Moving to Michigan? Buying with a VA loan? Here is what actually matters: the no-down-payment benefit, the funding fee exemptions, and how a smooth out-of-state purchase works.
I work with a lot of military buyers, many of them relocating to Michigan from another state, and the VA loan is the single best tool most of them never fully understand. So here it is in plain English: what the VA loan gives you, what it costs, and how we make a long-distance purchase feel managed instead of chaotic.
The benefits, stated once, clearly
The VA does not require a down payment, so with full entitlement you can finance the entire purchase price. There is no private mortgage insurance (PMI), which the rest of the market pays for years. Interest rates are typically competitive, closing costs are restricted, and the VA guarantees a quarter of the loan, which is why lenders say yes. For most of my veteran clients, the VA loan means owning arrives years earlier.
The funding fee, and who skips it
The program is not free: there is a one-time VA funding fee on most purchases, a small percentage of the loan that can be financed into it. The important part: veterans receiving VA disability compensation, and qualifying surviving spouses, are exempt from the fee entirely. You will also need your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), and your lender pulls that with your help from VA.gov. The 2026 standard loan limit baseline is $832,750, comfortably above the typical Macomb County price range.
Moving to Michigan from out of state
My relocation clients do the whole purchase by video: tours, inspections, and neighborhood walkthroughs on a screen before they ever board the plane. I have done this dozens of times, including for buyers moving to Detroit proper from across the country. The formula is pre-approval from a VA-savvy lender, a short list of vetted properties, inspections with eyes on the condition that matter, and a closing handled to the day.
Quick answers
- Service requirements: most veterans qualify after roughly 90 days of wartime or 181 days of peacetime active duty; Guard and Reserve members typically need six service years or 90 days of qualifying active duty.
- No PMI, ever, regardless of down payment.
- Funding fee exempt for disabled veterans and qualifying surviving spouses.
- The COE comes from VA.gov and is step one of the loan process.
- Details change annually; we confirm current rules with VA.gov at the start of every military purchase.
Written by
Doni Muzzy
Realtor at eXp Realty, part of The SBD Collective. 20 years, 150+ homes, one toolbox. Her story
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