What's New at Movin' Out, Inc

Rapper Jay Bruner has worked with Movin' Out to help low income people with disabilities achieve stable and affordable home ownership. Plus, we buy condos in his developments and reserve them for Movin' Out renters and it’s worked out just fine. If you would pass this on to any one you know, any groups you contact, any place where someone likes to click on computer links, consider it your part in doing fundraising for the day and know that we would SO MUCH appreciate it. It only takes a second (and another 1:09 minutes if you watch the whole thing - which isn't necessary!). Thank you!

Please Join Us on Madison’s East Side, Tuesday, July 27th at Warner Park. Tickets only $15 and include tailgate party of hot dogs, beer/soda and the Mallards game!
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Home ownership is not easy. It requires patience, planning and sacrifice over long periods of time, but in the end, provides access to one of the best and most time proven asset building strategies for all Americans, including those with disabilities. Read more about the value of home ownership for very low income households

Three teams of volunteers from the Blackhawk Church Love Madison project painted balconies, spruced up yards and planted flowers for Movin' Out tenants.

Members of Firefighters Local 311 cleaned up trees, yards and exteriors at four Movin' Out properties.

Thank you, volunteers! Interested in mobilizing your volunteer group? Contact Mary Myers, mm@movin-out.org.

Mortgage funds for low income home buyers are available directly from Wisconsin USDA Rural Development offices. The Rural Development Direct loan has a very favorable interest rate and a long term. This loan is available in rural areas. Contact Rural Development to confirm if home is in a rural area and to pre-qualify for the loan: 866/474-3600 or www.rurdev.usda.gov/wi.
View pdf to learn more

Movin' Out offers funds to eligible, qualified homeowners who need repairs to make their home safer, sounder or more accessible. The forgivable rehab loan can be used to fix a roof, replace windows, repair or replace a furnace, build or repair a ramp, install handrails, and many other types of improvements.

At this time, funds are limited to low-income home owners in rural communities whose household income is 60% of county median income or less. To qualify, at least one member of the household has a permanent disability.

The rehab loans are deferred (no monthly payments) and completely forgiven after five years. The rehab program is funded by the Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago through our partner bank, Bank Mutual.

Contact a Movin' Out housing counselor to see if your household qualifies and to start a rehab plan: 877/861-6746 x7 or info@movin-out.org Movin’ Out AHP Rehab program is offered in 18 counties in south central Wisconsin, and now, also in counties in Northeast Wisconsin served by Options in Independent Living (888/465-1515) and Southeastern counties served by Society’s Assets (800/378-9128). For more details, view information sheet

The federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved Movin' Out’s home-ownership programs for use in conjunction with FHA-insured financing. HUD authorized Movin' Out to provide funds for closing costs and rehabilitation assistance to home buyers and home owners using FHA financing. Movin' Out is the only Wisconsin agency approved as a statewide program. Only three other Wisconsin non-profit agencies have earned the HUD approval and they each serve a specific metro area. Lenders and their underwriters can find detailed guidelines for linking Movin' Out secondary financing with a FHA mortgage: View HUD letter

Movin' Out offers affordable and accessible rental housing to qualified low-income people with permanent disabilities as verified by SSI. Movin' Out rental units are reserved for low-income households that include at least one household member with permanent disabilities. Movin' Out requires verification of income and disability. Movin' Out tailors its property management to accommodate tenants who receive long term support services and in-home care-giving support.

Some units that may be available soon:

Apartments available in Fall 2010 on Madison’s North Side:
Movin' Out is making improvements on a north side duplex near Troy Drive. Each two-bedroom unit can be rented for $600/month Each unit includes:

- New appliances and cabinets
- New carpets and flooring
- Off street parking
- Some accessibility modifications

Apartment available in Fall 2010 in West Bend:
Movin' Out may have a roomy 3-bedroom home suitable for 2 housemates and space for a caregiver or for three housemates The unit includes:

- Washer and dryer in unit
- Private entrance
- Off-street parking
- Some accessibility modifications

Applicants for Movin' Out rental properties must demonstrate that their TOTAL household income does not exceed 50% of county median household income. For Dane County, see chart below.
Dane County Household Income Limits

Household size (# persons)	Household Income Limit
1	$28,000
2	$32,000
3	$36,000
4	$40,000
5	$43,200
6	$46,400
7	$49,600
8	$52,800

Please be prepared to submit your three most recent consecutive pay stubs and/or independent third-party verification of other income sources.

Movin' Out is an equal opportunities housing provider. To apply or request more information, contact Movin' Out at info@movin-out.org or 608/251-4446 x7.

Movin' Out created safe, affordable, stable housing for 25 new tenants in 2009. The new housing units include new construction, top to bottom reconstruction of a property we already owned, and purchase of existing duplexes and condominium units to which we added new appliances, major spruce-up, and added accessibility improvements. Keep an eye on this page as we bring you reports of these new homes as well as other Movin' Out news. Here is the story of a project that retained something old, created something new.

Madison East Side. Movin' Out took on a well-worn property from another non-profit that needed substantial work inside and out. Our tenant has lived there for 13 years. As the years go by, she needs more modifications that allow her to remain in her own home. Her house sits on a big lot. So we developed a plan to completely remodel her home and build a new second unit to accommodate two other tenants. The tenant and her support team worked with us from the beginning to factor in the big and small details that would tailor the improvements to the woman’s preferences as well as her current and future needs. She has a state of the art tile roll in shower; she also retained a few antique wooden doors and their quaint hardware. We also worked closely with the support teams of the two men identified as tenants for the new unit. Like the transformed existing unit, the new unit is entirely barrier free and accommodates all the tenants’ stuff, including sound systems, big TV, wheel chairs and therapy equipment. Both men had lived alone in their own apartments and wanted to maintain as much autonomy as they could while, at the same time, finding cost saving in sharing a home. We designed the new unit so it could function as two integrated units: huge bedrooms, each with its own adjoining living room, individual bathrooms, and a shared kitchen and dining area. The layout succeeds in offering each tenant the privacy they both value while also providing companionship and affordable rent. The layout is flexible enough so that a live-in caregiver or third housemate could be accommodated, if needed and preferred by the tenants in the future.

Movin' Out thanks its partners on this rewarding project: Fire Fighters Local 311; Jim Glueck, Architect, Doug Cummings of Cummings Remodeling; City of Madison HOME program and Affordable Housing Trust Fund; Bank Mutual; Federal Home Loan Bank Chicago; Dane County Human Services; Teamwork Associates; Neighborhood Connections; and our tenants.

Are you interested in learning about legal requirements, making decisions about hiring and working with contractors, architects and designers, what the permit process entails, what a contract should include, what you should be looking for before you start a project, who to involve, what questions to ask?

All of this and more is covered in this series of seminars that address what you should know before authorizing a home or accessibility modification, what to avoid and how to have a positive outcome. The Department of Health Services is sponsoring the interactive series of Movin’ Out webinars for social workers and case managers responsible for approving home and/or accessibility modifications. The series takes a comprehensive look at the process from beginning to end to assure that a modification is appropriate, beneficial, and of high quality.

To view the taped webinars, go to http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/webcast/, click on webcast catalogue and find the webinar by date and name.

Movin’ Out experienced another year of growth while responding to the impact of a turbulent housing market and economy. View 2008 Annual Report

Right here, starting at this web site, people with disabilities and their allies can learn more about fair housing laws that apply to them and disability-related protections such as the ADA. The world wide web contains vast information on these topics. Movin’ Out social work intern Ben Schifski has chosen some of the most helpful links that apply to housing and people with disabilities. Visit our new Links page to find safe web sites with lots of information.

With the funding support of our partners, Dane County and the City of Madison, Movin' Out can leverage significantly more down payment assistance for qualified households than in previous years. With the price of housing on the rise in Madison and Dane County, a deeper subsidy is often needed to achieve affordable home ownership. See some scenarios (28 kb pdf) and contact Movin' Out for more information.

Movin Out helped her get in touch with an attorney who helped Sue and her family set up a trust for Sue’s savings that maintained her eligibility for SSI and Medicaid. Sue saved for three years before taking the next step in her plan which was to talk with her Movin’ Out counselor, Michelle, and a mortgage lender about all the details of qualifying for a mortgage and finding a place she could afford to stay in over the long term.

Sue’s income qualified her for three down payment assistance programs but even with these three different loans, the numbers weren’t working until Sue worked with the city of Madison to exchange her Section 8 rent voucher for a Section 8 voucher that would help offset her monthly mortgage payments. She found a condo on the east side of Madison. The layout was perfect. The neighborhood was friendly and safe. It was on a bus line and close to shopping. And Sue could afford to buy it. Michelle helped Sue write up an offer to purchase. The seller accepted the offer. At the closing, Sue signed her name on “a hundred papers and handed over her stack of down payment checks.” She was a home owner. She left with the keys to her new condo.

Sue says the first step toward your dream of home ownership is to get information and learn what it means to own your own home. Owning her own home works for Sue but might not be the right answer for everybody. One good place to begin is by contacting Movin’ Out. Call (608) 251-4446 or call toll free (877) 861-6746.