
Questions to ask any program before you sign.
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How to Compare Rent to Own Homes in Milwaukee, Part Two
The second half of the comparison, with the money laid out.
Money, debt, and credit
What lenders look at, how to bring debts under control, and how much cash you actually need.
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Repair Your Credit Score Through a Credit Builder Program
Four Milwaukee-area credit builder loans, with terms, for people who need a payment history and do not have one.
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How Much Upfront Cash Do You Need to Buy a Home?
Down payments and closing costs across loan types, compared with rent to own.
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5 Tips on How to Save for Your Down Payment
Where the money comes from when there is not much left at the end of the month.
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9 Myths to Building Credit for a Home Mortgage
Nine things people believe about credit that keep them from applying. The cleanest written piece in the library.
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3 Ways to Keep More of Your Tax Refund for Yourself
What to do with a refund when it is the largest check you will see all year.
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Credit Score Bootcamp, Part One: Overcoming Credit Obstacles
Series introduction. Pull your reports and start a notebook.
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Credit Score Bootcamp, Part Two: What to Know to Fix Your Credit Score
The five factors and what each one is worth.
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Credit Score Bootcamp, Part Three: Mastering Your Payment History
Which bills report, which do not, and what a late payment actually costs you.
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Credit Score Bootcamp, Part Four: How Credit Card Debt Affects Your Score
Utilization, with worked dollar examples.
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Credit Score Bootcamp, Part Five: Why Not to Close That Old Card
Length of history, and the case for leaving a paid-off card open.
Buying a home in Milwaukee
The process end to end, and the mistakes that cost first-time buyers the most.
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Preparing for First-Time Homeownership in Milwaukee: 5 Things to Consider
What changes the day you stop renting and start owning.
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How to Buy a House in Milwaukee
The whole process, start to finish, for someone who has never done it.
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Scared of Duplex Ownership? 3 Tips You Should Know
Owning a duplex means becoming a landlord. What that actually involves, and why it can make the numbers work.
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Avoid Home Buyer Mistakes, Part One
The expensive mistakes, and how to see them coming.
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Avoid Home Buyer Mistakes, Part Two
The second half.
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Why Buy a Home in Milwaukee?
The case for owning here.
Stories from our neighbors
Families who started as renters in this program and finished as owners.
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The Neighborhood and the Block
Why Strong Blocks works block by block instead of scattering homes across the city.
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Jevita's Journey
From renting to owning, in her words.
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Michael's Journey
From renting to owning, in his words.
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Darryl's Story
From renting to owning, in his words.
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Dana's Journey
From renting to owning, in her words.
Resident updates
Announcements we sent to residents at the time. Kept for the record. Read the date before you read the update.
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Resident Update, March 2020
Sent to residents in March 2020.
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Resident Update, November 2017
Sent to residents in November 2017.
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Resident Update, September 2017
Sent to residents in September 2017.
Not sure where to start?
If you are trying to work out whether this program fits you, start with what we actually look at.