Housing Resources, Inc. (HRI) was founded in 1991 in Milwaukee to address the homeownership gap for low- and moderate-income families in Wisconsin. The organization has spent over 30 years building experience context in housing counseling, financial empowerment, and homeownership education across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties. As a non-profit, HRI operates without profit motive, focusing entirely on community stabilization and neighborhood improvement through expanded homeownership.
HRI offers comprehensive services for both prospective and current homeowners. For home buyers, they provide free educational workshops, one-on-one pre-purchase counseling with experienced staff context, credit report services, and assistance applying for down payment and closing cost grants (including programs like Downpayment Plus®, Milwaukee Home Down Payment Program, and Chase Homebuyer Grants). For existing homeowners, HRI offers post-purchase counseling, default/foreclosure counseling, reverse mortgage counseling, a tool loan program, minor home repair assistance, and mortgage assistance through county and municipal programs to prevent foreclosure.
HRI distinguishes itself through its deep local integration and listed experience context. They operate the Racine Financial Empowerment Center and partner with established entities like Wintrust and Chase. Their one-on-one counseling covers the entire homebuying journey—from credit assessment and budgeting to loan closing—demonstrating thorough, individualized support rather than generic guidance. They explicitly serve low- and moderate-income families and provide services free or at minimal cost, removing financial barriers to housing education.
The primary limitation is geographic scope: HRI serves only seven Wisconsin counties, making it inaccessible to consumers outside this region. While their website lists extensive services, specific details about eligibility requirements, wait times, and availability are limited. The organization's reliance on grant programs means assistance depends on external funding and may have annual caps or competitive qualification criteria not fully detailed online.
