Neighborhood Housing Services presents new home, explains programs and affordability definitions

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Southwest Wisconsin presented to the Richland County Board on Jan. 13, outlining its long history of home‑repair and affordable‑homeownership programs and previewing a newly completed modular home intended for sale with program subsidies.

Greg Woodhouse described NHS as a small nonprofit (about four full‑time equivalent staff) that focuses on home rehabilitation, down‑payment assistance and HUD‑certified homeownership counseling. Woodhouse said NHS manages deferred, 0% second‑mortgage loans that are repaid on transfer of property so funds can be reused for future projects; he noted NHS has managed loans since 1983 and cited more than $68 million in direct community investment over the organization’s history.

Woodhouse showed details of a recently completed modular house on East Kinder Street: a roughly 1,300‑square‑foot, three‑bedroom, two‑bath home with a two‑car garage that he said cost approximately $300,000 to build. He said the organization uses program subsidies and loan packaging to make such homes affordable to buyers who meet income and program qualifications.

Woodhouse clarified definitions commonly used in housing discussions: low income generally refers to households earning less than 80% of area median income (AMI); he said Richland County’s 80% AMI for a four‑person household is about $56,000. NHS emphasized a priority on homeownership rather than rental development and said it also provides foreclosure‑prevention counseling.

Board members asked about how NHS selects buyers and what monthly payments might look like; Woodhouse said selection follows a loan committee process and that monthly payment estimates depend on down payment and program subsidies so a single monthly figure was not provided.

Woodhouse said NHS aims to scale by leveraging partnerships with builders and local nonprofits and that program and site selection affect costs and capacity for additional homes in 2026.

Next steps: NHS will continue outreach to prospective buyers and partners and the county indicated interest in continued coordination on housing and infill development.