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Oakland County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Brandon Township, MI

Buying in Brandon Township, whether a village lot in Ortonville, a site condo by Seymour Lake or ten acres off Oakwood Road? Samantha shops your loan with several wholesale lenders and checks the parcel's ZIP code, school district, well, septic and lot rules before you make an offer.

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Buying a home in Brandon Township

Brandon Township, a charter township in Oakland County, is home to about 15,440 residents in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey (15,384 in the 2020 census) across about 35 square miles of land. Its ZIP codes also reach into Clarkston, Independence Township, Ortonville and Oxford, so the parcel record, not the mailing address, shows which unit's tax rates apply. The Village of Ortonville lies inside the township. Downtown Detroit is about 40 miles southeast in a straight line.

By the numbers

Brandon Township housing and mortgage snapshot

Values move. Treat these as orientation and let us pull current figures for the address you are considering.

$331,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+44%

Typical rise in taxable value the year after a home sells, 2026 Uncapping Study

3

Residential ZIP codes: 48462, 48371, 48348

What financing looks like in Brandon Township

Brandon Township's own assessor keeps the fullest local price record. Its 2026 sales study covers the two years from April 2023 to the end of March 2025 and lists 216 house sales: 187 in the township outside the village, at a $375,000 median, and 29 inside the Village of Ortonville at $290,000. Land moves the number more than the house does. The 100 township sales on 2 acres or more had a $400,000 median, the 47 on less than an acre $244,000, and 11 came on parcels of 10 acres or more. For a fresher read at the ZIP level, Redfin's July through September 2026 median for ZIP 48462, home to about two thirds of the township's homes, came to $404,881, a 6.5% rise from a year before, and listings there went under contract in about three weeks. The township's other two ZIP codes, 48371 and 48348, lie mostly outside it, in Oxford and Independence townships, so their Redfin medians, $432,373 and $544,340, describe those places more than Brandon.

Most of those prices fit under Oakland County's 2026 FHA limit of $541,287, and every one sits under the conforming limit of $832,750. MSHDA's MI Home Loan caps the purchase price at $566,355. Paired with it, a first-time buyer within the income limits can add MI 10K, a $10,000 down payment loan, repaid when you sell, refinance, pay off the mortgage or stop living in the home. Acreage is where Brandon files differ from suburban ones. The appraiser has to support the value with other acreage sales, and the township's study gives plenty to work from, 33 house sales on 5 acres or more in two years. In the two manufactured home communities off Sashabaw Road the site under each home is leased, so those homes are usually bought with cash or a personal property loan rather than a mortgage, while a manufactured home on land the buyer owns, set on a permanent foundation and titled with the land, can carry a standard mortgage.

Every Brandon Township home runs on a private well and a septic system. The township's 2022 master plan notes that no sanitary sewer, water main or storm sewer runs anywhere in it. Many lenders want a recent water sample from the well, and an FHA or VA appraiser records how far the well sits from the septic tank and drain field. Oakland County's sanitary code calls for at least 50 feet from a private well to either one. A house with an engineered septic system that includes pretreatment carries a recorded deed restriction, and the county's operation permit for that system does not pass to a new owner, so the buyer applies for one.

Nearly 1 in 5 Brandon Township homes has a Clarkston 48348 mailing address, on about 4 in 100 acres of its land along the south line, and every one of those homes is in the Brandon School District.

The market

The Brandon Township housing market

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey counts about 5,766 owner-occupied homes in Brandon Township, with a median year built of 1984. The typical home value in Brandon Township is near $331,000. Homeowners pay a median of about $4,378 a year in property taxes, an effective rate of about 1.32% of the median value.

Three ZIP codes, two school districts

Brandon Township by ZIP code and school district

Land shares come from a point sample of Census Bureau boundaries, and home counts from the 2020 census blocks. The mailing ZIP and the school district do not line up, so read the parcel record for both.

ZIP 48462, Ortonville: about 2 in 3 homes

About 78% of the township's land and 3,921 of its 5,973 homes in 2020, including the whole village. Mostly Brandon schools, with Oxford schools along Hurd Road and Presidio Drive. Redfin's July through September 2026 median for the full ZIP: $404,881.

ZIP 48371, Oxford: about 1 in 6 homes

The east side, about 18% of the land and 940 homes in 2020. Both districts appear here: Oxford schools on Sherwood, Wooley and Baldwin roads, Brandon schools in Seymour Lake Knolls, Seymour Lake Meadows and on Trillium Lane.

ZIP 48348, Clarkston: nearly 1 in 5 homes

A strip along the south line, about 4% of the land but 1,112 homes in 2020, most of them in Sashabaw Meadows, Clarkston Lakes and Seymour Lake Estates. All of it is in the Brandon School District.

Village of Ortonville: 571 homes

Under 3% of the township's land, inside ZIP 48462 and the Brandon School District. Village homes pay the township's levies and the village's, 50.84 homestead mills in 2025.

Brandon School District: about 87% of homes

About 80% of the land, from the village and the western lakes to Sashabaw Road and the south line. The 2025 homestead total outside the village was 40.07 mills.

Oxford Community Schools: about 13% of homes

About 20% of the land, on the east side roughly east of Hurd Road, from the north line down to the Seymour Lake Road area. The 2025 homestead total there was 35.81 mills.

Where to look

Brandon Township neighborhoods

Inside the Village of Ortonville

The village is part of Brandon Township rather than a separate place beside it. In the 2020 census 571 of the township's 5,973 homes stood inside the village line, on less than 3 in 100 acres of its land. Village owners pay every township levy plus the village's own, and the township's assessor values village parcels along with the rest. Of the 216 house sales in the assessor's 2026 study, 29 were village houses, with a $290,000 median. Our Ortonville page walks through those village streets one by one.

Kent, Leece and Granger roads

Country roads east and southeast of the village line, on lots from under an acre to about 5 acres. On Kent Road a 1971 ranch on three quarters of an acre sold for $244,000 and a 1979 contemporary on 4.88 acres for $460,000. Granger Road sold a 2004 colonial on 2.5 acres for $375,000 and a 1983 colonial for $385,000, and Redfin shows 1535 Granger Road closing at $482,985 in October 2026. Leece Road added a 1990 ranch at $343,000. The Census block group that wraps around the village puts the owner median near $277,300 and the typical home at 1975.

Oakwood Road and Old Pro Lane

North of the village, Oakwood Road runs east from M-15 below Ortonville Recreation Area toward the township's community park at 1414 North Hadley Road, a 47 acre former farm that opened as a park in 2008. Most houses here sit on about 2.5 acres. A 1995 ranch at 2101 Oakwood sold for $367,000, a 1997 ranch at 2135 Oakwood for $415,000 and a 2005 colonial at 1999 Oakwood for $540,000. Old Pro Lane and Country Meadows Trail added a 1964 ranch on 3.78 acres at $385,500 and a 1999 colonial at $450,000. Owner median in this block group: near $371,500, typical home 1988.

Connell Road and Briar Ridge Lane

The north edge of the township meets Ortonville Recreation Area, about 5,400 acres of state land that runs on into Lapeer County. By OpenStreetMap's outline of the park, roughly 1,160 acres of it lie inside Brandon Township, about 5 in 100 acres of the township, so much of the land near the north line is state land or large private parcels. Sales here ran big on acreage: a 2002 ranch on 37.29 acres on Connell Road at $425,000, a 1992 colonial on 10 acres on Briar Ridge Lane at $560,000 and a 1978 colonial on 5.28 acres on Liberty Lane at $380,000. Every one of the block group's 263 homes is detached, owner median near $306,600, typical home 1979.

Hurd Road, Heron Drive and Oak Ridge Trail

The northeast quarter toward the Oxford Township line, where many parcels sit in Oxford Community Schools even when the mailing address says Ortonville. Sales from 2023 to early 2025 ran from $250,000 for a 1975 ranch on Granger Road to $550,000 for a 1977 bi-level on 7.6 acres on Oak Ridge Trail, with 1990s houses on Hurd Road and Morton Court between $405,500 and $450,000. Shelmar Lane, on the Brandon schools side, sold a 2018 ranch on 5 acres for $418,000. About 3 in 10 homes in this block group heat with propane, and its owner median sits near $289,700, typical home 1985.

Sherwood, Wooley and Baldwin roads

The east side, with Oxford 48371 addresses and Oxford Community Schools, laid out mostly in 2.5 to 5 acre parcels. Ten sales in the township study ran from $210,000 for a 1966 ranch on 3.53 acres on Wooley Road to $605,000 for a 2005 ranch on 5 acres on Sherwood Road, with a $340,000 median. Newer houses on Baldwin Meadow Drive and Sherwood Road brought $585,000 for a 2007 ranch and $575,000 for a 2017 Cape Cod. The block group has the latest typical build year in the township, 2000, with 207 of its 590 homes built from 2010 to 2019, and an owner median near $344,100.

Burrus Road, Meadow Lake and Scenic Meadows

The middle of the township, between Perry Lake and Sashabaw Road, holds 1990s and 2000s houses on 2.5 acre lots plus a few larger holdings. The township's study lists a 2004 ranch on Meadow Lake Lane at $391,000, a 1994 colonial on Scenic Meadows Court at $570,000, a 2002 Cape Cod on Hidden Lake Trail at $554,900, a 1983 colonial on 13.45 acres on Burrus Road at $550,000 and a 1990 colonial on 8.33 acres on South Sashabaw Road at $700,000. Redfin shows 2660 Scenic Meadows Drive at $485,000 and 1625 Perry Lake Road at $478,000 in October 2026. Owner median here runs near $429,100, with homes typically from 1994.

Seymour Lake Knolls and Seymour Lake Meadows

Two subdivisions near Seymour Lake carry Oxford 48371 mailing addresses but sit in the Brandon School District. In Seymour Lake Knolls, Lake Knolls Drive and Clipper Court hold tri-levels built from 1976 to 1979 on lots near four tenths of an acre, and five sold for $280,000 to $375,000 in 2023 and 2024. Seymour Lake Meadows, on Corkwood and Persimmon drives, went up from 2002 to 2018, and four sales ran $441,000 to $499,000. Township records give the Meadows houses no acreage of their own, the usual sign of a site condominium. The Census block group blends these streets with part of a manufactured home community, so its owner median, near $315,300, carries a wide margin.

Seymour Lake Estates and Oak Hill Road

Just south of Seymour Lake, Seymour Lake Estates has Clarkston 48348 addresses and Brandon schools. Sunrise Drive, Zeer Boulevard, Maplewood Drive and Lakeshore Drive hold colonials and ranches built from 1995 to 1999, and five sales in 2023 and 2024 ran from $390,000 to $505,000, each recorded without acreage of its own, the way site condominium units usually are. Farther south toward the Independence Township line, Oak Hill Road mixes newer houses on acreage, such as a 2003 ranch on 8.1 acres sold for $653,000, with an 1885 colonial on 12 acres at $489,900. Census figures put the owner median near $400,600 and the typical home at 1987, every one detached.

Sashabaw Meadows and Clarkston Lakes

Two manufactured home communities on Dogwood Boulevard, off Sashabaw Road near the south line: Sashabaw Meadows at 4359 and Clarkston Lakes at 4260. Both carry Clarkston 48348 addresses and sit in Brandon Township and the Brandon School District, and between them they hold most of the 635 manufactured homes the Census Bureau counts in the township. In the block group around Clarkston Lakes, 428 of 447 homes are manufactured, typically from 1988, and Sashabaw Meadows lists 511 sites and a 1982 opening on MHVillage. The homes stand on leased sites, which shapes how they are financed.

Allison Court, Kingslyn Farm and Stanton Road

The southeast corner, against the Oxford and Independence township lines, is country lots of 2.5 to 4 acres with Oxford 48371 addresses. The school line splits it: Allison Court and Sandstone Drive are in Oxford Community Schools, while Kingslyn Farm Court, Stanton Road and Trillium Lane are in Brandon. Sales in 2023 and 2024 ran from $260,000 for a 1979 bi-level on Sandstone Drive to $730,000 for a 1992 colonial on 3.93 acres on Allison Court, with a 2003 colonial on Kingslyn Farm Court at $515,000 and a 2000 ranch on Stanton Road at $521,000. All 309 homes in the block group are detached, owner median near $386,800, typical home 1980.

Pinewood, Red Maple and Bald Eagle Lake Road

South of Bald Eagle Lake, among Tully, Long and Wilson lakes, side streets mix 1970s houses on about an acre with a few large holdings. Bald Eagle Lake Road sold a 1978 bi-level for $380,000 and a 1976 Cape Cod for $285,000, and a 1971 ranch on Red Maple Trail changed hands twice, at $325,000 in 2023 and $335,000 in 2024. Toward the south line, a 1975 ranch on 10.10 acres on Oakbrook Drive brought $405,000 and a 1971 bi-level on 10.35 acres on Grapevine Trail $645,000. The block group's owner median is near $315,600, with a wide margin, and its typical home dates to 1975.

Schools and commute

Schools

Two districts split the township. The Brandon School District covers about 4 in 5 acres and about 87% of homes by the 2020 census count, including the whole village and every home in the Clarkston 48348 strip along the south line. Oxford Community Schools takes the east side, roughly east of Hurd Road from the north line down to the Seymour Lake Road area, about a fifth of the land and 13% of homes. ZIP codes ignore that line. Seymour Lake Knolls and Seymour Lake Meadows have Oxford addresses and Brandon schools, while Hurd Road and Presidio Drive have Ortonville addresses and Oxford schools. The district changes the bill: a 2025 homestead in Brandon schools paid 40.07 mills against 35.81 on the Oxford side, and the 4.26 mill gap is the difference between the two districts' debt levies, 12.16 mills and 7.9. Building assignments follow the street address, so confirm the school with the district office before you count on one.

Commute

M-15 runs north and south through the village and carries most trips out of the township. Starting at the township offices on Mill Street, OSRM's light-traffic routing puts I-75 at the M-15 interchange about 11.7 miles and 18 minutes away. Oakland University is about 21 miles and 30 minutes out, the Somerset Collection area in Troy about 29 miles and 41 minutes, Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc about 13 miles and 27 minutes and Bishop International Airport in Flint about 22 miles and 35 minutes. The southeast corner sits closer to Oxford and to I-75. From Seymour Lake Estates, downtown Oxford is about 7.1 miles and 12 minutes away by Seymour Lake Road, and Sashabaw Road leads to I-75 and downtown Detroit, about 44.5 miles and 53 minutes. On the December 2023 list of Oakland County's largest employers that the county posts from Crain's, Oakland County government counts 3,679 local jobs, Magna International 2,640 and Oakland University 1,762. The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey puts the average one-way commute for township workers at about 33 minutes, and about 1 in 5 of them work from home.

Before you commit

Things to settle on a Brandon Township house

Each of these is particular to a Brandon Township house, and each is easier to settle during your inspection period than after it.

  • The parcel, not the mailing address. Use the township's assessing office to confirm the taxing unit, the school district and the taxable value, and its property tax page for current bills. Summer taxes are payable July 1 to September 14 and winter taxes December 1 to February 16.
  • Well and septic records. Ask for the well log, the latest water sample results, and the septic permit or the record of pumping. Oakland County's septic page covers permits for a repair or replacement, and its well and water page lists the tests it offers. An engineered septic system with pretreatment needs its own county operation permit in the buyer's name.
  • Lot size and what you can add. The township's schedule of regulations sets 2.5 acres and 165 feet of width in the RE district, 1 acre in R-1A and 20,000 square feet in R-1B where there is no sewer and water. On an RE lot, detached outbuildings such as a pole barn may match the house's living area or reach 2,400 square feet, whichever is larger, plus 400 square feet for each acre over 2.5, under the accessory building amendment on the township's ordinances page.
  • Splits and private roads. A recently created parcel should carry its own parcel number and a recorded survey. The township's land division application lists what it requires, including a private road maintenance agreement where one applies, and a lender usually wants to see that agreement too.
  • Lake lots. Ask the clerk whether the lot is in a lake weed control district, search the address on FEMA's flood map, and keep in mind that the county code holds a septic system at least 50 feet back from the water.
  • Propane. About 1 in 12 Brandon Township homes heats with bottled gas by Census count. If the tank is leased, arrange the account transfer with the supplier before closing.

Michigan property taxes

Brandon Township property taxes after you buy

The year after a Michigan home sells, its taxable value resets to half of the assessor's market value, so the seller's tax bill is not your tax bill.

In Brandon Township, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 44% the year after a sale. On a $325,000 home, near the typical Brandon Township value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $1,770 to $1,980, depending on the school district. Most homes here are in Brandon schools (about $1,980); Oxford Area schools homes run about $1,770. Your address decides which applies. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Brandon Township address? Our Michigan property tax calculator finds that property's published 2025 millage and works out the tax to plan for after you buy.

In Samantha's words

Don't build your budget around somebody else's tax bill. The seller's tax history tells us something about the property. It does not automatically tell us what your taxes are going to look like as the new owner.

Michigan Treasury, 2025

Brandon Township millage, line by line

Treasury's 2025 totals for the three rate areas inside the township, then the pieces of a Brandon schools homestead bill. Each mill adds $100 a year per $100,000 of taxable value.

Brandon schools homestead: 40.07

The rate for most of the township outside the village. A second home or rental in the same area pays 57.94, because school operating tax is added for a parcel that is not a principal residence.

Oxford schools homestead: 35.81

The east side's rate, 53.13 for a parcel that is not a principal residence. The 4.26 mill gap with Brandon schools is the debt levy: 12.16 mills for Brandon, 7.9 for Oxford.

Village homestead: 50.84

Every Brandon schools and township levy, plus about 10.77 mills for the Village of Ortonville. A village parcel that is not a principal residence pays 68.71.

Brandon Township's share: 9.43

Only 0.94 of it is township operating. Two fire levies take about 4.89, billed as a special assessment, and police takes 3.6.

County, regional and state: 16.62

The 6 mill state education tax, Oakland County operating at 3.93, the Oakland Schools and Oakland Community College levies, parks, transit, the zoo and the art institute. The Brandon library adds 1.87.

Why a buyer's bill climbs

Across the township, residential taxable value sits at about 70% of state equalized value, so the reset after a sale is large. At 40.07 mills, each $100,000 of taxable value costs about $4,007 a year.

Local resources

Check Brandon Township records yourself

The official offices behind the tax and school details on this page.

What our clients say

5.0 on Google across 128 reviews

★★★★★
Can’t say enough great things about Samantha and her team at Align Lending! Highly recommend
Justin BartonJune 2024
★★★★★
As a first-time homebuyer in Ferndale, I was unsure of some things. Samantha was awesome. She was extremely helpful and made sure I understood every part of the process.
Peter RosaAugust 2026
★★★★★
Want to shout out Samantha for the expert guidance, made my first-time homebuyer experience seamless! It exceeded expectations and was a stress free process throughout. Grateful for all your help and loving my new home in Bloomfield Hills!
MichaelJuly 2026
★★★★★
Samantha Shelton is amazing!! She helped me get into my first home in Ferndale. The closing process was easy I was able to take care of everything without taking a day off of work. Being a first time homebuyer was stressful but she provided clear communication and true experience guidance throughout the entire process
Jeffery HolleyFebruary 2026

Individual experiences. Results vary.

Brandon Township mortgage questions

If yours is not here, ask it on the call. There are no dumb questions.

Is Ortonville part of Brandon Township?

Yes. The Village of Ortonville lies inside Brandon Township, so a village home is in both. Village owners pay every township levy plus the village’s own, which is why a 2025 village homestead total of 50.84 mills compares with 40.07 for a Brandon schools home just outside the village line. Brandon Township’s assessor values the village parcels as well, and the township offices sit in the village at 395 Mill Street. This page covers the whole township with the village as one part of it, and our Ortonville page goes through the village streets in detail.

It can be. Three ZIP codes reach into the township. Ortonville 48462 covers about two thirds of its homes, Oxford 48371 about one in six on the east side, and Clarkston 48348 nearly one in five, in a strip along the south line that holds Seymour Lake Estates and the two manufactured home communities on Dogwood Boulevard. The ZIP code does not settle the school district either. Seymour Lake Knolls has Oxford addresses and Brandon schools, and Hurd Road has Ortonville addresses and Oxford schools. The parcel number on the tax bill settles both the township and the district.

No. The township’s 2022 master plan says every property is served by a private well and a septic system, with no water, sanitary sewer or storm sewer mains. Oakland County’s Health Division issues the permits for wells and septic systems and recommends that well owners test for bacteria, nitrate and nitrite every year. Ask the seller for the well record and any septic permits or pump-out receipts. A sewer extension from Genesee County has been studied since 2021, and a sewer district would typically be paid for by special assessment, so ask the township whether a street sits in a planned district.

Splits go through the township’s Land Division Committee, which decides within 25 days of a complete application. In the RE rural estate district a lot needs at least 2.5 acres and 165 feet of width, and no parcel may run deeper than four times its width without a variance. The township asks for a certified survey, a new deed recorded with the Oakland County Register of Deeds and, where it applies, a private road maintenance agreement. After a split the owner gives the mortgage company the new parcel number and files the homestead exemption again on it, so on a newly split parcel check that both are done.

Usually, when the property is mainly a home. The appraiser needs other acreage sales to compare, and Brandon has them: the township’s two-year study lists 33 house sales on 5 acres or more, including a 1968 ranch on 5 acres on North Baldwin Road at $245,000 and a 2017 colonial on 20.14 acres on North Sashabaw Road at $690,000. Big parcels are common here. The township’s master plan counts 306 parcels larger than 10 acres, holding about 36% of its parcel land. If part of the land earns money, from crops, hay or boarding horses, say so early, because it changes how the loan is written.

Three kinds come up most. The township’s two fire levies, about 4.89 mills together, are billed as a special assessment on every township parcel. Lake owners fund weed control through special assessment districts, and the township board held a hearing on a third Seymour Lake weed control district on August 10, 2026. Road paving, private road upkeep, lighting, water and sewer can also be paid by a district, which under the township’s petition rules needs owners of more than half the frontage to sign. Ask the treasurer’s office at 248-627-2853 what a parcel carries and when it ends.

Usually not a standard one, because the homeowner leases the site and the community keeps the land. Homes there are typically bought with cash or a personal property loan, sometimes called a chattel loan, and the monthly site rent belongs in the budget alongside it. Conventional, FHA and VA mortgages can be written on a manufactured home when the buyer owns the land as well and the home sits on a permanent foundation, titled with the land as real estate. Samantha can tell you which route fits the home you are looking at.

Only if FEMA maps the house in a high-risk zone, and that is decided address by address. The township has about 16 named lakes and ponds, from Seymour, Bald Eagle and Perry lakes to Lake Louise and Hummer Lake, so a lot on a shoreline or along a creek needs a check on FEMA’s flood map before you set a budget. If the house sits in the high-risk zone, a lender will require flood insurance on a federally backed loan. Oakland County’s code also keeps a septic system at least 50 feet from the water, which shapes where a lakefront house can put a new drain field.

Talk with a local mortgage expert

Tell Samantha what you are trying to do in Brandon Township and she will tell you what actually matters for your situation, including whether the timing is right.

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    Tell us what you are trying to do

    Not what product you want. What you are actually trying to accomplish.

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    Samantha looks at your situation

    She works out what matters most for you specifically.

  3. 3

    You leave with a plan

    Your options, the tradeoffs, and your next step. No obligation to go further.

Align Lending LLC, NMLS #2041154. Samantha Shelton, NMLS 1647301. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Figures on this page are market research for orientation, not a quote. This page is for educational purposes only. It is not a credit decision, a preapproval, a commitment to lend, or an offer of credit.

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