The Heart & Homestead Program w/Josh Schoemann & Deb Sielski

Fuzz Martin 0:00

OhWell would you look at that it's new episode day. Hi there. Thank you for pressing play on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. My name is Fuzz Martin. I'm the host of this short, weekly show that shines a big old spotlight on positive things happening in our community. And that community is Washington County, Wisconsin. Thank you for coming along with me. This week we're talking about a program that affects all of Washington County. It's the brand new heart and homestead program through Washington County and Economic Development Washington County, the EDWC and that will help get would be homebuyers into their homes easier. It's an innovative program that is going to change some people's lives in a good way. And with that, you're our county executive Josh Schoemann and Community Development Director Deb Sielski to talk about the Heart and Homestead Program right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.

Deb, Josh, thank you so much for coming in to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz today to talk about the Heart and Homestead Program. Can we first talk about what the state of the housing and homebuying is here in Washington County?

Josh Schoemann 1:24

The state of housing in Washington County? I've never given that speech. It's it's pretty tough starter homes in particular, we refer to it oftentimes as the missing middle. It's not the high end homes that are a problem. It's not the beginning of rentals that are the problem. There's rentals going up everywhere. It's really that starter home of yesteryear. So when you think about the quarter acre lot and an 11,000 12,000 or 1,100 or 1,200 square feet. That's the kind of thing that's missing today. And, you know, I pretty regularly look at realtor.com For the last couple of years. And I don't think there's been any time in the last two years on one day where there's more than a couple dozen homes total for sale in all of Washington County, below $300,000. Wow. Okay, so it's it's pretty tight.

Fuzz Martin 2:12

Yeah. And so this has been a problem for a few years now. But it seems to be getting tighter. Right?

Josh Schoemann 2:19

Yeah, it really has I, you know, we started this conversation really probably in 2021. And I kind of identified the issue in 2019, before I ran for county executive. And it's like, it's just gotten progressively more difficult. And and I'd say the pressure has just continued to increase, especially on young millennials and Gen Z that are wanting now for the first time to get into the housing market. They seem to be the ones primarily who are pinched out. Sure.

Fuzz Martin 2:48

What is I mean, right now with interest rates and such, what is the typical, first of all the, like, median cost of a home here in Washington County? And then what are the payments on something like that?

Deb Sielski 2:59

Oh, yeah, the median cost right now is about $356,000. Okay, so you're looking at about, you know, maybe about $2,000 a month, but unfortunately, a lot of the younger generation are looking at rentals that are about that much per month. So it's very difficult for them to be able to save up for a downpayment.

Fuzz Martin 3:18

Yeah, to have that kind of family nest egg that you get when you have a home and start making payments toward it and have something that you can move on from hopefully in the future. It's really important. So. So to that end, there are two programs going on in the county. There's a Next Generation Housing program, which has been around for a little bit and people have heard about and then the new program here called the Heart and Homestead Program. Can you guys tell us what that's about?

Josh Schoemann 3:43

Sure. So the Next Generation Housing program is really working with municipalities and trying to build those homes of yesteryear, kind of the when people think of post World War Two, you know that saltbox house on a little lot. That's that's what we're trying to recreate or at least get something close to it modern day version, and then heart and homestead.

Deb Sielski 4:03

Yeah, the Heart and Homestead Program allows individuals to get that downpayment. So as I said, many individuals are really having a hard time accumulating the wealth for a downpayment. So what this program does is it provides up to 10% or $20,000, for a down payment for a home.

Fuzz Martin 4:21

Okay, so very good. So this, this program, the homestead program, gives you that incentive to buy up to $20,000 or up to 10% of the home, if you can find a home under $200,000 in Washington County, but they don't just receive it right? There's there's something to it. How does that work?

Deb Sielski 4:38

Yeah, absolutely. So it's actually an earned program. So at your close of the home, you'll receive a check for, you know, up to $20,000. And then you have five years to be able to earn those funds, either through financial giving or through volunteering with one of our partnering agencies. So you get $25 for every hour that you're volunteer or for every dollar that you donate, you earn 70 cents. So you have five years to be able to earn that $20,000. Now, let's say after the course of five years that you still have some an earned balance, that is just paid back, and it's tied through a mortgage as your secondary mortgage. And that's just paid back when you sell the house.

Fuzz Martin 5:20

This program then, again, is designed to help people get into these homes. Is it also with that? And if I'm wrong, please tell me, but does that help with the PMI insurance to on home? Like if you get to that 20% that you need to get?

Deb Sielski 5:34

Yeah, absolutely. I think that the $20,000 will definitely help those individuals that don't have that 20% down. And I know that some banks are allowing mortgages at 5%. And this will certainly help get to that point. But typically, when you're looking for a home, you've probably been thinking about this for a few years. So you have some saved, but maybe not up to that 20%. And this will definitely help you get there.

Fuzz Martin 5:58

All right, very good. I know, you know, when I first bought home, and maybe both of you experiences as well, where he didn't necessarily have 20%. So paying that extra PMI insurance, I think it was like $150 bucks a month to pay for that. Until you got to that 20% was a big another big costs have to bear that wasn't going into the principal of the of the loan. So what kind of homes and price ranges qualified for those who are looking at this? Do they have to be under a certain amount?

Deb Sielski 6:28

Yeah, they do. They need to be under $420,000. It needs to be a home in Washington County, and the home needs to be owner occupied. So what that means is that the individuals that are getting the the $20,000 incentive, they need to actually have that as a primary residence.

Fuzz Martin 6:44

And is this open to people that only currently live in Washington County or to people from outside the county as well?

Deb Sielski 6:51

It is open to anyone who is interested in living and working in Washington County.

Fuzz Martin 6:55

All right, very good. So we talked a little bit about the community service that volunteering with nonprofits and charitable giving, what are some of the nonprofits that you're working with? Or how to who is on that list that people can work with?

Josh Schoemann 7:11

So if they're in Washington County, and they can hear us talking right now? We're interested in working together? Okay. Yeah, we've had some really early, early participants that are interested that have been working closely with us, but you know, we really want this to be something that's for all of the community to participate in, and to give people an opportunity to give back and, and that word opportunity, I think is is the lead and maybe we buried it a little bit. This is all about giving individuals the opportunity to own and earn the American dream right and earn it back so if you think about post World War Two America, the the vets come back from from World War Two, and they get these VA loans and all these, these small homes Levittown, USA, if you remember all that stuff, this is kind of that in the inverse, there's no, there's no World War Two anymore. They're not they can't earn it first and get it second. So this is kind of the inverse, you get the downpayment incentive first, and then you earn it back through giving back to participants. And we want that to be a wide ranging group of people. I'd also point to the name itself, the Heart and Homestead Program was really creative name, I can't remember exactly who came up with was just fantastic. But what homestead I thought was really kind of neat, because it draws back to the Homestead Act of late 1816 1862. And what's cool about the Homestead Act is that was a that was an initiative by President Lincoln. Right beat right at the beginning of the Civil War, and that lasted until the 1970s. And, of course, remember at that time as the North and the South split right around 1862. And President Lincoln creates this program and here's you just got here. This is really interesting. Here's some of the requirements of the program. requirements include five years of continuous residence on the land, sounds similar, building a home on it on some water, farming the land and making improvements can't fireman in most of our municipalities, but Okay, okay. homesteaders, who had to be head of household or 21 years of age had to certify they are never born bear arms against the United States. For reasons we'll 1862. They need neighbors to attest that they had fulfilled the requirements. And Union soldiers could shave off time served in the Civil War from their five year residency requirement. Oh, wow. Okay, so a very, very similar concept to you know, 1860s What is that almost 167 years ago, that we're trying to apply today in a way that makes sense in modern times?

Fuzz Martin 9:37

So with the giving back in that way, how does the county track that what's the is it through the nonprofit themselves? How does that work?

Deb Sielski 9:45

Yeah, and I just wanted to point out to that everyone that's living in the household is able to donate their time as well. So let's say for instance, that you know, there is a couple and their young child that is doing some donation and work through a event that are required for our high school, all three of those individuals would be eligible for earning that time that $25 per hour. So what happens is that once they have earned that time, then they would go into the county portal. Earnings portal, it's going to be it's very simple to use, you will have a separate account, you get in there, there'll be areas that there'll be able to click on for each one of the entities that they've donated for they enter the name, then enter, enter their hours, and then click send and that an email actually goes to the nonprofit agency that is able to review those hours, and then approve them. And then an email gets kicked back to the county. And we're able to track exactly how many hours and financial donations that each one of the recipients have made. And then twice a year, we'll be sending out reports to each one of the recipients. And so they can see exactly where they are in their earnings over the course of that five year period.

Fuzz Martin: 11:02

You know, obviously, the the nonprofit benefits from having the vet volunteer work or those donations may but what are some other benefits beyond that volunteerism and charitable giving that come into our community with this program?

Josh Schoemann: 11:15

Yeah, thanks for asking that. Because it's important point, and I think sometimes get lost, it gets lost in in the mix of how complicated a program like this can be. It's a government program. But I think what's most compelling about the program is it gives people an opportunity not just to live here, but to invest in the community and build roots in the community, right? Anytime you're participating. And I know fuzz, you have, in many ways, participated in local nonprofits or chamber boards or village boards or 100 things. You're you're meeting people, you're establishing relationships, you know, you're you're starting to really build what I refer to as social capital. Right. And, and I think that's what's the coolest part about places like Washington County and Wisconsin is that when when hard times hit, you know, you, you cash in on that social capital, people help one another, just because they know one another and care about each other. And I, you know, I think it's really cool that this program will allow the opportunity for people to give to nonprofits, but also build roots in this community where we can give back to them and it's neighbor helping neighbor, when you look at, you know, somebody gets this program in your, in your neighborhood who lives next door to you. And it's not just like, Oh, they got a freebie. No, they're giving back to you in some way, shape or form. And helping holistically our community and mean are to beat that. Yeah.

Fuzz Martin: 12:39

Yeah. And we haven't struggled nonprofits and strong community programs like this building strong sense of community and a sense of kind of that pride of ownership in your own area. And yeah, that's

Josh Schoemann: 12:51

exactly I refer to it as the cycle of prosperity and that you know, prosperous families in prosperous business, equal prosperous community, and they all feed off of one another. There's no one that's successful without the other and, and this really just helps to give that some rocket fuel. Excellent.

Fuzz Martin: 13:09

When can people start taking advantage of this program? Is this available now?

Speaker 1 13:13

It's not quite yet. We will be launching the program at noon on April 4, so you'll be able to go to the county website, and there will be at noon on April 4, there will be at Apply Now button. And that will actually link you to the economic development Washington County application portal where they'll be able to apply as $100 fee for the application,

Fuzz Martin: 13:35

okay, and what other resources or support will be available to those homebuyers who are in the process of trying to participate in the current homestead program,

Speaker 1 13:46

we are partnering with economic development, Washington County, and they're our main resource for individuals that are interested in participating in this program, we are actually going to be doing some online how to videos for individuals, but WC is going to be a great resource to help those individuals through the application process.

Fuzz Martin: 14:07

All right, very good. Kind of starting to wrap this up. How do you plan to promote and raise awareness for the partner homestead program within Washington County and those who want to move to the county,

Deb Sielski: 14:16

We're going to be starting a marketing campaign starting in a couple of weeks, that will just talk about what the program Heart and Homestead program is. And then there'll be opportunities for more information on the county website.

Josh Schoemann: 14:30

So I'm more worried about being victims of our own success. Okay. Every time we talk about the program, people get super interested. Yeah, you know, everybody's got a niece or nephew or a grandson or daughter. That's that's kind of struggling right now. And and they're like, What do I get more information? How do I do this? So, you know, we're starting this marketing campaign, but I don't think it's going to take long we have we have enough money for I think just under 100 loans, and we're a little nervous that we're going to be out before the Fourth of July.

Deb Sielski: 15:02

Maybe before that,

Fuzz Martin: 15:04

So get in early on April 4, it makes sure you start signing up, right? That's exactly kind of like going to Disney. Wake up and you said it's at noon on April 4. Right. Before I remember when we were when we were going on a Disney trip, like my wife had to get up at 4:45 to book our restaurants for three months from them.

Josh Schoemann: 15:22

Yeah, exactly. I think we have a countdown clock and stuff. Yeah, we will have a countdown clock. All right.

Deb Sielski: 15:27

Got it out there yet.

Fuzz Martin: 15:30

That attests to the fact that this is a very innovative program that's really going to help people and people are gonna want to take advantage of that, because they need help right now. Right?

Josh Schoemann: 15:37

Right. And no, that's exactly I mean, there's, there are different types of programs across the country, the state of Florida has what they call Hometown Heroes program. It's basically if you work in a number of public service type jobs, you automatically qualify for something similar to this. But this is the first of its kind since you know, 1862, where you're really earning that back, or you have the opportunity to earn it back. And then, you know, build roots in a community and and have that community invest in you.

Fuzz Martin: 16:06

Well, I appreciate you both coming in here today, kind of last minute notice I sent an email and we got it figured out. So I really appreciate the the short notice and really look forward to seeing how this affects our Washington County communities and how people take advantage of this. And hopefully we can get more people in homes that are looking to move here and raise families or right size their home for for them. So thank you both. Thank you.

Josh Schoemann: 16:31

Well, thanks for having us. And, you know, my hope over time is that this becomes a program that yes, county government is one that can help facilitate and make it work. But we simply create the environment and we want businesses to join in and contribute and, and dollars to help us proliferate this and hopefully more and more volunteer nonprofit organizations that are interested in giving people a chance to earn it back.

Fuzz Martin: 16:56

Thank you again, and keep your eyes on Washington County social media, I assume. And then also the website right to find more information you

Josh Schoemann: 17:02

At WashCoWisco.

Fuzz Martin: 17:05

All right, very good. Thank you both.

Deb Sielski: 17:06

Thank you.

Fuzz Martin: 17:11

Thank you again to Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Community Development Director Deb Sielski for joining me on this week's episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Again, you'll be able to find more information about the Heart and Homestead downpayment incentive program on the county's website very soon. If you ever have an idea for an episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz, please reach out. You can email me fifteenwithfuzz@gmail.com Just be sure to spell out the word 15. Fifteenwithfuzz@gmail.com or use the form fuzz.cc/guest. That's fuzz.cc slash guest will give you a nice little form you can fill out and hit send and it comes right to me. New episodes drop on Tuesdays. You can hear them all on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and now on YouTube. And I'll talk to you again real soon. Right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.