Priority Home Mortgage · Grand Rapids

Nobody is born knowing how this works.

Buying your first house means learning a vocabulary nobody taught you, in a process that assumes you already know it. Israel explains it the way he would explain it to his own family, in English or in Spanish, before you fill out anything.

Schedule a discovery call See the programs

Mortgage Loan Originator · Priority Home Mortgage · NMLS #2403884

Israel Muñoz · NMLS #2403884

NMLS #2403884 Verified on NMLS Consumer Access

English and Spanish Same explanation in both

ITIN home loans Brokered and in-house options

4 years inside the process Before originating his own

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You probably need less than you think.

Most people who ask Israel whether they can buy have been carrying a number in their head that came from somewhere else: a relative, a coworker, a video. Almost always it is 20 percent, and almost always it is wrong for their situation.

On a $250,000 house in the Grand Rapids area, an FHA loan needs $8,750 down and a Conventional 97 needs $7,500. Closing costs are separate and usually run 2 to 4 percent, so $5,000 to $10,000, and some of that can be covered by the seller or by Michigan down-payment assistance. Those are the two numbers that matter, and you should have both before you start looking at houses rather than after.

If the answer for you today is not yet, that is worth knowing too, and it comes with a list of what would change it.

The programs, by name

The five programs first-time buyers here actually use.

Every one of these is a real program with published rules, not a promotion. Which one fits you depends on your income, your credit, and where the house is, and that is a twenty-minute conversation rather than a guess.

First home, savings still building

Low down payment loans

The twenty percent rule is the single most expensive myth in home buying. The common first-time-buyer programs ask for three to three and a half percent, and two of them ask for nothing at all.

FHA: 3.5 percent down, and the credit requirements are the most forgiving of the common programs.
Conventional 97: 3 percent down for a qualifying first-time buyer, with mortgage insurance you can drop later once you have enough equity.
On a $250,000 house, 3 percent is $7,500 and 3.5 percent is $8,750. Those are real numbers, not a range.

A smaller down payment means a larger loan and a larger monthly payment. Israel will show you both versions before you pick one.

Buyers who qualify on income but not on savings

Michigan down payment assistance

MSHDA, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, lends money toward a down payment on top of your mortgage. It is a state program, not a private offer, and it has published rules anyone can check.

MI Home Loan pairs a first mortgage with down-payment assistance for qualifying buyers.
There are limits on income, on sales price, and on credit score, and they change. Israel checks yours against the current ones rather than guessing.
MSHDA requires a homebuyer education course. It takes a few hours and it is worth doing early, not at the last minute.

Not everyone qualifies, and the honest answer sometimes is no. Finding that out in a twenty-minute call costs you nothing.

Veterans, and buyers outside the city

Zero down, if you qualify

Two programs still allow a qualified buyer to purchase with no down payment at all. Both are federal, and both are underused because people assume they do not apply to them.

VA: for eligible veterans, service members, and some surviving spouses. No down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance.
USDA: no down payment in designated rural areas, and the map reaches closer to Grand Rapids than most people expect.
Israel will check the USDA map against a specific address before you fall in love with a house, not after.

How it goes

Three steps, and you know where you stand at each one.

The part that makes this process miserable is not the paperwork. It is not knowing what is happening, or being told something in a vocabulary you were never given. That is the part Israel fixes first.

A call, in the language you think in

Twenty minutes, English or Spanish, before any form and before any credit pull. You describe your situation, Israel tells you plainly whether there is a path and what it would take. If the answer is not yet, you get the specific list of what would change it.
Your real numbers, written down

What you can borrow, what the monthly payment actually is with taxes and insurance in it, and the full cash you need on closing day. Not a range, and not a payment that quietly leaves out escrow. If a program fits, it gets named: MSHDA, FHA, Conventional 97, VA, USDA.
You always know where the file stands

Israel spent four years inside the loan process as an assistant before he originated his own files, so he knows where they get stuck and what underwriting will ask for next. You get his cell number, (616) 706-7590, and updates as things happen rather than after you chase them.

If you do not have a Social Security Number

You can still buy a house.

Buyers with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number can get a mortgage with the deed in their own name. Not a land contract, not a rent-to-own. Priority Home Mortgage lends on these files in-house and also places them with outside lenders, and there is no minimum credit score. The down payment is higher, and that page says so at the top rather than at the bottom.

Read about ITIN home loans

Before you talk to anyone

What does this actually come to per month?

Put in a price, a down payment, and a rate, and see the payment that produces, taxes and insurance included. It runs in your browser, nothing is sent anywhere, and nobody asks for your email. Bring the number to Israel and he will tell you what it leaves out.

Run the affordability numbers See all twelve calculators

Talk to Israel

Twenty minutes, before you fill out anything.

No credit pull, no application, no obligation. You describe where you are, and Israel tells you plainly whether there is a path, what it would cost, and what would have to happen first.

The two numbers you actually need: the down payment and the full cash to close.
Which programs you likely qualify for, by name, and which you do not.
If the answer is not yet, the specific list of what would change it and roughly how long.

Or write instead

Not ready to pick up the phone?

Plenty of people are not, and that is fine. Leave your name and how to reach you, and Israel comes back to you himself, in English or Spanish. No question here is too small, and asking one does not start an application.

He reads these himself and replies in English or Spanish. No newsletter, no call tree.

Or take it away and read it

The short guide to buying your first house here.

Fourteen pages, about fifteen minutes, written for someone who has not done this before. Leave an email and it arrives in a minute or two.

What you actually need for a down payment, and the two programs here that ask for nothing at all.
The four things a lender looks at, and which of them you can still change.
Closing costs in real numbers, and the ways that number shrinks.
From the first call to the keys, with how long each step takes.

The guide arrives by email in a minute or two. No newsletter, and your address does not go anywhere else.

Or start on your own

Rather begin with the paperwork?

If you already know what you are doing, the Priority Home Mortgage application is open and you can start it whenever you like. Most first-time buyers are better served by the call first, which is why it is above this.

Apply Now Talk to him first instead

Starting an application does not commit you to anything, and Israel still reviews it personally.

Opens the secure Priority Home Mortgage application in a new tab. Israel Muñoz, NMLS #2403884. Equal Housing Lender.

Knowledge center

The parts nobody explains.

Longer answers to the questions that keep arriving, written to be read before you talk to anyone. Every one of them exists in Spanish too.

All articles

Questions people actually ask

The things people are embarrassed to ask a lender.

None of these are silly questions. They are the questions that decide whether somebody buys a house this year or waits another three.

How much money do I actually need to buy a house in Grand Rapids?

Two separate numbers, and people usually only budget for the first. The down payment can be as little as 3 percent on a Conventional 97 or 3.5 percent on an FHA loan, so $7,500 to $8,750 on a $250,000 house. Closing costs are on top of that and typically run 2 to 4 percent, so another $5,000 to $10,000. Some of that can be covered by the seller or by down-payment assistance. Israel gives you the full cash-to-close number, not just the down payment.

Do I need 20 percent down to buy a house?

No. This is the most expensive myth in home buying and it keeps people renting for years longer than they needed to. FHA is 3.5 percent down. Conventional 97 is 3 percent for a qualifying first-time buyer. VA and USDA are zero down for those who are eligible. Putting less than 20 percent down means paying mortgage insurance, which is a real cost worth understanding, and on a conventional loan it can usually be removed later.

What credit score do I need?

It depends on the program, and the number people quote each other is usually wrong. FHA is the most forgiving of the common programs. MSHDA sets its own minimum, which changes, so Israel checks the current one rather than repeating what it was last year. If your score is not there yet, the useful conversation is which specific things move it and how long each takes.

Does Israel speak Spanish?

Yes. Israel Muñoz is a Mexican native and works in English and Spanish, and that means the whole process and not just the first call: the explanation of what an escrow account is, what the appraisal came back with, and what underwriting is asking for. This site exists in both languages for the same reason.

What is MSHDA and can it help me?

MSHDA is the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, a state agency. Its MI Home Loan program pairs a mortgage with money toward your down payment for buyers who qualify. There are limits on income, sales price, and credit score, and a required homebuyer education course. It is worth checking early, because the education course takes time you do not want to be finding at the last minute.

What areas does Israel work in?

The greater Grand Rapids area, with most of his buyers on the southwest side: Wyoming, Kentwood, Grandville, Walker, and Comstock Park, along with Grand Rapids itself. He is licensed in Michigan.

Can I just call him?

Yes. His cell is (616) 706-7590 and you can call or text it. You do not have to fill out a form first, and you do not have to be ready to buy. Most first conversations are with people who are six months to two years out, and that is the right time to have one.