How we write
Our editorial policy
Who writes Align's guides, where the facts come from, what we refuse to print, and how to tell us when something is wrong.
- Every source linked
- No rate quotes
The short version
Align's guides exist so you can understand a decision before you make it. They are written under Samantha Shelton's name and license, built from primary sources, and checked before they publish. Every guide lists the outside sources it links to at the bottom of the page.
We never print a rate, we never link to a lender or a rate site, and nobody pays to be mentioned. When we get something wrong, we fix it.
Who
Who writes the guides and stands behind them
Every guide in the Learn library carries one byline: Samantha Shelton, Broker Owner and Senior Loan Originator at Align Lending, NMLS 1647301. Align Lending LLC is a Michigan mortgage broker, NMLS #2041154, licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. You can check both licenses on NMLS Consumer Access.
Her goal for every page is the one she gives for every phone call: “I want somebody to get off the phone and understand what we're doing.” When a guide gives her view, the words are hers, taken from her own interviews and podcast episodes and kept on file with the episode or interview they came from. We never put words in her mouth or tell a client story she did not tell.
How the guides are drafted. We use software, including AI writing tools, to research, draft and check the library. Software does not decide what a guide says. Figures come from the primary sources the guide links to, Align's own positions come from Samantha, and a guide that describes how Align works or quotes her is approved by Align before it goes live. Every guide also has to pass automated checks before it publishes, described below.
Sources
Where our sources come from
We start with the people who write the rules and keep the records: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, HUD, the IRS, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve and the State of Michigan. Then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose guidelines conventional loans follow, and professional bodies such as title, appraisal and home inspection associations. Consumer reference publishers fill in practical how-to detail: Nolo (26 links), Angi (20 links), Bob Vila (5 links), Military.com (2 links), Family Handyman (1 link), FortuneBuilders (1 link), Houzz (1 link). Across the library today, 70% of source links go to government agencies and regulators.
Which pages carry a Sources list. The Learn library has 343 pages. 296 are guides: 292 articles and 4 glossary pages, and every one of them ends with its Sources list. The other 47 are the pillar and topic pages that sort the guides; they point to guides rather than to outside sources, so they carry no list of their own.
| Kind of source | Links | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Federal agencies and regulators | 568 | 63.0% |
| Professional and trade associations | 114 | 12.7% |
| Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac | 59 | 6.5% |
| Consumer reference publishers | 56 | 6.2% |
| State of Michigan | 56 | 6.2% |
| Credit and market data | 28 | 3.1% |
| Other states' agencies and regulators | 11 | 1.2% |
| Nonprofits | 9 | 1.0% |
| All sources | 901 | 100% |
Each guide's own list is built from the links in the guide itself, the same list our structured data gives search engines as its citations. A guide cannot claim a source it does not use, and a source only appears if you can click through to it.
What we link to, and what we never link
Linked first
Federal and state agencies, regulators, laws and regulations, courts, schools, municipalities, nonprofits, news outlets and neutral data publishers.
Named, never linked
Lenders and other brokers, rate and loan marketplaces, listing portals and real estate offices. We may cite one by name as a data source, but we never send you to it.
Never paid
No company pays to appear in a guide, and the library carries no ads or affiliate links. A link is there because it helps you check the fact.
Numbers
Numbers we print, and numbers we never print
- No rates. Align never publishes its own rates, and no calculator starts with one filled in. A posted rate is priced for someone else's file; why we don't publish rates explains the reasoning.
- Examples are labelled. When a guide works through numbers to explain how something works, it says so: “Hypothetical example, not an offer.” An example is never a quote, and it never sits beside an application link.
- Regulated figures come from one file. Loan limits and program figures are kept in a single file with their official source and a review date, and our checks refuse any page that states an old one. The 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home in Michigan, $832,750, is due for review by December 15, 2026, when the Federal Housing Finance Agency sets the next one.
- Michigan property tax is stated the way the law states it. The year after a home sells, its taxable value resets to the state equalized value, half of the assessor's market value, not automatically half the price you paid. Our checks refuse the shortcut.
- No promises. No approval claims, no promised outcomes, no countdown pressure, and no superlatives about Align or about any place.
Checks
What every guide has to pass before it publishes
A guide does not go live until automated gates pass on the built page:
- Regulated figures match the reviewed figures file, and the Michigan tax wording matches state law.
- No link to a lender, broker, rate site, listing portal or real estate office.
- Every internal link points to a page that is live.
- No approval claims, promised outcomes, countdown pressure or superlatives, and none of the phrases Samantha has asked us never to use.
- Worked examples carry the hypothetical label.
- The page names its author, shows NMLS #2041154 and Equal Housing Opportunity, and its structured data parses cleanly.
The checks run again on the live page after it publishes, because a page that passed on our computer is not proof of what a visitor sees.
Fairness
Fair housing and honest comparisons
Where to live is your decision. Our city pages and guides point you to public records and help with the numbers; they never describe a place as safe or unsafe, rank neighborhoods, or describe who lives somewhere. When a guide compares loan options, it names what decides the choice instead of picking a winner before your facts are known.
Reviews and testimonials on the site are real Google reviews from Align clients, quoted as written. We never edit a review.
Money
How Align is paid
Align is a mortgage broker. When a loan closes through Align, Align is paid by the lender that funds it. Nothing in the library is paid for by anyone else. A guide never favors one wholesale lender or ranks one lender above another, and it is written to help you decide, including deciding that the right move is to change nothing.
Updates
Corrections and updates
If you find an error, email samantha@alignlending.com or call or text 248-506-5727. We check what you found against the source, and if we were wrong we fix the guide.
Each guide shows the date it was last updated. When we change what a guide tells you, we republish it with a new date; a small repair, such as replacing a moved link, may not move the date. Program figures that change every year, like loan limits, are reviewed on the date set in our figures file. Align research reports keep a dated correction log on the report itself; see how our research works.
This page
Page history and corrections log
Published October 24, 2026. Last updated October 24, 2026.
- October 24, 2026: figures recounted after a new guide published; the pages that carry a Sources list stated exactly; the consumer reference publishers named; the most-cited publishers chart added.
- Corrections: none so far. A correction to this page or to a guide's facts is logged here with its date.
The “no-link list” is the list of lenders, brokers, rate and loan marketplaces, listing portals and real estate offices our site never links. Every source link in the library is checked against it, and none of the library's pages links to a site on it.
Questions about how we write
Short answers.
Does Samantha write every guide herself?
Every guide is published under her name and license, and where a guide gives her view, the words are hers. Software, including AI writing tools, helps draft and check the library, and every guide has to pass the checks on this page before it publishes.
Why don’t Align’s guides link to lenders or rate sites?
Because a guide should help you understand the decision, not send you to someone selling it. We may name a company as the source of a figure, but we link only to the agencies, regulators, nonprofits and neutral publishers you can check it with.
Why don’t the guides show current rates?
A posted rate is priced for a borrower who may not be you, and it is out of date within days. Samantha prices a loan from your facts and that day’s pricing instead.
How do I report a mistake?
Email samantha@alignlending.com or call or text 248-506-5727 with the page and what you found. We check it against the source and fix confirmed errors.
Is anything in a guide paid placement?
No. No company pays to appear in a guide, and the library carries no ads or affiliate links.
Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154, is a mortgage broker. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Align's guides are general education, not legal, tax or financial advice, not a rate quote and not an offer of credit.
