From The Rez to Residential: A Guide for MN Ojibwe to Buying Our Land Back, One Property at a Time

 This is the real meat of this blog: I want to find all the best programs for new buyers, translate the housing jargon, and get it to you packaged all nice and clear for you to consider! Minnesota Housing  works with everything from homeless shelters to rental help and into homebuying! Start Up is their flagship program for first-time homebuyers, so let's dig into some of the requirements to qualify and how it will look when you go to buy a home. I read the whole manual so you don't have to, and here are the highlights: - Requirements of the borrower (you): -- 18 years or older -- may not have owned a home at least for the 3 years prior to this loan -- you need to intend to live in this home within 60 days of closing, and it needs to be your primary residence. -- attend a Homebuyer Education Program. There's don't expire, so you could do it anytime! I'll do a separate blog on these, but basically, it will be a course to learn the details of buying a home - a good cl...

One of the biggest barriers to homeownership is the daunting belief that you need 20% down to even look at buying a house. In today's market, a "cheap" house in the metro is $250,000 and 20% would mean you need $50K before you even start.  No thanks.  So I attended a brown bag info session with Dawn at American Pacific Mortgage  (important to note: they also have an office in Indian Country, based in Bemidji !). Dawn did a great presentation that focused on two $0 down government-backed options, and while I don't have her slides, I'll do my best to relay the highlights of each program. VA LOAN This one is limited to people who served in the military, as it's backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is the loan I got, first through my Iraq War Veteran husband, then on my own after I served 6 years in the Reserves.  It's important to note, this is not a benefit you get right out of basic training, like your education money. You have to complete som...