Mortgage regulation updates: what lenders need to know

Written by Samantha SheltonNMLS 1647301Updated October 2026

No single agency writes mortgage rules. Six federal bodies do, plus your state regulator, and each publishes changes in its own numbered instrument. The proof: the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced a $832,750 conforming loan limit for 2026 on November 25, 2025, and within three weeks two other agencies had converted that number into their own instruments, VA in Circular 26-25-10 on December 1, 2025 and HUD in Mortgagee Letter 2025-23 on December 11, 2025.

Two mortgage professionals reviewing mortgage regulation updates on laptops in a sunlit Midwestern office

There is no master list, and each channel runs on its own effective-date trigger. This page maps who regulates what, which instrument each uses, and how to tell a change from a proposal. See our industry updates and rules hub for the rest.

Key takeaways:

Six rulemakers, six document types: CFPB rules sit in 12 CFR Parts 1002 through 1026; HUD uses Mortgagee Letters, VA uses Circulars, USDA uses Procedure Notices to HB-1-3555, FHFA uses dated announcements, the GSEs use Guide Announcements and Bulletins.
One number can move three agencies: The $832,750 conforming limit FHFA set for 2026 produced FHA’s $541,287 floor and $1,249,125 ceiling, which Mortgagee Letter 2025-23 sets at 65% and 150% of it, and it feeds the VA entitlement formula in Circular 26-25-10.
The letter controls until the handbook catches up: ML 2025-23 applies to FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026 and says its updates “will be incorporated into a forthcoming update” of Handbook 4000.1. Until then, the handbook text is stale. When HUD revised the handbook on August 12, 2026, it stopped printing the yearly limits and now points to HUD’s published limits instead.

Who regulates mortgages in the United States?

Seven bodies touch a typical residential mortgage, across three jobs: consumer-protection rulemaking, program administration and secondary-market standards.

Regulator	What it controls	Its instrument
CFPB	Disclosure, servicing, fair lending, originator conduct, all loan types	Final rule in 12 CFR Chapter X, published in the Federal Register
HUD / FHA	FHA-insured eligibility, limits, appraisal and servicing policy	Mortgagee Letter (ML YYYY-NN), later folded into Handbook 4000.1
VA	Loan guaranty terms, entitlement, fees, servicer conduct	Circular (26-YY-NN), over 38 CFR Part 36 and Pamphlet 26-7
USDA Rural Development	Guaranteed rural housing loan eligibility and servicing	Procedure Notice (PN) revising an HB-1-3555 chapter, under 7 CFR Part 3555
FHFA	Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Home Loan Banks; annual loan limits	Rules, advisory bulletins, dated announcements
Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac	What a lender must do for the loan to be saleable	Selling and Servicing Guide Announcements; Bulletins
State regulator (in Michigan, DIFS)	Licensing, examination and enforcement of brokers and originators	Statutory amendments, rules, orders, bulletins

These are layers, not competitors: one loan answers to a CFPB rule, an FHA mortgagee letter and a state licensing requirement at once.

What is the CFPB and which mortgage rules does it write?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created by Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, in 2010. Its regulations reach every mortgage regardless of program, and live in 12 CFR Chapter X:

Regulation Z, Part 1026: Truth in Lending. Ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage standards, originator compensation, disclosure content.
Regulation X, Part 1024: Implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. Escrow, error resolution, loss mitigation, foreclosure timing.
Regulation B, Part 1002: Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibited bases and adverse action notices.
Regulation C, Part 1003: Home Mortgage Disclosure reporting.
Regulations G and H, Parts 1007 and 1008: SAFE Act federal registration and state licensing standards.

Its instrument is a final rule in the Federal Register. The 2013 TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule at 78 FR 79730, published December 31, 2013, produced the Loan Estimate, due within three business days after application, and the Closing Disclosure, due three business days before closing. Its own effective date was August 1, 2015; a separate final rule at 80 FR 43911, published July 24, 2015, moved that to October 3, 2015, a clean illustration of why the rule you cite and the date it binds are two different lookups. See the Loan Estimate disclosure requirements.

The General QM Loan Definition final rule, 85 FR 86308, published December 29, 2020 with mandatory compliance October 1, 2022, removed the 43% debt-to-income limit and replaced it with price-based thresholds keyed to the spread between a loan’s annual percentage rate and the average prime offer rate. Anyone quoting a 43% DTI cap as current federal law is citing an expired standard.

One warning applies here more than anywhere: a proposal is not a rule. Comment requests, proposed rules and semiannual agendas change no requirement; a rule binds only when final, published and past its compliance date. Check status against the CFPB’s current regulations and rulemaking agenda.

How does HUD change FHA rules? Mortgagee Letters, not press releases

HUD changes FHA policy through a numbered Mortgagee Letter that takes effect on its own trigger regardless of what the handbook still says.¹ Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, dated December 11, 2025, “2026 Nationwide Forward Mortgage Loan Limits,” shows every feature of the instrument:

It names its trigger: the provisions apply to FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026, not to applications or closings.
It names the handbook text it rewrites: Nationwide Mortgage Limits at II.A.2.a.ii(B), (C) and (D).
It states its supersession: the updates “will be incorporated into a forthcoming update” of Handbook 4000.1. Until then, the letter controls. HUD’s August 12, 2026 revision of the handbook handled the limits a different way: the Nationwide Mortgage Limits section now points to HUD’s published limits instead of printing each year’s figures.
It carries the numbers: FHA low-cost limits are set at 65% of the national conforming limit of $832,750, or $541,287 for one unit; high-cost limits at 150%, or $1,249,125.

That last point kills a persistent myth: FHA limits are not the conforming loan limit. A Michigan county at the FHA floor caps at $541,287 while the conforming limit there is $832,750.

How does VA change loan guaranty rules? Circulars with rescission dates

VA publishes changes as Circulars numbered 26-YY-NN, and unlike a mortgagee letter, a circular can carry an expiration on its face. Circular 26-25-10, dated December 1, 2025, ends with one line: “This Circular is rescinded January 1, 2027.” Others, such as 26-26-1 (February 17, 2026) and 26-26-2 (August 11, 2026), are marked valid until rescinded. Its content shows one agency’s number becoming another’s math. VA sets no loan limit for a veteran with full entitlement, but the conforming limit enters elsewhere:

Partial entitlement above $144,000: remaining entitlement equals 25% of the conforming limit minus previously used entitlement not restored, under 38 U.S.C. 3703(a)(1)(C)(ii).
Multi-unit properties: the statute requires the single-family limit even on two to four units, under 38 U.S.C. 3703(a)(1)(C)(iii)(II).
Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans: the conforming limit does not apply; above $144,000 VA guarantees 25% of the loan amount regardless of entitlement, under 38 U.S.C. 3710(e)(2).
Effective date: loans closed on or after January 1, 2026, a closing trigger, not FHA’s case-number trigger.

Circulars sit over 38 CFR Part 36 and VA Pamphlet 26-7, the Lender’s Handbook, and a later circular controls. VA draws more proposal-stage noise than any program, so treat a bill, draft or pilot as not in force and check proposed changes to VA loan programs.

How does USDA change rural housing loan rules?

USDA runs a three-layer stack, and the top layer moves most. The regulation is 7 CFR Part 3555, implementing section 502(h) of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended; the operational document is HB-1-3555, the SFH Guaranteed Loan Program Technical Handbook; changes arrive as numbered Procedure Notices revising individual chapters.

The tell is the footer. Every HB-1-3555 chapter carries a dated “SPECIAL PN” stamp and, once amended, a “Revised” line naming the date and the procedure notice that changed it, so a saved PDF shows on sight whether you are holding current policy or a stale copy. Check the chapter’s footer against the current version on rd.usda.gov before relying on it.

How do FHFA and the GSEs publish changes?

FHFA sets the number and the GSEs operationalize it, weeks apart, in different documents. FHFA was established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law 110-289, signed July 30, 2008, and has been regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since September 2008. Its most visible annual act is the November conforming loan limit announcement under the HERA formula: on November 25, 2025 it set the 2026 one-unit value at $832,750 and the ceiling at $1,249,125. The GSEs then publish separately, so a change at one is not automatically a change at the other:

Fannie Mae Selling Guide Announcements (SEL-YYYY-NN): Announcement SEL-2026-05, issued May 6, 2026, is the announcement behind the current version of Selling Guide topic A2-4.1-03, Electronic Records, Signatures, and Transactions, which carries the same 05/06/2026 date. Each Selling Guide topic prints its own effective date and lists the announcements that produced it, which is a quick way to see whether a change actually landed.
Servicing Guide Announcements (SVC-YYYY-NN) and Lender Letters (LL-YYYY-NN): same convention, with Lender Letters carrying guidance not yet folded into a Guide.
Freddie Mac Bulletins: numbered by year and sequence and addressed to Sellers, Servicers, or both, each one folding into the Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide. A single bulletin routinely bundles unrelated topics that take effect on different dates.

One instrument can hold two dates at once, so the headline date tells you nothing about when a provision binds. FHA’s ML 2024-07, dated May 1, 2024, said its provisions “may be implemented immediately but must be implemented for FHA case numbers assigned on or after September 2, 2024”: one letter, an optional window and a mandatory trigger four months apart. (That letter was itself rescinded by ML 2025-08 on March 19, 2025, which is step 3 below.) Go deeper in FHFA updates, Fannie Mae updates and Freddie Mac updates.

Where do state regulators fit?

States control who may originate, not what the loan looks like, and the federal floor comes from the same 2008 law that created FHFA. The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 is Title V of Public Law 110-289, requiring every residential mortgage loan originator to hold a state license or federal registration through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry. Regulation G at 12 CFR 1007 covers federal registration and Regulation H at 12 CFR 1008 sets the minimum standards states must meet.

Above that floor, each state writes its own application, education, bonding, examination and renewal rules, so a multi-state company carries separate licenses in every state it lends in, the layer national “what changed” articles omit. Michigan’s version is covered in the state module below.

Which fair lending rules apply, and who enforces them?

Two federal statutes with different protected-class lists apply, and Michigan adds a third.

Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.: prohibits discrimination in housing and residential real estate-related transactions because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or handicap. Enforced by HUD and the Department of Justice.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. 1691, implemented by Regulation B at 12 CFR Part 1002: prohibits discrimination against a credit applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract), because all or part of the applicant’s income derives from a public assistance program, or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Enforced by the CFPB.
Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, 1976 PA 453: adds a state layer with its own list for real estate transactions, set out at MCL 37.2502(1) and detailed in the Michigan module below. Enforced by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

Note the gaps. Marital status and age are ECOA bases, not Fair Housing Act bases. Familial status and handicap are Fair Housing Act bases with no ECOA equivalent. A Michigan file answers to all three statutes at once, so paraphrasing any one list from memory is how compliance mistakes start.

What agencies do not control: your lender’s terms

Much of what borrowers call a “rule” is a lender term with no agency behind it. Rate lock periods, extension fees and float-down options are set by the lender or investor and carry no instrument number, as our explainer on how mortgage rate locks work covers. Overlays work the same way: when two lenders answer differently on one file, an overlay is almost always why.

Rates are market outcomes, not policy outputs. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey has published weekly averages since April 1971, released Thursdays at noon Eastern. Our mortgage rates and market guide explains what moves them.

How to read any mortgage regulation update in five steps

Five checks separate a real change from a headline, about ten minutes per instrument.²

1. Name the instrument: No letter number, Federal Register citation, circular number, guide announcement, bulletin, procedure notice, public law or statute section means no source yet.
2. Find the trigger, not just the date: ML 2025-23 used case-number assignment, Circular 26-25-10 used closing date, and Selling Guide announcements typically use an application received date or a delivery date. The same calendar date means different loans.
3. Check what it supersedes: A letter or announcement can override handbook text still posted online.
4. Confirm final versus proposed: Bills, proposed rules, comment requests and agendas change nothing until final and past compliance.
5. Ask about lender overlays: An agency loosening a requirement obligates no lender to follow.

For borrowers, see the impact of new mortgage regulations, plus new lending regulations and housing legislation.

What Michigan buyers should know

Four Michigan-specific layers sit on top of everything above, and three of them have statute numbers you can look up.

DIFS licenses the company and the originator under two separate acts: The Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, and Servicers Licensing Act, 1987 PA 173, MCL 445.1651 to 445.1684, licenses the company and requires proof of financial responsibility (a surety bond or letter of credit) of $25,000 for a broker that receives borrower funds before closing or that acts as a lender, and $125,000 for a servicer, under MCL 445.1654. The Mortgage Loan Originator Licensing Act, 2009 PA 75, licenses the individual, recorded in NMLS.
Elliott-Larsen names its own protected classes for real estate: MCL 37.2502(1), as amended by 2023 PA 6 effective February 13, 2024, bars discrimination in a real estate transaction on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, or marital status. Read the right article: height and weight are Elliott-Larsen bases in the general declaration at MCL 37.2102(1) and the employment article at MCL 37.2202, but they are not in the real estate list.
Source of income is a rental protection, not a purchase one: MCL 37.2502(3), added by 2024 PA 180 effective April 2, 2025, bars a landlord from denying a tenancy or setting different terms based on source of income, and MCL 37.2502(4) exempts a landlord of fewer than 5 rental units in Michigan. It reaches leases, not mortgage applications. On the lending side, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act already bars discrimination because income derives from a public assistance program.
Michigan has no high-cost county, so one number applies statewide: All 83 counties carry the 2026 baseline conforming limit of $832,750 and the FHA one-unit floor of $541,287, so a Metro Detroit file and an Upper Peninsula file cross into jumbo territory at the same figure. MSHDA sets its own overlay: the MI Home Loan requires a 640 minimum credit score and a statewide sales price limit of $566,355 after June 1, 2026, with the MI 10K DPA Loan up to $10,000, published on michigan.gov. FHFA and HUD normally announce the next year’s limits in November and December; the 2027 figures had not been published as of October 2026.

How Align keeps up with the rules

Program rules, loan limits and disclosure requirements change every year. Samantha tracks them so your file is built on the rules in force when you apply, not last year's.

One rule worth knowing: Align is paid by the lender, not by a fee you pay us, and federal rules bar a broker's pay from changing with your rate or fees. A broker earns the same on your loan whether your rate is higher or lower.

Sources: Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.36(d).

FAQ: Mortgage regulation updates

Here are answers to common questions about mortgage regulation updates.

How do I find out what mortgage regulations actually changed?

Check seven sources, because no combined feed exists: the Federal Register, HUDCLIPS, the VA circulars page, rd.usda.gov, fhfa.gov, the two GSE policy pages and your state regulator. Anything without an instrument number is commentary, not a change.

What is Regulation X in mortgage servicing?

Regulation X is the CFPB rule at 12 CFR Part 1024 implementing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. It governs escrow accounts, notices of error, information requests, loss mitigation and foreclosure referral timing.

Do mortgage licensing requirements differ by state?

Yes. The SAFE Act, Title V of Public Law 110-289, requires every residential mortgage loan originator to be state-licensed or federally registered through NMLS, but each state writes its own application, education, bonding and renewal rules above that floor. Michigan licenses companies under 1987 PA 173 and individuals under 2009 PA 75, both through DIFS.

How can a lender or broker stay compliant with changing mortgage rules?

Build a monitoring routine keyed to instruments, not headlines. Subscribe to all seven channels, log each instrument by number and effective-date trigger, and map it to the procedures it touches. Document when each policy changed and why, because that audit trail is what an examiner reviews.

The bottom line on mortgage regulation updates

There is no single mortgage rulebook and no single update feed. Seven bodies publish in seven instruments: CFPB final rules in the Federal Register, HUD Mortgagee Letters, VA Circulars, USDA Procedure Notices to HB-1-3555, FHFA announcements, GSE Guide Announcements and Bulletins, and state licensing acts run by regulators like Michigan DIFS. The $832,750 conforming limit FHFA set on November 25, 2025 shows the machinery working: it became FHA’s $541,287 floor and $1,249,125 ceiling through Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, and entered the VA entitlement formula through Circular 26-25-10. An update with no instrument number and no effective-date trigger has not changed anything yet.

If you’re ready to see how today’s rules price your file, talk to Align Lending. We’ll shop your scenario across our lender network and show you the numbers side by side. Call 248-506-5727 or start online.

Footnotes:

1. Align Lending is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of FHA, HUD, VA, USDA, FHFA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the CFPB or the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. References to those agencies and their programs are for educational comparison only; each program is administered by its own agency, and its requirements are set and changed independently of one another. Return to text.

2. This article describes how mortgage regulations are published and how to locate them. It is not legal, compliance or tax advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the governing instrument. Regulations, mortgagee letters, circulars, procedure notices, guide announcements and state licensing requirements are amended, superseded and rescinded on their own schedules; confirm the current text and effective date with the issuing agency before relying on any description here. Return to text.

Sources: CFPB regulations and their 12 CFR part numbers, including Regulation B (Part 1002), Regulation C (Part 1003), Regulation G (Part 1007), Regulation H (Part 1008), Regulation X (Part 1024) and Regulation Z (Part 1026), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rules and Policy: Regulations. Regulation X issued to implement the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as amended, 12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., 12 CFR 1024.1. Creation of the Bureau under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203 (2010). 2013 Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z), 78 FR 79730, published December 31, 2013, effective August 1, 2015, with the Loan Estimate provided within three business days after application and the Closing Disclosure three business days before closing; delay of that effective date to October 3, 2015, 2013 Integrated Mortgage Disclosures Rule; Delay of Effective Date, 80 FR 43911, published July 24, 2015, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Qualified Mortgage Definition Under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z): General QM Loan Definition, 85 FR 86308, December 29, 2020, removing the 43 percent debt-to-income limit and replacing it with price-based thresholds, with mandatory compliance delayed to October 1, 2022. FHA Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, December 11, 2025, 2026 Nationwide Forward Mortgage Loan Limits: effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026; updates Handbook 4000.1 sections II.A.2.a.ii(B), (C) and (D); low-cost area limits set at 65 percent of the national conforming limit of $832,750, one-unit $541,287; high-cost area limits set at 150 percent, one-unit $1,249,125; updates to be incorporated into a forthcoming update of Handbook 4000.1. Handbook 4000.1 transmittal issued August 12, 2026, updating section II.A.2.a.ii, Nationwide Mortgage Limits, to link to HUD’s published limits in lieu of including loan limits in the handbook annually, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Consolidation of prior mortgagee letters, housing notices and handbooks into FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. VA Circular 26-25-10, December 1, 2025, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Announces 2026 Conforming Loan Limits: partial entitlement calculated as 25 percent of the conforming loan limit less previously used entitlement not restored for loans over $144,000, 38 U.S.C. 3703(a)(1)(C)(ii); single-family limit required for multi-unit properties, 38 U.S.C. 3703(a)(1)(C)(iii)(II); conforming loan limit inapplicable to IRRRLs, with a 25 percent guaranty above $144,000, 38 U.S.C. 3710(e)(2); effective for loans closed on or after January 1, 2026; rescinded January 1, 2027. VA Circulars 26-26-1 (February 17, 2026) and 26-26-2 (August 11, 2026), Veterans Benefits Administration circulars index. VA Pamphlet 26-7, Lender’s Handbook, and 38 CFR Part 36. USDA 7 CFR Part 3555 implementing section 502(h) of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended, and Handbook HB-1-3555, SFH Guaranteed Loan Program Technical Handbook, whose chapters carry dated SPECIAL PN and Revised procedure notice stamps in the footer, USDA Rural Development. FHFA established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law 110-289, signed July 30, 2008; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac placed into conservatorship September 6, 2008, Federal Housing Finance Agency. 2026 conforming loan limit value of $832,750 for one-unit properties and ceiling of $1,249,125, 150 percent of $832,750, set under the HERA formula, FHFA news release, November 25, 2025. Fannie Mae Announcement SEL-2026-05, May 6, 2026, listed as the announcement related to Selling Guide topic A2-4.1-03, Electronic Records, Signatures, and Transactions (05/06/2026), Fannie Mae Selling Guide; Fannie Mae Servicing Guide Announcements (SVC-) and Lender Letters (LL-). Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Bulletins, numbering convention and distribution, Freddie Mac. Provisions that “may be implemented immediately but must be implemented for FHA case numbers assigned on or after September 2, 2024,” HUD Mortgagee Letter 2024-07, May 1, 2024, rescinded by HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-08, March 19, 2025. SAFE Act as Title V of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law 110-289, implemented through Regulation G (12 CFR 1007) and Regulation H (12 CFR 1008) and the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Michigan Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, and Servicers Licensing Act, 1987 PA 173, MCL 445.1651 to 445.1684, including proof of financial responsibility by corporate surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit of $25,000 for an applicant that acts as a mortgage broker and receives funds from a prospective borrower before closing or that acts as a mortgage lender, and $125,000 for an applicant that acts as a mortgage servicer, MCL 445.1654; Michigan Mortgage Loan Originator Licensing Act, 2009 PA 75, effective July 31, 2009, Michigan Legislature and Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services. Assignment of the 2026 baseline one-unit conforming loan limit to all 83 Michigan counties, FHFA Full County Loan Limit List, HERA-based, calendar year 2026. MI Home Loan minimum credit score of 640, statewide sales price limit of $566,355 after June 1, 2026, and MI 10K DPA Loan maximum of $10,000, Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Fair Housing Act protected characteristics, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq. Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibited bases, 15 U.S.C. 1691 and Regulation B, 12 CFR Part 1002. Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, 1976 PA 453: real estate transaction bases at MCL 37.2502(1) as amended by 2023 PA 6, effective February 13, 2024; source-of-income prohibition for landlords at MCL 37.2502(3) and the exemption for landlords of fewer than 5 rental units at MCL 37.2502(4), added by 2024 PA 180, effective April 2, 2025; height and weight as bases in the general declaration at MCL 37.2102(1) and the employment article at MCL 37.2202, Michigan Legislature. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey published since April 1971 and released Thursdays at 12 p.m. Eastern, Freddie Mac.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. Agency guidelines, loan limits, licensing requirements and fair lending rules change and vary by program, property and state; confirm current requirements with the issuing agency and your lender, and consult a qualified professional about your situation. Align Lending is an independent Michigan mortgage broker, NMLS #2041154.