Align Lending Learn Center
Straight answers about mortgages, from a Michigan broker.
Loan limits and program figures are checked against the agency that issued them, and every article says where its numbers came from. No rate quotes, no predictions.
- 351 guides across 8 subjects
Browse by subject
Eight subjects, one plain-language library
Home buying
Buying usually takes 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to closing. The steps, costs and down payment rules.
84 guides · 5 topicsHomeownership
What owning a home costs each year, from upkeep and insurance to Michigan property taxes.
51 guides · 5 topicsLoan types & programs
Compare conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo and adjustable-rate loans, and see which one fits your file.
44 guides · 8 topicsReal estate investing
Rental strategies, investor financing and the numbers that decide whether a property works.
43 guides · 5 topicsRefinancing & home equity
When a refinance pays for itself, which type to compare, and how to reach your equity.
39 guides · 4 topicsSelling a home
The selling timeline, what it costs once commissions and fees are counted, and how offers work.
37 guides · 4 topicsMortgage rates & market
Where rates come from, what moves them, and how locks, points and buydowns work.
29 guides · 4 topicsMortgage basics
How a mortgage works, from the parts of your monthly payment to loan terms and closing costs.
24 guides · 4 topicsCommon starting points
Buy a home
Get a clear picture of what you can do and what it would actually cost, before you talk to anyone about a house.
Get my homebuyer game planReview my mortgage
Refinancing is not automatically a good idea. Work out where your break-even sits before you decide anything.
See if refinancing makes senseUse my home equity
There is more than one way to reach the equity in your home, and they are not the same. Start with the question, not the product.
Explore my equity optionsThe library
Every subject, every topic
Home buying
Buying usually takes 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to closing. The steps, costs and down payment rules.
All 84 guidesTopics
Homeownership
What owning a home costs each year, from upkeep and insurance to Michigan property taxes.
All 51 guidesTopics
Loan types & programs
Compare conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo and adjustable-rate loans, and see which one fits your file.
All 44 guidesTopics
Real estate investing
Rental strategies, investor financing and the numbers that decide whether a property works.
All 43 guidesTopics
Refinancing & home equity
When a refinance pays for itself, which type to compare, and how to reach your equity.
All 39 guidesSelling a home
The selling timeline, what it costs once commissions and fees are counted, and how offers work.
All 37 guidesMortgage rates & market
Where rates come from, what moves them, and how locks, points and buydowns work.
All 29 guidesMortgage basics
How a mortgage works, from the parts of your monthly payment to loan terms and closing costs.
All 24 guidesLook it up
Words, definitions and how we check them
Mortgage glossary, A to Z
Short, plain-English definitions of the terms on a Loan Estimate, a Closing Disclosure and a Michigan tax bill.
GlossaryThe terms that shape your loan
The few terms that change what you pay, grouped by where you meet them, from application to closing.
GuideOur editorial policy
Who writes these guides, where the facts come from, what we never print and how to report a mistake.
StandardsFree guides
No form to fill in. Open or download.
Run the numbers
- Michigan property tax calculator
- Loan Estimate check
- Rent vs. buy calculator
- Points vs. lender credit calculator
- Debt-to-income calculator
- Mortgage calculator
- Home affordability calculator
Michigan
Property taxes, programs and markets change by community.
- Michigan Property Tax Uncapping Study
- Michigan taxable value
- Michigan transfer tax
- Michigan land contracts
- Where we serve
- Oakland County guide
The first conversation does not have to turn into anything
Tell Samantha what you are trying to do, and she will tell you what actually matters in your situation. If the answer is that you should wait, she will say that too.
- 1
Tell us what you are trying to do
Not what product you want. What you are actually trying to accomplish.
- 2
Samantha looks at your situation
She works out what matters most for you specifically.
- 3
You leave with a plan
Your options, the tradeoffs, and your next step. No obligation to go further.
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. These guides are for education only. They are not a credit decision, a preapproval, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit.
