When Dusty told me he wanted to pursue medicine at 26 years old, I knew it meant that it would be a while before we would homeowners. Now, 5 years later, we are still dreaming about the day we will buy our first home…we’ve been really really patient…and we hope that we will be able to buy our first home during his residency years (just two more years away!) We are currently renting, but I’ve been on Pinterest for years now pinning photos of our future family home. We know our patience will pay off…and someday, we will look back and wonder where the time went. It can be hard to watch friends who are our age and younger buy their first homes. And it isn’t hard because we are envious or jealous…it’s hard because our journey is a long one and we want to feel settled. We want Rowan to become familiar with our family home…we want to plant apple trees and berry bushes, till up a big garden, put up a tire swing…all those things that come with the feeling of permanence. We want memories, we want the walls of our home to share our family story…I just keep telling myself – patience, patience, patience. While we are anxious to be homeowners, we’ve always managed to wind up with amazing rental homes, amazing landlords, and wonderful neighbors. We’ve been pretty darn lucky during our years of being renters and tenants.

Looking to the future and all that comes with planning for the purchase of a new home…it can feel a bit daunting. Sure the Pinterest boards I’ve been pinning for years are coming along nicely…but the big piece to the puzzle is the budget and financing. Let’s be real. Buying your first home isn’t a walk in the park. There are a lot of added expenses that play into it and a lot of planning. So while we are still a couple years out from becoming homeowners…we’ve already started to look into how we might want to approach things. It is also important for us to understand what support is out there should we need it and find ourselves in a bind or difficult situation financially once we get started.

I’ve recently learned about a couple of great programs through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) one of those programs is called MI First Home loan program, this specific program is available to first-time homebuyers statewide and some repeat homebuyers (depending on where you live) you can get downpayment assistance up to $7,500.

MSHDA also has another program called Step Forward Michigan. Step Forward Michigan is a federally funded loan program designed to help eligible homeowners facing financial difficulties avoid foreclosure. This loan program assists homeowners delinquent on their mortgage, condo association fees, and/or property taxes. To qualify for assistance, you must first meet the following requirements. 1) You have had an involuntary qualifying hardship that caused the delinquency. (Examples: Job loss, medical event, death, divorce, one-time critical housing repair) 2) You have the income necessary to sustain future payments. If you qualify for the program, they can provide you with up to $30,000 in interest-free loans to help with your mortgage, property taxes, and/or condominium association fees. When do you pay back the loan you ask? Well, the loans are forgivable at 20% each year, as long as the property remains your primary residence. That means if you remain in your home for 5 years or more after being granted assistance…you don’t have to repay it! You can click here to find out if you qualify and click here to read the FAQ.

Dusty and I feel strongly about getting all of our resources and options together before we start to make big decisions in life…and we can definitely chalk home ownership on the list, especially that we now have Rowan in our lives…these “big decisions” seem even bigger.

This post is sponsored by the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority – thank you for supporting the organizations and businesses that I collaborate with!