About This Site and Who Runs It
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A lender's site that leads with MCL 211.7cc(5), because in Michigan that statute decides the structure before any loan product does.
Why the site is shaped this way
Most writing about buying before selling comes from the real estate side and focuses on the offer. What usually decides whether a Michigan move-up buyer can act is the financing, and here the financing choice is constrained by a tax provision most people have never heard of.
MCL 211.7cc(5) lets you hold the principal residence exemption on two homes for up to three years, and takes it away retroactively if you lease the old one. That makes two of the three standard structures mutually exclusive, and it is decided before a tenant signs anything.
Nobody else in the transaction is looking at both houses at once. We are, because we underwrite both payments.
And the part we are glad to say plainly
Michigan is currently the best market in the country for this strategy. All sixteen metros we track sell faster than the national benchmark, and every one gained value over the past year. We spend most of our time warning people about overlap risk; here the numbers do not support much warning.
What we deliberately do not do
We do not advise on purchase contracts, contingencies or offer terms. We are lenders, not licensed real estate agents or attorneys. We do not administer the exemption, process Form 4640 or determine eligibility; your local assessor does. And we do not publish Michigan transfer tax rates, because we did not verify them at a primary source and a wrong closing-cost figure is worse than none.
Reach us on the contact page, or start with the Michigan guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are you a real estate agent?
No. Mike Certo is a mortgage loan originator, NMLS #260555, with Cornerstone First Mortgage, NMLS #173855. We finance the purchase; your agent represents you in it.
Can you file my conditional rescission?
No. Form 4640 is filed with your local tax collecting unit, and your assessor administers the exemption. We raise it because it changes which financing structure makes sense.
Do you lend throughout Michigan?
Yes, Michigan statewide. The exemption rules and the $832,750 conforming limit are the same in all 83 counties, though marketing times and price levels vary considerably between West Michigan, metro Detroit and the mid-Michigan markets.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Principal residence exemption eligibility and conditional rescission rules depend on your facts; your local assessor, your CPA or a Michigan attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.