MSHDA program
MI 10K DPA: $10,000 toward your down payment
In short
The MI 10K DPA is Michigan's statewide down payment assistance program, offering up to $10,000 toward your down payment, closing costs, and prepaid escrows. It's structured as a 0%-interest loan with no monthly payment, repaid only when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage — so while you own the home, it behaves like a grant. It's available in all 83 counties and requires a MSHDA MI Home Loan as the first mortgage.
How the $10,000 works
The MI 10K DPA is deferred, not forgiven. It's a second loan of up to $10,000 that sits quietly behind your mortgage, charging no interest and requiring no monthly payment.
You repay the balance only when the home sells, you refinance, or the first mortgage is paid off. Because nothing accrues, it functions like a grant for as long as you live in the home.
It covers the cash-heavy parts of buying:
- The down payment
- Closing costs
- Prepaid escrow items
Paired with an FHA loan at 3.5% down, it can bring the out-of-pocket cost of a $200,000 home from roughly $13,000 down to a few thousand dollars.
The refinance trap nobody mentions
This is the part that catches Michigan buyers two years later, and it follows directly from the DPA being a lien rather than a grant. Refinancing your first mortgage requires paying the full $10,000 back at that closing. Not later. Then.
The money has to come from somewhere. Either the home has appreciated enough that the refinance covers it, or you bring the difference in cash. A buyer who used the DPA to avoid needing $10,000 up front is the buyer least likely to have $10,000 spare two years on.
Ask your lender to model this before you take the assistance, not after: at your county's price growth, how many years until a refinance pays the DPA off by itself? For many buyers that answer is fine. For others it is a reason to ask about MSHDA's Rate Relief mortgage instead.
Who can get it
The MI 10K DPA requires taking a MSHDA MI Home Loan, which means meeting its rules.
- Credit score: 640
- Household income: under your county limit
- Purchase price: under the county cap
- Education: complete a homebuyer education course
How to claim it
The path is straightforward, but sequence matters. Follow these steps in order:
- Get your credit to 640
- Confirm you're under the county income and price limits
- Take the homebuyer education class early
- Choose a MSHDA-approved lender who originates MI Home Loans with the 10K DPA
The assistance is arranged as part of your loan, so it's handled at closing. You don't apply for it separately.
You can only get it through a MSHDA-approved lender — not every lender originates the program.