Brian was fantastic to work with throughout the mortgage process. He was responsive, knowledgeable,…read moreand took the time to explain every step clearly, which made a stressful process feel much more manageable. He shopped options, answered questions quickly, and was always transparent about rates, fees, and what to expect. What stood out most was how professional and steady he was from start to finish. I never felt pressured, and I always felt like he had my best interests in mind. If you're looking for a mortgage broker who is sharp, trustworthy, and easy to work with, I would absolutely recommend Brian.

Brian was absolutely outstanding, and guided us through the entire mortgage process (as buyers)…read morewith poise and humor. We would absolutely use Brian again if we needed to get another mortgage. Cannot recommand him highly enough!

Alex and his team made becoming a first time homeowner possible! We had such an incredible,…read morepersonalized experience with quick response times, enabling us update our offer almost overnight and secure our home before someone else could snag it. Can't recommend enough!

I had everything I needed a 60,000-down payment, credit score, and a mortgage certificate. I…read moresacrifice everything and, wait for years to get house of my own. They didn't at all help me. They rejected my application, and said I need another down payment of 60,000. A total of 120000. They crush my dreams and I'm still living in hell.

If it weren't for Bill, who founded Community Ladders, my family would still be drowning in debt…read more He helped us refinance our house and still keep lots of equity. It's not an overstatement that he saved our lives. I can't recommend him highly enough. He's honest, tenacious and accommodating, taking my phone calls anytime of the day. He was very encouraging, which helped us immensely. We were able to get the refi done in a matter of a couple of weeks. To put it in perspective, we tried to refinance with Washington Home Mortgage about a year ago and it was the most horrible experience we've ever had. The process lasted over four months, the mortgage officer was rude, constantly complaining about how long his commute is (uh, not our problem??). He once YELLED at me over the phone. His boss, Diego Calderon, who is the president of WASHINGTON HOME MORTGAGE, was impossible to get a hold of. The paperwork was endless and the lender was miserable and in the end, we walked away when we discovered over $18,000 in hidden fees. There are a lot of nasty people out there. Bill's one of the good ones. I can't recommend Community Ladders highly enough. If I could give a million stars, I would.

I'm not even technically a Community Ladders client yet, but Bill has helped me more than all of…read morethe people who actually stood to make money off of me combined. I recommend them wholeheartedly. I'm in the daunting process of trying to buy my first house, and my personal finances were a hot mess. A friend from the dog park referred me to Bill when my first deal started to go pear-shaped. I was blown away by how much time and energy Bill devoted to advising me, running different scenarios, researching, and generally talking me off a few different ledges. Everyone else in the process was just yes-ing me to death -- my agent, the various mortgage brokers -- but Bill gave me the much-needed dose of reality. I ended up killing that deal (oh, and p.s. Bill was right: he worried that my contract price was too high, and the house immediately sold for $30K less than my contract price). In the meantime, and thanks to Bill's advice, I've worked on reducing my expenses and fixing a lot of Bad on my credit report. I'm in a much, much better financial position now, just a month and a half later, and just about ready to try that whole homebuying thing again. Thanks, Bill! Oh, and the only reason I'm not yet a Community Ladders client is that they have a waiting list. They're that good. So you should sign up now -- but I'm first!

Purchasing my first home in Washington, DC was truly a journey, but one that was absolutely worth…read moreit thanks to David Toaff, his team at First Home Mortgage, and my realtor Terinee Bonds. I was originally introduced to David through Emily Atwood back in May 2019. After a minor setback, I was reconnected with him by Mr. Bill Milko in June 2022, and from that point forward the process officially began. From June 29, 2022 to December 11, 2022, this six-month journey taught me patience, discipline, and the importance of having the right people in your corner. At first, I found a condo in Northwest DC that I absolutely loved. The price was around $220,000, which was amazing for DC, but unfortunately FHA would not approve it because the HOA reserves did not meet the required percentage threshold. While it was disappointing at the time, everything happens for a reason because I later found another property for $325,000 that turned out to be the right fit for me. I was also approved for the DC HPAP First-Time Homebuyer Program along with DC Open Doors, which were both incredibly helpful programs for low-to-middle income homebuyers. I highly recommend anyone looking to purchase in DC to explore those opportunities. There were definitely bumps along the way. In August, I had to resolve my 2021 tax bill, which became part of the process. Throughout everything, David remained patient, professional, knowledgeable, and personable. He genuinely cared and always kept my best interest at heart. He also stayed on me about my spending habits, especially my DoorDash spending, making sure I stayed financially on track to successfully close. David also made sure everything was taken care of through his amazing team, Josh and Danielle. They consistently checked in with me through calls and emails at least three times a week, making sure I understood every step of the process. That level of communication and support made a huge difference because buying a home can feel overwhelming, especially as a first-time buyer. They truly walked me through the process from beginning to end and helped make things much less stressful than they could have been. What really stood out to me about David was his personality. He is truly a people person and just an overall down-to-earth guy who genuinely believes in helping people achieve homeownership. You can tell this is more than just business for him. He wants to see people succeed and become homeowners, especially those who may not think it's possible for them. That kind of authenticity matters during a major life decision like buying a home. Terinee Bonds, who I originally met through Redfin in 2019 and who is now with Keller Williams, was equally amazing. She consistently checked in, advocated for me, and helped guide me through every obstacle that came up along the way. Like David, she was personable, caring, patient, and truly invested in helping me succeed throughout the process. In the end, I only had to bring about $3,250 to closing, and I also received seller credits, which made a huge difference. I am beyond grateful for David, Josh, Danielle, and Terinee. I highly recommend First Home Mortgage and Terinee Bonds to anyone looking to purchase a home, especially first-time homebuyers navigating the DC market. Their professionalism, honesty, communication, patience, and dedication truly made this dream possible. He will really work for his clients and it's worth it. Trust his word he is extremely knowledgeable. 10/10 overall!!!

David was instrumental in helping me find the right loan product for my first home purchase. He…read morethoroughly explained the process, answered all my questions and was clearly a trusted advisor, rather than someone trying to just sell a mortgage to me. He also helped me snag a great discount on a local title company that did solid work. I've since referred a friend and know I can trust David if questions arise.

Nick was so responsive and helpful! He got back to us so quickly to answer every question we had as…read morefirst time homebuyers. He helped us with a first time homebuyers grant to buy our home in Hyattsville that awarded us $10,000 towards our down payment and eliminated mortgage insurance. We wholeheartedly recommend him. Thank you for everything, Nick!

Nick is awesome! He never failed to reply to an email the same day, even going out of his way to…read morerespond late at night and on weekends. He answered all of our questions as first time home buyers and really made the process as easy as possible. He and his team were highly professional and they were able to accommodate our need to close quickly. Highly recommend!

After withdrawing from their ATM machine I went in an asked to have my 20 dollar bills changed for…read moreone 100 dollar bill. A young man told me he couldn't help me because I did not have an account with them. I was in shock and told him: "I am not your customer and plan never to be! You had a chance here to have me as a potential customer by providing a good customer service but proudly denied it", I told him. Honestly I've paid a fee for using their atm, therefore I should have been seen as a customer. They just lost a chance to have me considering banking with them one day.

By far...THE MOST SLOWEST PNC in the region. I'm not sure exactly what everyone does, but it's…read morealways 7 or 8 employees in the bank and they have one teller open and a line to see the banker. I'm going on 40 mins waiting to see someone while PNC employees walk in and out of the office doors. Pointless. Pick another bank or another location.

We have been thrilled with the exceptional professionalism, responsiveness, and pleasant service we…read morehave received from Chris, Bryce, Danielle, and the rest of the team from start to finish. They have always been patient in educating us as first-time home buyers, and we never questioned that they were working in our best interest. They quickly ran many different scenarios and provided pre-approval letters for us on multiple properties that didn't come through, and finally for the house where our offer was accepted. One of the reasons we went with Chris and his team was their extensive experience and deep knowledge related to renovation loans (203k and HomeStyle) and conventional non-renovation loans, which gave us flexibility to switch to a different type of loan if the home we are purchasing did not end up qualifying for a non-renovation loan. We appreciated them expediting the appraisal, which was critical for this determination and luckily resulted in what we were hoping for. We always received quick, helpful, and easy to understand responses from Chris and Bryce, even on evenings, weekends, and Father's Day. Our loan was fully approved in about 2.5 weeks, even with a 5 week closing timeline. The rate we received was highly competitive. We have had absolutely zero complaints or hiccups throughout many, many months of working with Chris and the team, and we would unquestionably recommend Chris to friends and use him again.

Christopher Jordan, and his team with First Home Mortgage made my first time home buying experience…read morevery painless. I was able to provide all my financial information for my loan application and few days later I received my loan approval. They were able to give me a very competitive interest rate as well! Once I put my first offer in they were working tirelessly to do all the behind the scenes work. They would send me emails about loan process update and were available to talk to text anytime. I was very happy with my first condo purchase! Even after the condo was closed the First Home Mortgage team was open to answering my questions about all the new home owner mail I received. I would recommend this mortgage company to any new buyer!

I've worked with Ray on a couple of transactions and he's so incredibly knowledgeable and helpful…read more I've given him really tough and challenging requests and he's able to work miracles in getting the paperwork processed, locking in great rates, and closing the deals. In today's market, it's important to have someone who is willing to work hard for you in order to secure funding so that you can purchase your investment or dream home. I highly recommend Ray as one of the best Mortgage Brokers out there. You can tell he enjoys what he does as well. It is always a pleasure to work with someone who enjoys their work. He has a great team, too.

From the owner: In sharing my expertise to personally assist thousands of families with responsible and affordable…read morehome financing, I've gained an extensive background assisting all types of people, whether it be first time home buyers, high net worth borrowers, self-employed borrowers, or investment borrowers. In addition, I have a great deal of experience with Conventional, Construction, Investment and Jumbo lending. These experiences allow me to have more product knowledge and to provide you with very competitive pricing.

Travis and his team allowed us to close in less than 3 weeks as first time homebuyers and made the…read moreentire process easy and stress-free. He's very knowledgeable and responsive, and made sure to diligently answer every one of our questions. Bonus: he was also able to secure us very low interest rates!

Travis and his team took me through buying my first house. It was an overwhelming and stressful…read moreexperience for me, but Travis and the team were extremely helpful and patient! They answered all my questions, followed-up with phone calls, and made me feel comfortable in the decisions I was making. I'd recommend him to anyone, they are all amazing.