CDBG - Mortgage Reduction Assistance

This Request for Proposal (RFP #42705-CDBG-MR) is issued by the Dane County Department of Human Services on behalf of the Dane County Urban County Consortium to solicit applications from qualified organizations to operate a mortgage reduction assistance program for low- and moderate-income homebuyers in Wisconsin. The program will provide 0% interest, deferred payment loans to first-time homebuyers to cover down payment and closing costs for the purchase of single-family homes, condominiums, and manufactured homes located within participating consortium municipalities. Eligible borrowers must be owner-occupants meeting HUD income requirements, must complete homebuyer education courses, and must qualify for first mortgages with fixed rates and no negative amortization or balloon payments; eligible properties must not exceed 95% of the median purchase price for Dane County and must meet all applicable state and local code and housing quality standards. Applicants must be public or nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations, units of local government, or Community-Based Development Organizations that operate directly within the consortium without passing through funds to other entities (except where HUD and Dane County approve exceptions). The evaluation criteria consist of five components: Need and Priorities (20 points), Project Approach (35 points), Experience and Qualifications (15 points), Financial Information (20 points), and Past Performance (10 points), with new applicants automatically awarded 10 points in the Past Performance category. The question submission deadline is May 29, 2026, with responses posted by June 5, 2026, and the proposal submission deadline is June 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. via the County's eProcurement Portal; preliminary funding recommendations are expected in September/October 2026, with a public hearing on final recommendations in November 2026, County Board approval in January 2027, and funds available for reimbursement tentatively in April 2027.

Eligible applicants are restricted to organizations that currently operate directly within the Dane County Urban County Consortium and cannot have more than $1,000 in unexpended funds from pre-2025 contracts or more than $250,000 in total unexpended funds as of July 1, 2026. Current 2026 funding recipients are Habitat for Humanity of Dane County, Inc., and Movin' Out, Inc., with prior recipients from 2025 and 2024 also identified; these organizations may continue to receive funding based on performance and available resources. The total maximum funding available for the Mortgage Reduction Assistance project area is approximately $448,000, with individual applicants able to request up to $225,000, and multiple projects are expected to be funded in this category. Administrative costs are capped at 15% of the contract award, and the contract term runs for one year from execution with an option for mutual renewal for four additional one-year periods. Funding is anticipated under the HUD-funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, though Dane County reserves the right to fund projects with Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds instead; if HOME funds are utilized, applicants must provide 25% matching funds from nonfederal resources. All funded grantees must attend a mandatory All Grantee Meeting in January 2027 and comply with environmental review requirements under 24 CFR Part 58 and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) before federal funds can be committed to any project.