Todd Hanley - Senior Loan Officer

09/18/2026

Buying your first home is complicated enough without getting 47 different answers from TikTok, Google, your parents, your Realtor, your lender and the guy at work who bought a house in 2009.

So I built something simpler.

The First-Time Homebuyer Guide.

12 short, plain-English lessons arranged in the order you’ll actually need them.

You’ll learn:

What you really need to qualify
How much money you may actually need
How credit works before a mortgage
How to build a realistic monthly budget
Down payment options
What mortgage insurance actually does
What to figure out before house hunting
How to compare homes objectively
What NOT to do once you’re under contract
And how to take care of the house after you get the keys

Most sections take about 3–4 minutes to read.

Read one a night and, in less than two weeks, you’ll understand more about buying a home than most people do when they start looking.

And throughout the guide, I included calculators and tools so you can actually run the numbers instead of guessing.

No pressure.
No obligation.
No “BUY NOW!” nonsense.

Just information designed to help you make a better decision.

If buying your first home is somewhere in your future, save this page.

And if you know someone who keeps saying, “I want to buy a house someday, but I have no idea where to start,” send it to them.

Todd Hanley, RICP®
Senior Loan Officer
NMLS #1013665
United Direct Lending NMLS #1749719

Educational information only. Not a commitment to lend. Not all borrowers will qualify.

Twelve short, plain-English guides for first-time buyers: credit, budgets, down payments, mortgage insurance, house hunting, closing, and Florida home upkeep.

09/12/2026

Most affordability calculators stop at principal & interest, which is exactly the part of your housing payment that's already fixed before you sign. The parts that actually move month-to-month and year-to-year are property taxes and homeowner's insurance — and in Florida, those two line items have been doing the heavy lifting on payment shock over the last several years.

Florida insurance and property taxes can swing your real housing payment by hundreds per month. See how taxes, insurance, and target DTI shape your true affordability — in real time.

09/11/2026

Too often, homeowners looking to tap their equity get handed one product, one structure, one answer.

That makes no sense.

A HELOC might be the right move.
A fixed-rate HELOAN might be better.
A piggyback structure could save money.
A bank-statement option may fit a self-employed borrower.
For homeowners 62+, a reverse second-lien option may completely change the conversation.

So I built a tool that compares the options instead of forcing you into one.

Answer 7 quick questions and it filters through multiple home-equity strategies based on your actual situation, then ranks the ones that may fit best.

No “this is the only product we offer, so this is what you get.”

The goal is simple:

Start with the homeowner. Then find the product.
Not the other way around.

If you’re considering using home equity for renovations, debt consolidation, investing, a major purchase, or just creating more financial flexibility, try it before assuming a traditional HELOC is your only choice.

Try the Home Equity Finder:


This is an educational comparison tool, not an approval or commitment to lend. Final eligibility depends on full documentation and underwriting.

Answer 7 quick questions and we'll rank the home-equity products that fit your situation — HELOC, HELOAN, piggyback, bank-statement, or reverse 2nd lien.

09/10/2026

If you'd like a transparent, data driven process that removes the guesswork -> I'd love to speak with you today!

Pick a time that works for you — 15 or 30 minutes, no cost, no credit pull to talk. Todd Hanley, RICP®, Senior Loan Officer. Licensed in FL, TX, NJ.

09/02/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Todd Hanley by Michael G - The communication is keythe fact that he was available to everybody that took apart on this transaction. You often don't get someone that is hands-on and available to answer question minutes after the email the text messages.

Click to see all 126 reviews of Todd Hanley, Senior Loan Officer

09/02/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Todd Hanley by Didarul A - it was good experience working with Todd he was Helpful throughout whole Time thank you

Click to see all 126 reviews of Todd Hanley, Senior Loan Officer

08/29/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Todd Hanley by Joseph K - we got to the closing table

Click to see all 122 reviews of Todd Hanley, Senior Loan Officer

08/27/2026

Same File, Two Answers: Why Your Lender's Credit Model Choice Decides It


Two lenders, the same borrower, the same credit report, the same week. One will lend to 80% of the home's value using the newer credit scoring model, primary residence only. The other goes to 97%. Nothing about the buyer changed. Only the rulebook did.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac approved a second scoring model for conventional loans, so which model reads your report is now a lender decision. The newer one counts on-time rent and utility payments; the legacy one leaves them out. Experian estimates as many as 7.7 million people could see improved scores under modernized reporting, and 1 in 3 of 2,000 prospective buyers surveyed said they would walk away from a lender still using only legacy models.

I ran one buyer's file both ways in the same week on roughly a $470,000 loan. It priced better on the newer model. I didn't raise his credit score. I didn't have to. The score never changed, the model reading it did. That is one file, not a promise about yours.

When a file lands at the shop where the model does not fit, nobody hands you a second address. You just hear no, and you leave thinking the problem was your credit. It was the door.

Todd Hanley NMLS #1013665 | United Direct Lending NMLS #1749719 | Equal Housing Lender | Not an offer or commitment to lend.

08/26/2026

5.0 star review received on Experience.com for Todd Hanley by Fedline C - I was referred to Todd by family member who had a great experience working with him, and I’m so glad I decided to give him a call. From the very beginning, Todd was knowledgeable, professional, and attentive to my needs. He took the time to answer all of our questions, explain each step of the process, and make sure I felt comfortable and informed throughout the entire experience.I very supportive by his help.

Click to see all 121 reviews of Todd Hanley, Senior Loan Officer

08/26/2026

Purchasing an Investment Property has never been easier!


DSCR Loan Explained Simply: The House Has to Cover Its Own Payment

The building is the borrower.

DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties and focus on the property’s rent versus its monthly obligations.

It’s an educational way to see whether a deal may work without using W-2s, tax returns, or personal DTI in the same way a primary residence loan would.

If you want to review a property, visit the webpage or set up a time to chat @ todd.mortgage/book