The Two MSHDA Programs, Side by Side
Program and regulatory figures verified September 26, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Michigan keeps this simpler than most states. One first mortgage, one assistance loan, and you use them together or not at all.
Side by side
| MI Home Loan | MI 10K DPA Loan | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The first mortgage | Down payment assistance |
| Amount | Up to the $566,355 sales price limit | Up to $10,000 |
| Interest | Set by MSHDA | Interest-free |
| Monthly payment | Yes | None |
| Where | Statewide | Statewide |
| Who | First-time buyers statewide; repeat buyers in targeted areas | Same, and must pair with MI Home Loan |
| Credit score | 640 minimum | Follows the first mortgage |
| Education | Housing Education class required | Certificate of completion required for all homebuyers |
MI Home Loan
This is the mortgage itself, and its eligibility rules are the ones that govern the whole file. First-time homebuyers can use it anywhere in Michigan. Repeat homebuyers can use it in targeted areas, which as it happens is most of the state's counties. MSHDA's first-time definition is not having owned a home in the previous three years.
The sales price limit is $566,355 after June 1, 2026, and unlike most states' programs it is one number everywhere. Minimum credit score is 640. The first mortgage in detail.
MI 10K DPA
Up to $10,000 toward down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses. It is a loan rather than a grant, but an interest-free one with no monthly payments, which in practical terms behaves like deferred money until a triggering event.
Two details are worth pulling out. MSHDA states that max financing is not required, so you can put your own money in alongside the assistance instead of being pushed to the largest possible loan. And repayment is deferred until payoff of the first mortgage, the sale or refinance of the home, or when the home is no longer owner-occupied.
That third trigger is not standard. The assistance in detail · the owner-occupancy clause.
What about the Mortgage Credit Certificate?
MSHDA runs an MCC program as well. We have not yet read its operating manual end to end, so there are no MCC figures on this site. Publishing a tax-credit number we have not verified against the governing document would be worse than leaving it out, and an MCC interacts with your tax situation in ways only your tax preparer should advise on.
Ask us and we will tell you what we know and where the limits of that are.
How this stacks with FHA and conventional
The MI Home Loan runs on an underlying agency product, and which one you use changes the down payment and mortgage insurance picture. MSHDA's guideline also narrows one choice for you: private mortgage insurance is acceptable only from MGIC or ARCH, using the Fannie Mae HFA Preferred or Freddie Mac Home Possible Advantage product.
Assistance with FHA · assistance with conventional · the eligibility test.
Frequently asked questions
What down payment assistance does MSHDA offer?
One assistance loan, the MI 10K DPA, which provides up to $10,000 toward down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses. It is interest-free with no monthly payments, available statewide, and must be combined with a MSHDA MI Home Loan first mortgage. MSHDA also states that max financing is not required, so you are not forced to borrow the maximum in order to use it.
Can you get the MI 10K DPA without a MI Home Loan?
No. MSHDA states the MI 10K DPA Loan must be combined with a MSHDA MI Home Loan, so the assistance is not available alongside an outside first mortgage. That also means the MI Home Loan's eligibility rules govern the file, including the 640 minimum credit score, the $566,355 sales price limit and the first-time or targeted-area requirement.
Is the MI 10K DPA a grant or a loan?
A loan, but an interest-free one with no monthly payments. Repayment is deferred until certain events, which MSHDA describes as payoff of the first mortgage, the sale or refinance of the home, or when the home is no longer owner-occupied. So it behaves like deferred money while you live in the home, and becomes repayable when one of those events happens.
Does MSHDA have a Mortgage Credit Certificate program?
Yes, MSHDA runs an MCC program. We do not publish MCC figures here because we have not yet read its operating manual end to end, and an unverified tax-credit number is worse than none. An MCC also interacts with your individual tax position, so the sizing question belongs with your tax preparer alongside us.
Which mortgage insurance companies does MSHDA accept?
Per the approved lender guideline, private mortgage insurance is acceptable only from MGIC or ARCH, and only using the Fannie Mae HFA Preferred or Freddie Mac Home Possible Advantage product. The same guideline notes that MSHDA does not accept MERS forms and that a pre-closing compliance review is required, which is why a MSHDA file has a different rhythm from an ordinary agency loan.
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. MSHDA program terms, income limits and sales price limits are set by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against MSHDA's published documents. Targeted-area status is determined by MSHDA at city and township level and must be confirmed for the specific address. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.