Why I call Michigan home

If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you know what a HUGE fan of Michigan I am. I grew up here, my entire family is here, I went to college here, found my career here, and plan to live here for the rest of my life! This is home to me. I couldn’t imagine being away from the Great Lakes, all the lighthouses I love, my little big city of Grand Rapids I’ve called home for the past decade, or my beautiful historic neighborhood of Heritage Hill. One of my favorite things to do is to walk with Winny to look at the beautiful houses – and dream of someday buying a house here! That’s why I’m excited to partner with MSHDA to talk about homeownership and the resources and programs they provide to help you achieve homeownership.

This post is sponsored by MSHDA. All opinions are my own.

Until I’m ready to buy a house here, I’m currently renting in this beautiful neighborhood in one of my favorite houses on the block. While most of you know, I worked hard all last year to get out of debt and build up my emergency fund, and now I’m working to save up for a down payment on a house! I know a lot of you have the same goal of owning your own home someday, so that’s why I’m partnering with MSHDA to talk about some of the resources and programs they offer. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority provides homes and preserves places for the people of Michigan.

One of the reasons why I’ve been waiting to buy a house is so that I have enough saved to avoid PMI (private mortgage insurance). Typically to avoid that, you have to put down 20% — which can be a pretty daunting task! MSHDA helps make home loans more affordable by offering conventional loans with discounted PMI. Meaning, a borrower with this loan only has to pay PMI up to the point their equity in the home reaches 20%. Then it goes away. A government loan like an FHA loan carries mortgage insurance for the life of the loan. That can be on average $100-$200 a month. That’s a lot of money! MSHDA also offers loans with a down payment assistance of up to $7,500 which is called the Michigan Down Payment. There are limits to how much your household can make (up to $224,500) and how much mortgage you can take out. So, if you’re within the income limits of your county, be sure to check out their unique set of mortgage products and offerings!

If you’re interested in learning more about MSHDA or their Michigan Down Payment program, be sure to head to their website to read more! Once we inch closer to homeownership and being ready to start looking for houses, I’ll definitely be checking into their homebuyer education and pre-purchase services. We’re not there yet – but close! I can’t wait to someday own a home here in this amazing state I call home! I love that MSHDA makes homeownership possible – but they also preserve Michigan history. MSHDA houses the State Historic Preservation Office that is dedicated to preserving Michigan’s cultural heritage by preserving old buildings and often repurposing them into homes for others.

Did you know that May is National Historic Preservation Month? As you know from my love of lighthouses and my love of our historic neighborhood – preserving history is so important to me. My neighborhood itself is undergoing a major renovation, and it’s so exciting to see old buildings that sat abandoned for years come back to life with retail stores and restaurants! Thank you, MSHDA, for helping make Michigan home for Michiganders. If you’re from Michigan, why do you call Michigan home?