3.5% down. Credit that's forgiving of the past. A down payment that can be a gift. FHA is how most Michigan first-time buyers actually get keys — and as a wholesale broker, I shop your FHA loan across dozens of lenders instead of locking you into one bank's price.
Get My FHA Quote → Run My NumbersFHA isn't a consolation prize. It's a government-insured loan designed to put buyers with real lives — student loans, thin savings, a credit ding or two — into real houses.
3.5% down with a 580+ credit score. On a $250,000 Michigan house, that's $8,750 — not the 20% your parents told you about.
Every dollar of your down payment can come as a gift from family. FHA doesn't make you prove you saved it yourself.
580+ gets you the 3.5% down tier. Scores from 500–579 can still work with 10% down. Rebuilt credit after a rough patch? FHA was built for that.
FHA lets the seller contribute up to 6% of the price toward your closing costs — double what conventional allows at low down payments. We negotiate it into the offer.
Buy a duplex, triplex, or fourplex, live in one unit, and let the rent from the others help you qualify. The most underrated wealth move in Michigan.
The FHA 203(k) loan wraps purchase price and renovation budget into one mortgage. With Michigan's older housing stock, it turns rough listings into right houses.
Your credit took a hit and you've rebuilt. FHA pricing doesn't punish a 620 score the way conventional pricing does.
You have less than 5% saved. 3.5% down — and it can be gifted — beats waiting three more years to save 20% while prices climb.
Your debt-to-income is on the high side. FHA is more forgiving on DTI than conventional, especially with strong compensating factors.
You're past a bankruptcy or foreclosure. FHA's waiting periods are shorter — generally two years after a Chapter 7 discharge and three after a foreclosure, with documented recovery.
You want the seller to carry closing costs. Up to 6% in seller concessions gives us real room to structure your cash-to-close down.
You're eyeing a duplex. Owner-occupied 2–4 units with 3.5% down and rental income helping you qualify — conventional can't touch that combination.
Eligible for VA? Stop reading — your VA benefit beats FHA in almost every scenario. Zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance.
Every FHA loan carries mortgage insurance (MIP). Anyone who glosses over it is selling you something. Here's the actual math.
You pay 1.75% upfront — rolled into the loan, not out of your pocket at closing — plus an annual premium of roughly half a percent, built into the monthly payment. With the minimum down payment, MIP stays for the life of the loan.
But "life of the loan" doesn't mean life. It means until we refinance you out. Once your equity grows — and Michigan values have done a lot of that work lately — refinancing into conventional drops the MIP entirely.
You don't have to track any of that. Every FHA client goes on my Refi Watchlist: when the numbers say dropping MIP saves you real money, you get a text from me. That's the whole system.
Conventional usually wins when your credit is roughly 680+ and you can put 5% or more down — and its PMI cancels on its own at 20% equity.
FHA usually wins when your score is in the 580–670 range, your down payment is 3.5%, or your DTI runs high — FHA rates don't climb with lower scores the way conventional rates do.
You shouldn't have to guess. I run every buyer both ways and show you the side-by-side. You pick with real numbers in front of you.
A quote is free, there's no obligation, and we don't need to pull your credit to give you a realistic starting picture. Tell me your situation — we'll figure it out.
Get My FHA Quote → Call / Text (248) 491-8998