Happy June. This is a new monthly note I'm sending to past clients, people I'm currently working with, friends, and folks who've trusted me with a mortgage at some point — different from the weekly realtor edition, written for homeowners and would-be Up North dreamers instead of agents.
This month's theme: why so many Michigan families are quietly buying a place up north this summer, and the math most of them get wrong before they call.
Full disclosure before we go any further — I own a place on Mackinaw Bay in Cedarville. So when I tell you the Up North pull is real, I'm not selling you something I haven't done myself. I see this from both sides of the desk — as the lender, and as the guy closing up his own dock at the end of every weekend.
🏝️MICHIGAN SPOTLIGHT: The Les Cheneaux Islands & Cedarville
I'm biased, but this is the most underrated Up North pocket in Michigan. While everyone else is fighting over Traverse City listings, Cedarville and the Les Cheneaux Islands sit on the north shore of Lake Huron — 36 islands, protected channels, world-class small-boat sailing, and a fraction of the summer crowd you'll find on the west coast of the state.
What I love about it: the boating is calm and protected (perfect for kids and beginners), the fall colors run later than the rest of Up North, the prices are meaningfully lower than Torch or Charlevoix, and the community is small enough that you actually know your neighbors after one summer.
What to know: inventory is thinner than the big-name lake markets, so when something comes up, you have to move fast. Most of the homes are seasonal cottages with newer additions, so a good inspector who knows northern Michigan construction is non-negotiable. If you want help finding a Les Cheneaux agent who knows the area, I have one I trust — just ask.
📍MICHIGAN BUCKET list
This month, a few Up North pairings worth the drive:
• Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show — first Saturday in August. 100+ restored boats on the Hessel waterfront, free admission.
• Mackinac Island sunrise — take the first ferry over, watch the sun come up from the Grand Hotel porch. Worth the 5:30 AM alarm.
• Legs Inn — Cross Village — Polish-American food in a 1920s stone-and-timber lodge overlooking Lake Michigan. Reserve ahead, sit on the patio at sunset.
• Wilderness State Park — Mackinaw City — 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, quiet paddling, fewer crowds than Sleeping Bear.
• Murdick's Fudge on Mackinac Island — the original since 1887. Get the chocolate walnut, watch them work it on the marble slab.
Got a favorite Michigan spot I should feature next month? Reply and tell me. The best ones go in the July issue.
🏠MICHIGAN MARKET SNAPSHOT — Plain English
No bond yields. No spreads. Just what actually matters this month if you own a home in Michigan or are thinking about a second one:
• Mortgage rates today: ~6.55% (30-year fixed, top-tier credit). Roughly flat for six weeks. Friday's jobs report could move them either direction — soft jobs gives rates room to drop, strong jobs keeps them where they are.
• Michigan home values: up modestly year-over-year. Most homeowners have more equity than they realize. The median Michigan home is appreciating roughly 2-4% a year right now.
• Inventory is still tight. That's keeping prices firm and giving sellers leverage — good news if you're considering tapping equity, harder news if you're shopping.
• Up North is the standout. Grand Traverse County waterfront sales are up 29% year-over-year. Lake-home demand is the strongest it's been since the 2021 frenzy, without the bidding-war chaos. Many buyers are surprised to learn second-home financing can be done with as little as 10% down.
What that means for you: if you own a home and have ever wondered whether a place up north is reachable, the answer is probably yes, and sooner than you think.
✅3 THINGS MOST BUYERS get wrong
The three things Michigan buyers consistently get wrong about second homes:
💰THE LAKE-HOUSE math
For the buyer wondering "can I even afford this?" — here's what a typical $550,000 lake place actually looks like with 10% down:
A $495K loan at roughly 7.125% (second-home rate is slightly higher than primary), property taxes and insurance baked in, roughly $72K cash at closing including reserves. To qualify, you'd typically need household income in the $170K–$200K range depending on your other debts — but the only way to know what your number looks like is to run it.
❓ASK Rob
No. Conventional second-home financing requires 10% down minimum, and that's been the case for several years. Twenty percent gets you the cleanest pricing and avoids the small second-home rate add-on, but it's not a requirement.
The bigger factors that actually drive approval are: your existing housing payment (does adding the new one keep your total debt-to-income under ~45%?), your reserves (typically 2-6 months of the new payment in liquid savings), and your credit score (720+ gets you the best pricing).
If you have a question you want me to answer in next month's edition, just reply to this email. I read every one.
📅WHAT'S next
If you've been quietly wondering whether the math works for you — for an Up North place, a refinance, a move-up purchase, or anything else — the easiest move is to put 15 minutes on my calendar. I'll run your real numbers (no preapproval pull, no commitment) and tell you honestly whether it works or whether to wait.
And if you know someone — a friend, sibling, coworker — who's been quietly dreaming about a place up north, forward them this issue. That's the easiest way to start the conversation, and it usually goes a lot better than them Googling "mortgage broker near me" at 9pm on a Sunday.
Let's run your real numbers.
Fifteen minutes, no preapproval pull, no commitment — just an honest read on whether the math works or whether to wait.
Schedule 15 minutes with Rob →Or just text me directly: (248) 491-8998.
— Rob