Homeownership gap for people of color in Wisconsin is wide; communities, nonprofits try to close it

To Greg Lewis, the home was beautiful. Cozy and inviting, the two-bedroom house in Milwaukee had a finished basement, two and a half car garage, an attached apartment and a yard.

He had his eyes set on it for 42 days, only to learn that the appraisal, or valuation of the property, was lower than he expected. Lewis thought it was going to be about $100,000, as another house on the same block sold for $130,000. Yet the appraisal only came in at $90,000 — meaning banks would be limited in how much they could lend him to buy the home.