When Ceotrid Gilbert moved to Madison, Wis., from Milwaukee nine years ago, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to afford a home again.
That’s because in rapidly growing Madison — home to the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus and a number of burgeoning tech and life science companies — houses are among the most expensive in the state: The median-priced home is around $450,000 in Wisconsin’s capital city compared to $228,000 in Milwaukee, according to Redfin.
So the 52-year-old Gilbert and his wife, Marlita Benvenue, had been renting.
But when they heard — through their 5-year-old daughter’s pre-K school — about a program called “Own It” that could help with the down payment, they were more than a little curious. So, they signed up and took courses on financial literacy and homeownership. Then, thanks to a $19,000 down payment grant from Own It and their own savings, they were able to buy the modest house they were renting.
Gilbert, who works in IT procurement, called the Own It program “a blessing.”
“It’s also pretty comprehensive,” he said. “They start you out with classes that go over financial literacy and other important things that will prepare you for being a homeowner. Then, once you graduate, you’re assigned a mentor who will stay with you for the entirety of the home-buying process.”
It took about a year, but after the Gilberts finished the coursework, they became eligible to apply for a grant and purchased their home in July 2026.
Gilbert said he and his spouse might have been able to come up with the down payment, but it would have taken a long time. “If you’re looking at a $400,000 home in Madison, trying to come up with that 20 percent is a bit daunting.”
Gilbert and his wife, who works in public relations, consider themselves fortunate. Without help from Own It, they’d most likely still be renters, part of a significant group of people who fall through the financing cracks because the traditional mortgage market and lenders often neglect them. “I’ve already recommended this program to acquaintances,” Gilbert said. “Instead of paying rent, we are building equity to pass on and that’s a pretty cool thing.”
For many, a barrier to homeownership is access to capital, said Tara Roche, project director for the Housing Policy Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts. That means that while a community may have older, less expensive starter homes, vacant houses that could be rehabbed and modest infill homes, buyers who could potentially afford monthly payments often run into problems with appraisals or getting loans. In a worst-case scenario, many of those homes remain vacant and deteriorate.
Keisha Wilkinson is the senior policy representative on valuation at the National Association of REALTORS®. She advocates for appraisal policies, home valuation transparency and professional standards while representing over 20,000 appraiser members of NAR.
She said Reconsiderations of Value (ROVs) and appraisal gap subsidies — offered by nonprofits, government agencies and even some banks — can serve as important tools to facilitate home purchases when an appraised value, or market value, is lower than the contract price.
An appraisal gap happens when a property’s appraised value falls below its agreed purchase price or development cost. This can stop affordable housing projects and home sales because mortgage lenders restrict financing to the lower appraised value, forcing nonprofits or low-income buyers to come up with extra cash they often don’t have.
Subsidies bridge the cash shortage directly, while ROVs provide a formal process for challenging an appraisal; if the value is revised, the lender may be able to adjust the loan amount. “When we talk about appraisal gaps from the agent side, the value that the appraisal should be coming up with is the market value. And that can be very different from the sales or contract price, which is what one person chooses to pay another individual or entity,” she said.
“The market value should reflect the most probable price in the market, right? So, the appraiser should be looking at comparable sales, adjusting them for differences in features or amenities, and then reporting the most probable price determined by their analysis.”
Wilkinson said she had a personal experience with an appraisal gap as a consumer when she purchased a house in Florida years ago. “I wanted to buy a home and looked all over the place,” she recalled. “I found several houses that were great and all of them had been built about the same time.”
She said the one she fell in love with had a lot of updates with a wall knocked out so the kitchen was open to the living room. “And it had a new stove, new air conditioning and new this, that and another thing.”
She estimated she would have had to pay at least $50,000 for those improvements, but recent sales of similarly updated homes showed that buyers in her market were not willing to pay the full cost that sellers paid, and this was reflected in the appraisal.
Wilkinson said, “The appraiser’s job is to reflect the most probable price on the market. And very often, sellers do not recoup the full price of the upgrades they make to the property. The appraisal is a valuable tool for the buyer and lender to understand what the property would most likely sell for today, even if it is worth more to the individual buyer for whatever reason.”
Similarly, affordable or rehabilitated homes in low-cost areas rely on past nearby sales, or “comps,” that often fail to reflect true modern building or renovation costs.
The asking price for the home Wilkinson wanted was around $200,000, but the appraisal, using recent sales of similar homes, was $150,000. She was able to use the appraisal to bargain with the owner, who ultimately accepted a price of $175,000.
Wilkinson said there are other times when an appraisal clearly misses something, so a buyer can ask for a Reconsideration of Value. “For instance, a subject property could have solar panels that are owned by the homeowner, but the appraisal incorrectly says they are leased.”
“In that case, the borrower can initiate a reconsideration that could change the property value accordingly.
“The better course of action, though — and this is one of the tips that we always like to preach — is for the agents to supply the appraiser with the important property details before the appraisal is completed. That saves time for everybody and the appraiser has all the information up front. It saves time and establishes a clear line of communication.”
Relatively low-cost homes, even ones in good condition, can be difficult to finance for those without adequate cash reserves, said Roche of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
“Our 2026 research found that looking across the entire market, only about a quarter of homes that sold for under $150,000 were bought with a mortgage, and the rest were purchased with cash or some kind of alternative financing,” Roche said. “But for higher-cost homes of $150,000 or more, about 71 percent were purchased with a mortgage.
“Many people end up patching together financing in some way with family members or others. And maybe they then end up with a smaller, older home that needs repair and is less likely to meet their needs. The price might be lower on the front end, but over time, it could need a lot more in expenses for upkeep and repair.”
The key problem for borrowers, she said, is that it costs lenders around $12,000 to originate a mortgage, regardless of its size, according to industry data. Simply put, those fixed processing fees mean it’s not profitable enough for many lenders to originate a mortgage under $150,000.
That’s where organizations like Own It, founded in 2021 by Sara Alvarado and Tiffany Malone, step in. They created Own It to serve Black and brown communities that have been discriminated against in the past by helping with education programs and down payment grants, Alvarado said.
Other organizations — including credit unions, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and NeighborWorks America affiliates — help finance the homes that the traditional market misses.
In addition, government and quasi-government agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — through their mandated “Duty to Serve” programs — also aid low-income buyers.
These organizations often finance affordable, nontraditional or overlooked properties — such as manufactured housing, small-balance mortgages and fixer-uppers — using specialized loan products that standard lenders often bypass.
CDFIs’ core purposes include supporting affordable housing development and homeownership, financing small businesses and microenterprises and promoting financial literacy.
Gilbert and his family are now living in their own home, building generational wealth that they hope to pass on to future generations.
Since its inception, Alvarado said Own It has raised more than $1.4 million through community support and its Ambassador Program — a fund-producing model that engages real estate and lending professionals, institutions, investors, and home sellers who contribute to the down payment fund systematically, tied to their closings and revenue. Partners include the University of Wisconsin Credit Union (UWCU), among many others. This model gives industries that profit from real estate a meaningful way to support homeownership.
The Gilberts bought their home from Pete Waite, who works for Stark Realty in Madison.
Waite, a former UW-Madison women’s volleyball coach, is an Own It “Ambassador” who — like a number of REALTORS® in the region — donates part of his commissions to the organization.
“I’d rented the house to them since 2018,” he said. “When I reached the point where I was ready to sell, I wanted to give them the chance to buy so they wouldn’t have to pack up and move anywhere. With the Own It program and the financial literacy classes they went through, it was the perfect fit.”
Waite said he became an Ambassador to help clients afford homes. “It’s a challenging market in which to buy these days and there are roadblocks out there for some people,” he said. “It feels really good to put part of my paycheck into this effort and help folks get a head start on owning a home.
“What excites me most about real estate is the opportunity to help people achieve their dreams. Every person I work with gets my full attention and I know they’ll each bring their own story and challenges to the table. And I love finding creative ways to solve these challenges.”
Steph Harrill Kyle, director of financial inclusion and community engagement for UWCU, said helping would-be homeowners navigate financial barriers is part of the credit union’s mission.
“As a cooperative, we understand the best way to approach any challenge is through collaboration,” she said, noting that buying a home can be a complex process. “We partner with organizations in our communities that are focused on housing stability and homeownership readiness. Those partnerships help connect people to counseling, coaching and other resources that can make homeownership goals a reality.”
She said homeownership remains one of the most effective ways for families to build long-term stability and wealth. “Because credit unions are member-owned, we look at success through a longer-term lens.
“At UW Credit Union, helping people achieve financial well-being means creating pathways to opportunities like homeownership that can strengthen financial stability for generations.”
Kyle said buying a home can be overwhelming, especially for first-time buyers and those navigating financial barriers. “UW Credit Union invests in a variety of educational tools to make homeownership more accessible. This includes free, ongoing homebuyer education seminars designed to address questions, introduce financing tools like mortgage calculators and share important watch-outs.”
She said education and coaching are deeply embedded in UWCU’s mortgage loan officers’ process because “we want our members to understand their options and make informed decisions.
“UW Credit Union’s accessible mortgage service offerings are designed to support individuals from all financial standings. Direct support from our mortgage experts provides an important human touchpoint and often connects eligible buyers with down payment assistance programs.
“Like I said, that’s part of our mission.”
