Who writes this, and what we leave out on purpose
Program and regulatory figures verified October 4, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A short page about method, because on a subject this full of stale numbers the method is the only thing that makes the figures worth anything.
Where do the numbers come from?
WHEDA's own documents, read directly and dated. The Capital Access Advantage Product Matrix for Capital Access terms. The income and purchase price limits sheet effective 6/13/2026 and the separate Capital Access limits for income. The Advantage Conventional Underwriting Guide, last updated 03/11/2026, for underwriting mechanics. FHFA for conforming limits, HUD for FHA limits, and Zillow's public research data for market values.
Where two WHEDA documents disagree, we take the more recent one and say so. That is how we found that the comparison sheet still linked from wheda.com is dated 5/19/2021 and shows a superseded Capital Access amount. The detail.
What do you deliberately leave off?
- Rates, APRs and payment amounts. None appear anywhere on this site. Easy Close carries the first mortgage rate, and publishing a number people plan around without a locked rate and a real file is worse than publishing nothing.
- Funding levels and urgency. Capital Access funds are limited and reserved at rate lock. We say that structurally and never attach a countdown, a loan count or a scarcity hook to it.
- Programs we are not approved to originate. If Cornerstone is not approved for it, it does not appear here as something you can get from us.
- Legal and tax advice. We are lenders. Recapture, title and tax questions go to your attorney or CPA.
Why be this fussy about dates?
Because housing agency figures move and stale ones circulate for years. A limits sheet can be superseded in June and still be the top search result in October. We have shipped a stale figure before by weighing a source's authority over its date, and the fix was to check the date first, every time. It is the single most useful habit on a site like this.
Frequently asked questions
Who runs this Wisconsin down payment assistance site?
Mike Certo, Branch Manager at Cornerstone First Mortgage, NMLS #260555, company NMLS #173855. The site covers Wisconsin statewide across all 72 counties.Where do the WHEDA figures on this site come from?
Directly from WHEDA's published documents, each carrying the date it was read: the Capital Access Advantage Product Matrix, the income and purchase price limits sheet effective 6/13/2026, the separate Capital Access income limits, and the Advantage Conventional Underwriting Guide last updated 03/11/2026.Why are there no interest rates on this site?
Because we publish no rates, APRs or payment figures anywhere. Easy Close carries the same rate as the WHEDA Advantage first mortgage, and a payment estimate without a locked rate and a real file behind it is something people plan around to their cost.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. WHEDA program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against WHEDA's published documents. Easy Close down payment assistance is an amortizing second mortgage with a monthly payment, not a grant. Capital Access is a deferred second mortgage repayable when the first mortgage is paid off or refinanced. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.