Align Lending

Genesee County, Michigan

Mortgage Broker in Flint, MI

A Flint house costs little to buy and more to carry: inside the city the 2025 homestead total is 52.34 mills and residents owe a 1% city income tax, so we plan your loan around the whole monthly cost and shop it across multiple wholesale lenders as one Michigan broker.

  • No credit pull to talk
  • Licensed loan originator, NMLS 1647301
  • 5.0 on Google, 128 reviews

Buying a home in Flint

Flint is the birthplace of General Motors and the United Auto Workers, and that industrial DNA still shapes the city, though today healthcare and education employ more people than the auto plants. McLaren Health Care is headquartered here alongside Hurley Medical Center, while Kettering University, the University of Michigan-Flint, and MSU's College of Human Medicine anchor a downtown that has drawn steady reinvestment. The Flint Cultural Center, home to the Sloan Museum of Discovery, the Flint Institute of Arts, and Longway Planetarium, sits beside Mott Community College. Homes in Flint cost little to buy, and residents also pay a 1% city income tax.

By the numbers

Flint housing and mortgage snapshot

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

$49,000

Typical home value, from the market research on this page

+78%

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

1.85%

Property tax current owners pay, as a share of value. A buyer's bill can reset higher the year after a sale

6

Residential ZIP codes: 48502, 48503, 48504, 48505, 48506, 48507

What financing looks like in Flint

Sales from July through September 2026 put Redfin's Flint median near $66,000, about 5% above the same stretch of 2025. The usual home went under contract in about 36 days and sold for about 6% under its asking price, so there is room to negotiate. Zillow's typical value for every Flint home, sold or not, sits near $49,000. Either figure is a small fraction of the 2026 FHA limit of $541,287 and the conforming limit of $832,750. Here the small size of the loan is the hurdle, not a large one: fewer lenders want a very small mortgage, which is one reason we shop yours across multiple wholesale lenders.

The house's condition decides more files than the price does. The Census counts close to 70% of Flint homes as built before 1960. FHA, VA and conventional loans expect a home that is ready to live in, and an FHA 203(k) loan can fold the repair work into the mortgage. The Genesee County Land Bank sells houses too, some listed as ready for rehab at $1,500 or $9,000, and those are usually bought with cash or a renovation loan. Manufactured homes cluster mostly in two Census tracts, near the Flint River on the north end and along Thread Creek in the south, and they follow their own financing rules. MSHDA's MI 10K pairs a MI Home Loan with $10,000 of down payment help for first-time buyers under its income limits. That help comes due on a sale, a refinance, a payoff or a move out of the home, and Flint prices leave plenty of room under its $566,355 price cap.

Plan the carrying costs as carefully as the price. A Flint Community Schools home carried 52.34 homestead mills in 2025, about $523 a year for each $10,000 of taxable value, and city residents pay a 1% income tax in addition to the state's. Lenders count both when they weigh your monthly budget, so we build them in from the first conversation.

A Flint mailing address is not always a Flint tax bill: about 39 of every 40 acres of ZIP 48532 lie outside the city, mostly in Flint Township, where 2025 homestead totals ran 38.37 to 40.16 mills against 52.34 in Flint Community Schools, with no city income tax.

Sub-markets

Flint housing market by ZIP code

Six ZIP codes cover the city itself: 48502 and 48503 lie wholly inside it, while 48504, 48505, 48506 and 48507 spill into the townships around it, and 48532 only grazes the western edge. The sale figures below come from Redfin, cover July through September 2026 and count every home with that ZIP code, township homes included, so a figure can describe homes outside Flint. Owner medians are what owners told the Census in its 2020 to 2024 surveys.

ZIP 48501, near $49,000

Street addresses inside Flint carry 48502 through 48507, so read this card as the citywide picture. Zillow's typical value for every Flint home sits near $49,000, Redfin's median sale was about $66,000 for July through September 2026, and the Census owner median is $53,500. Three yardsticks, three different questions, so they will not match.

ZIP 48502, near $110,000

Downtown, about 1% of the city's land and wholly inside it, around the University of Michigan-Flint, the Flint Farmers' Market and the river. Few homes trade here: Redfin's median of about $110,000 rests on a single September sale, so treat it as a rough marker. Most homes are apartments and condos rather than houses, which brings condo project rules into the loan. Named areas: Downtown, Carriage Town and East Village.

ZIP 48503, near $101,000

About a quarter of the city's land and wholly inside it: College Cultural, Carriage Town, Woodcroft, Evergreen Valley and the Grand Traverse streets. Redfin's median sale ran near $101,000, about 13% higher than a year before, with a typical 22 days to a contract. Owners put the ZIP's median at $83,800 in Census surveys, and about 73% of its homes are detached. Named areas: College Cultural, Woodcroft and the Swartz Creek course.

ZIP 48504, near $48,000

The west and northwest side, about an eighth of the city's land, from Mott Park and Kettering north through Civic Park. Only about 29% of this ZIP's land is in Flint: the rest is Mount Morris Township and Flint Township. Redfin's median sale was about $48,000 for July through September 2026, with about 50 days on the market. Census owner median $53,500. Named areas: Mott Park and the Kettering side, Civic Park, Bassett Park and Sarvis Park.

ZIP 48505, near $25,000

The north side, about a fifth of the city's land and about 60% of the ZIP's, with Genesee and Mount Morris townships making up the rest. Redfin's median sale was about $25,000 on 28 September sales, and homes took about 57 days to sell. Census owner median $31,700, with about 84% of homes detached. Named areas: Brownell Holmes and Flint Lake Park, North central: Max Brandon Park and Stewart Avenue.

ZIP 48506, near $100,000

The east and northeast, about a sixth of the city's land but only about 29% of the ZIP, which runs mostly into Genesee Township. Redfin's median sale was about $100,000, up about 1%, with homes selling in about 28 days, a figure that includes the township side. Census owner median $91,900, and about 69% of homes are owner-occupied. Named areas: Kearsley Reservoir and the northeast, Kearsley Park and Gilkey Creek, Evergreen Valley and the east side.

ZIP 48507, near $115,000

The south side and the airport, about a fifth of the city's land and about a third of the ZIP, which also reaches into Mundy, Flint and Grand Blanc townships. Redfin's median ran near $115,000, close to flat over the year, and the usual listing found a buyer in about 20 days. Census owner median $111,300, again with the township homes counted. Named areas: Thread Lake and the Flint Golf Club, Chevy Commons to Southwestern.

ZIP 48532, near $199,000

A Flint mailing address, but only about 2% of this ZIP's land is inside the city, a strip along its western edge near Woodcroft and Mott Park. The rest is Flint Township and Clayton Township, with their own millage and no city income tax. Redfin's median sale was about $199,000 and the Census owner median $169,200, figures that describe mostly township homes.

Mailing address versus city

Where a Flint ZIP code can land

Census 2020 ZIP and municipal boundaries, by share of each ZIP code's land. The post office calls all of it Flint, but the unit on the tax bill sets the millage and whether the city income tax applies.

48502 and 48503: all city

Both lie wholly inside Flint. A home here pays city and Flint Community Schools millage, unless it sits on one of the district edges named on this page.

48505: about 60% city

The rest is Genesee Township, about 23%, and Mount Morris Township, about 17%, including the Beecher area north of the city line.

48504: about 29% city

Mount Morris Township holds about 57% of this ZIP and Flint Township about 14%. Northwest of the city line, a 48504 house is a township house.

48506: about 29% city

Genesee Township holds about 68% and Richfield Township about 3%. The east side and the Kearsley Reservoir blocks are the city part.

48507: about 32% city

Mundy Township holds about 31%, Flint Township about 29% and Grand Blanc Township about 8%. The airport and the south side are the city part.

48532: about 2% city

Flint Township holds about 66% and Clayton Township about 32%. Only a strip along the city's western edge is Flint itself.

Where to look

Flint neighborhoods

College Cultural

The streets around Mott Community College along East Court Street, with Burroughs Park and Pierce Park inside the tract and Dort Highway on the east. Nearly nine homes in ten are detached houses, the typical one from 1947, and about 61% are owner-occupied. The Census owner value is about $134,500, with a margin near $19,000.

Downtown, Carriage Town and East Village

Four tracts around the river: downtown and the University of Michigan-Flint, Carriage Town and Riverbank Park, Hurley Medical Center and Atwood Stadium, and the East Village blocks by the Flint Cultural Center, Applewood Estate and Fairfield Village. Apartment and condo buildings hold most of the homes here, and owners hold 15% to 22% of homes in three of the four tracts. Owner values run from about $41,800 to $155,200 with very wide margins, and build years from 1938 to 1982.

Mott Park and the Kettering side

The west side around Mott Park, Kettering University, McLaren Flint and Sunset Village, with two smaller tracts toward the University Avenue corridor near Dupont Street and Tenth Avenue. Mostly detached houses from the 1940s and early 1950s. In the Mott Park tract about 69% of homes are owner-occupied and owner values sit near $69,100, while the two smaller tracts run from about $46,300 to $65,100.

Woodcroft and the Swartz Creek course

The southwest corner around Woodcroft, Miller Road and the Swartz Creek golf course on Hammerberg Road. All but a few homes are detached houses, typically from 1956, and about 61% are owner-occupied. The Census owner value is about $100,100, but the margin is wider than $80,000, so read it loosely. A few western blocks carry 48532 addresses.

Civic Park, Bassett Park and Sarvis Park

Three northwest tracts of detached houses from 1950 to 1955: Civic Park around Bassett Park and Humboldt Avenue, the North Ballenger Highway blocks, and the Fleming Road streets near Sarvis Park. Owner values run from about $32,000 in the Civic Park tract to about $74,200 near Sarvis Park, where the margin is wide. Owners hold 58% to 84% of occupied homes, the 84% along North Ballenger.

Brownell Holmes and Flint Lake Park

The far northwest, from Northwestern High School on West Carpenter Road and Hasselbring Park down to Flint Lake Park. Three tracts of mostly detached houses from 1956 to 1964, with owner values near $39,500 to $51,100 and wide margins. Addresses split between 48504 and 48505. A few streets in the corner, such as Canterbury Lane, fall in Westwood Heights Schools rather than Flint Community Schools.

North central: Max Brandon Park and Stewart Avenue

The largest group, about a sixth of the city's land, from the Dayton Street blocks north past Max Brandon Park and Stewart Avenue, plus the St. John Street industrial land. Nearly all detached houses from 1938 to 1958, with owner values of about $14,800 to $44,300 where the Census could estimate one. Because the Census could not estimate every tract here, the nearest recent sales are the better guide, and we pull them before you write an offer.

Kearsley Reservoir and the northeast

The northeast corner along East Pierson Road, the Kearsley Reservoir and the Flint River, with the Maple Sugar Run streets that sit in Kearsley Community Schools. The main tract is about 64% owner-occupied, typically from 1958, with owner values near $43,900. The tract to the west by Holiday Village is mostly rentals, and about one home in six there is a manufactured home.

Kearsley Park and Gilkey Creek

The east side blocks around Kearsley Park, Whaley Park, Delaware Park and Lewis Street, crossed by Gilkey Creek and Hamilton Avenue. Three tracts of detached houses mostly from 1938 and 1940, with owner values near $19,900 to $21,600 where the Census could estimate one, and about 58% to 72% of occupied homes owner-occupied.

Evergreen Valley and the east side

East of Dort Highway: Evergreen Valley and Cook Park near Averill Avenue, the Dale Avenue streets and the McClure Avenue blocks. Owner values run from about $52,600 to $82,400, the higher figure in the Evergreen Valley tract, where about a fifth of homes are apartments or condos. The Dale Avenue tract is nearly all detached houses from 1953.

Thread Lake and the Flint Golf Club

The south side around Thread Lake, McKinley Park and the Flint Golf Club on Lakewood Drive, with the Pingree Avenue and Brennan Park blocks to the north. The Thread Lake tract is about 80% owner-occupied, typically from 1959, with owner values near $122,200. The tract along Thread Creek to the east is mostly rentals, and about one home in five there is a manufactured home.

Chevy Commons to Southwestern

The south and southwest: the Zimmerman Street blocks near Chevy Commons, the Grand Traverse and Monroe Street streets, and the tracts around Southwestern Classical Academy, Lincoln Park, Red Arrow Road and Camden Avenue. Mostly detached houses from 1938 to 1956, with owner values of about $33,500 to $85,400, the higher figure by Southwestern. Owners hold 39% to 67% of occupied homes. Parts near South Ballenger Highway and Fenton Road fall in Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools.

Schools and commute

Schools

About 89% of Flint's land falls inside Flint Community Schools, whose 2025 homestead total was 52.34 mills on Michigan Treasury's tables. Four other districts reach into the city, and each changes the bill. Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools covers about 5% of the land, mostly Bishop International Airport and the Flint Truck Assembly grounds, plus a few residential edges such as the 3000 block of South Ballenger Highway, at 52.94 mills. Swartz Creek Community Schools covers about 4%, almost all of it airport land, at 54.04. Kearsley Community Schools takes about 2% in the northeast corner around Maple Sugar Run, at 54.05, and Westwood Heights Schools a sliver of the northwest near Canterbury Lane, at 50.53. Those spots were checked with the Census geocoder. The reverse also happens: many homes with Flint mailing addresses sit in Flint Township, Mount Morris Township or Genesee Township, served by Carman-Ainsworth, Westwood Heights, Beecher or Kearsley, so a listing that names one of those districts has not yet told you which unit taxes the home, and the parcel record settles it. The district itself confirms which building a child would attend.

Commute

I-69 crosses the city east and west, I-475 runs north and south through downtown, and I-75 and US-23 follow the western edge. From City Hall on South Saginaw Street, Bishop International Airport is about 6 miles and 10 minutes by I-69, Saginaw about 39 miles and 48 minutes, Troy about 50 miles and 56 minutes by I-475 and I-75, Lansing's Capitol about 51 miles and an hour by I-69, and downtown Detroit about 68 miles and 77 minutes outside rush hour. The city's 2025 financial report, counting W-2 forms filed with its income tax office, lists General Motors first among employers at about 7,500 jobs, then Hurley Medical Center at about 2,800, McLaren at about 2,500, the University of Michigan at about 2,000, Genesee County, Lear, Kettering University, the city itself, the State of Michigan and Mott Community College. The Census puts the average commute near 23 minutes, with about seven workers in ten driving alone and about 8% working from home, per the Census tables on Census Reporter.

Michigan property taxes

Flint 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 the City of Flint, our 2026 Uncapping Study found taxable value typically rises about 78% the year after a sale. On a $50,000 home, near the typical Flint value, the first-year tax goes up roughly $580 at the Flint schools rate. We build your payment on that post-sale number.

Looking at a Flint 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.

2025 homestead millage

Flint beside the townships around it

Homestead totals from Michigan Treasury's 2025 tables. Each mill costs a dollar for every thousand dollars of taxable value, so a 13-mill gap is about $1,300 a year on $100,000 of taxable value.

Flint, Flint Community Schools: 52.34

Most of the city. About $5,234 a year for each $100,000 of taxable value, plus the 1% city income tax for residents.

Flint, other districts: 50.53 to 54.05

Westwood Heights 50.53, Carman-Ainsworth 52.94, Swartz Creek 54.04 and Kearsley 54.05 on the city's edges.

Flint Township: 38.37 to 40.16

Flushing 38.37, Carman-Ainsworth 39.07 and Swartz Creek 40.16. Much of 48532 and parts of 48504 and 48507 are here.

Genesee Township: 36.15 to 47.78

Mount Morris 36.15, Kearsley 37.37, Beecher 38.92 and Genesee School District 47.78. Most of 48506 and part of 48505.

Mount Morris Township: 41.32 to 49.91

Westwood Heights 41.32 up to Beecher 49.91. Most of the 48504 land outside the city.

Burton: 41.86 to 53.47

The city to the southeast, from Atherton 41.86 to Bendle 53.47, with Kearsley at 44.23 and Carman-Ainsworth at 43.12.

Local resources

Check Flint records yourself

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

Before you write an offer

Things to settle on a Flint house

  • The taxing unit. Confirm on the parcel record that the home is in the city and which school district it pays. The Assessments Division answers at 810-766-7255.
  • The exemption after closing. File the principal residence exemption with the Assessments Division once you move in. Without it, a home in Flint Community Schools is billed at the 70.19-mill total instead of 52.34.
  • The flood map. Look the address up on FEMA's flood map site before you make the offer. In a high-risk zone the lender requires flood insurance.
  • A historic district. The Historic District Commission reviews exterior changes inside local historic districts, which the city's Parcel Hub map shows.
  • Rental plans. If you will rent it out, budget for registration and an inspection under the city's rental program before a tenant moves in.
  • The income tax. If you move into the city, plan for the 1% resident tax, collected by the city through 2026 and by Michigan Treasury from 2027.

What our clients say

5.0 on Google across 128 reviews

★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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

Individual experiences. Results vary.

Flint mortgage questions

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

Is a Flint mailing address inside the City of Flint?

Not always. ZIP codes 48502 and 48503 lie wholly inside the city, but most of 48504, 48506 and 48507 is township land, 48505 is about 60% city, and 48532 is about 98 parts in 100 outside it, mostly Flint Township and Clayton Township. The difference is real money: the 2025 homestead total inside Flint Community Schools was 52.34 mills against 38.37 to 40.16 in Flint Township, and only city residents owe the city income tax. The parcel record names the unit that taxes the home.

Usually Flint Community Schools, at 52.34 homestead mills in 2025. A few edges differ: Kearsley Community Schools around Maple Sugar Run in the northeast at 54.05, Westwood Heights Schools near Canterbury Lane in the northwest at 50.53, and Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools along parts of South Ballenger Highway and Fenton Road at 52.94. The gap between 50.53 and 54.05 is about $352 a year on each $100,000 of taxable value. Check the parcel’s school code before you plan the payment.

Yes. The city’s 2025 instructions set it at 1% of taxable income for residents and 0.5% for people who work in Flint but live elsewhere, with a $600 exemption per person. The City of Flint Income Tax Division at 810-766-7015 collects it through 2026, and Michigan Treasury takes over the job starting January 1, 2027. Lenders look at income after taxes when they judge what you can carry, so a move into the city can change your budget.

Check before you plan any exterior work. The city’s Historic District Commission reviews additions, alterations and other changes to structures inside Flint’s local historic districts, and the city’s Parcel Hub map shows which districts and properties are covered. A house inside one is financed the usual way, but its exterior plans go to the commission first.

Pull the address up on FEMA’s online flood maps before you write an offer, because the answer is set address by address. The countywide map has been in effect since September 2009. A home inside a high-risk zone with a federally backed mortgage needs flood insurance, which belongs in the monthly budget.

Often, but the house has to qualify too. FHA, VA and conventional loans expect a home that is ready to live in, and some lenders set a minimum loan size, so a sale far under the median narrows the field. An FHA 203(k) loan can pay for repairs inside the mortgage. Genesee County Land Bank houses listed as ready for rehab usually need cash or a renovation loan. Tell us about the property before you make an offer and we will check which lenders will take it.

Yes, once it is registered. The city’s Rental Inspections Program covers every rental in Flint: you register before tenants move in, pass an inspection under the International Property Maintenance Code to receive a certificate of compliance, and renew the license every three years. A rental also loses the principal residence exemption, so the 2025 total rises from 52.34 to 70.19 mills inside Flint Community Schools, about $1,786 more a year on each $100,000 of taxable value.

They measure different things. Zillow’s typical value of about $49,000 covers every Flint home, sold or not. Redfin’s median of about $66,000 counts the homes that actually sold from July through September 2026, and the Census figure of $53,500 is what owners themselves estimated in the 2020 to 2024 surveys. Redfin’s ZIP figures also include township homes that share a Flint ZIP code, so the price of a specific street needs recent sales on that street.

Talk with a local mortgage expert

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

  1. 1

    Tell us what you are trying to do

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

  2. 2

    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.

Scroll to Top
Align Lending logo