Fairway Home MortgageLending Lakes & CoFairway Home Mortgage

Fairway Home Mortgage · Eden Prairie, MN

Calm water for the biggest purchase of your life.

Lending Lakes & Co is Ashland Alitz's award-winning mortgage team — 136 families guided home by Ashland last year alone, and a whole crew who explain every step in plain English.

💬 Text Ashland: 612-505-7663What's my payment?

🏆 HousingWire 2025 Rising Star📈 Scotsman Guide Top Originator 2025

Ashland · Lending Lakes
hey — where do we even start with buying a house? 😅

Read just now

You just did 👋 Easiest first step: pick a price and I'll show you a ballpark payment.
okay… something like
that's roughly$0/moprincipal, interest, taxes, insurance & PMI

Sample estimate only — run your real numbers →

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Families Ashland guided home in 2025

$0M

Funded by Ashland in 2025

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Families helped branch-wide in 2025

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States licensed

Ashland Alitz, Branch Sales Manager and Loan Officer, NMLS #1584948
2025HousingWire
Rising Star

Meet Ashland

The lender other lenders call for advice.

Ashland Alitz started as a loan officer in 2016 and rose to Branch Sales Manager at one of Fairway's leading Minnesota branches — leading a direct team of 16 loan officers and mentoring originators across Fairway's national network. In 2025 she personally closed 136 loans totaling $48 million.

But numbers aren't why buyers stay with her. It's the plain-English answers, the same-day responses, and a simple rule the whole team lives by: no dumb questions, ever.

Ashland's full story →💬 Say hi

Women & homeownership

Single women are buying homes at more than twice the rate of single men.

21% of all U.S. homebuyers are single women — versus just 9% single men. As a team of women who help hundreds of buyers a year, that's not a statistic to us. It's our people.

See the numbers →

0%

of all U.S. homebuyers are single women

0%

of first-time buyers are single women

0%

of single women buyers are now Gen Z

Lending Lakes & Co

One loan. Seven people making it easy.

From the first "so how does this work?" text to the keys in your hand, a whole team owns your file — origination, processing, and communication that never leaves you guessing.

Ashland AlitzAshlandOlivia SwansonOliviaElla KrispinEllaMelissa SmithMelissaMikaela KamishMikaelaMolly StenersonMollyAshlyn LongAshlynMeet all
Meet the whole team

Buying your first place?

Four small steps before you ever tour a home.

1

Say hi

Text or call. Tell us where you're at — even if "nowhere yet" is the honest answer.

2

Get real numbers

A payment ballpark, what you'd need saved, and whether MN down payment help fits you.

3

Pre-approval

A short application through Fairway's secure system — often same-day, and free.

4

Shop with power

Sellers take your offer seriously because a lender already stands behind it.

The full first-time buyer guide →

Loan programs

Whatever your situation, there's a fit.

Conventional Loans

The workhorse of home financing — flexible terms, competitive costs, and down payments as low as 3% for first-time buyers.

Learn more →

FHA Loans

The first-time buyer favorite — 3.5% down, friendlier credit requirements, and forgiving guidelines for real-life finances.

Learn more →

VA Loans

For those who served — $0 down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and some of the strongest terms in all of lending.

Learn more →

USDA Loans

$0 down for homes in eligible smaller communities — many Twin Cities exurbs qualify, and most buyers have no idea.

Learn more →

Jumbo Loans

Financing above conforming loan limits for higher-priced homes — with the same guidance and straight answers.

Learn more →

Down Payment Assistance

Minnesota has real down payment help — Minnesota Housing programs can put thousands toward your down payment and closing costs.

Learn more →

Refinancing

Lower the payment, drop mortgage insurance, tap equity, or shorten the term — when the math works, Ashland will show you. When it doesn’t, she’ll tell you.

Learn more →

No idea which one?

That's the normal answer. Text the team what you're working with and we'll narrow it to the right two in one conversation.

💬 Text Ashland →

Real clients, real reviews

Five stars.4.89 across 423 verified reviews

In clients' own words — from Experience.com, Google, Facebook & Zillow.

Ashland was absolutely wonderful to work with throughout our home-buying process. She was knowledgeable, responsive, and always willing to answer our questions. She kept us informed every step of the way, making what could have been a stressful experience feel smooth and manageable. We truly appreciated her professionalism, attention to detail, and dedication to helping us close on our new home. We highly recommend Ashland to anyone looking for a great lending experience!

Molly S. · Lino Lakes, MNExperience.com

We can't thank Ashland enough for her expertise, efficient communication, and hard work in assisting us in closing on a lake property (in record time)! Highly recommend Ashland and her team!

Melissa H.Google

Ashland and her team are simply THE BEST!!! If you are looking to buy a home I would recommend them 100%!! Great communication and they are awesome at helping answer questions and make the process as smooth as possible!!!

Wendy P.Google

Ashland's open line of communication was top notch and she was always available for questions and answered them in a timely manner. I would highly recommend Ashland for all your mortgage needs. Her team was also very responsive in assisting in our mortgage application and closing process!

David L. J. · Westby, WIExperience.com

Ashland is very helpful and knowledgeable. She went out of her way to individualize our experience with her and made sure we had all the information we needed to make a decision. Her little tips emails especially made us feel well taken care of throughout this process. We would highly recommend her to all our family and friends!

Dawn B. · Faribault, MNExperience.com

Ashland truly went above & beyond for my family to help us buy our first home! She was always there if we had any questions & we couldn't believe how fast Ashland & her team worked to get us our home in such a short time span! 10/10!

Ann W. · Saint Cloud, MNExperience.com

Ashland was absolutely wonderful to work with throughout our home-buying process. She was knowledgeable, responsive, and always willing to answer our questions. She kept us informed every step of the way, making what could have been a stressful experience feel smooth and manageable. We truly appreciated her professionalism, attention to detail, and dedication to helping us close on our new home. We highly recommend Ashland to anyone looking for a great lending experience!

Molly S. · Lino Lakes, MNExperience.com

We can't thank Ashland enough for her expertise, efficient communication, and hard work in assisting us in closing on a lake property (in record time)! Highly recommend Ashland and her team!

Melissa H.Google

Ashland and her team are simply THE BEST!!! If you are looking to buy a home I would recommend them 100%!! Great communication and they are awesome at helping answer questions and make the process as smooth as possible!!!

Wendy P.Google

Ashland's open line of communication was top notch and she was always available for questions and answered them in a timely manner. I would highly recommend Ashland for all your mortgage needs. Her team was also very responsive in assisting in our mortgage application and closing process!

David L. J. · Westby, WIExperience.com

Ashland is very helpful and knowledgeable. She went out of her way to individualize our experience with her and made sure we had all the information we needed to make a decision. Her little tips emails especially made us feel well taken care of throughout this process. We would highly recommend her to all our family and friends!

Dawn B. · Faribault, MNExperience.com

Ashland truly went above & beyond for my family to help us buy our first home! She was always there if we had any questions & we couldn't believe how fast Ashland & her team worked to get us our home in such a short time span! 10/10!

Ann W. · Saint Cloud, MNExperience.com

Read all 423 reviews on Experience.com →

Free education, no email walls

Mortgage words, translated to human.

Escrow. PMI. DTI. Points. Our Learn hub gives every term the friend treatment — plus guides for first-time buyers and a process walkthrough that shows exactly what happens after you apply.

Browse the glossary →See the process
what even is escrow?? everyone says it like I should know 😩
Ha — nobody knows until someone explains it! It's a neutral holding account. Part of your payment sits there so taxes & insurance get paid on time. That's… genuinely it.

Ready when you are. Zero pressure.

No pressure, no jargon, no obligation — just a straight answer from a team that helped 963 families get home last year. Text, call, or apply whenever you’re ready.

💬 Text Ashland: 612-505-7663Apply with Ashland