About Michael
Proudly serving clients across Florida, Georgia and Illinois.
I have spent more than 20 years helping people make informed mortgage decisions. During that time, my team and I have served thousands of clients, from first-time buyers to experienced homeowners navigating new construction, renovation, or a more complicated financing situation.
In 2024, I was recognized by STRATMOR Group’s MortgageCX program as a National Top 25 Loan Officer for customer experience. The recognition was based on borrower feedback measuring care, responsiveness, knowledge, clear explanations, and how well borrowers were kept informed throughout the process. I have also been recognized as a Five Star Mortgage Professional for 14 consecutive years, an annual distinction based on evaluations from homebuyers and real estate professionals.
Those qualities reflect how I believe the mortgage process should work. You should understand your options, know what to expect, and receive straightforward answers along the way. My role is not simply to provide a loan. It is to help you evaluate your choices and select financing that fits your needs and overall financial situation.
Every buyer’s situation is different. Purchasing your first home is not the same as buying your fifth, and financing new construction presents different considerations than purchasing an existing home. My team and I take the time to understand your situation, anticipate potential challenges, and keep you informed from application through closing. Although we work as a team, I remain personally involved and accessible throughout the process.
We offer a broad range of residential mortgage options, including conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, first-time homebuyer, renovation, and construction-to-permanent loans.
If you are considering buying, building, renovating, or refinancing a home, I would welcome the opportunity to help you understand your options and determine the right next step.
Borrower Testimonials
Michael and his team are the best in the business! Wonderful to deal with and the communication is second to none! strongly recommend!!!
Great experience. Appreciated.
We had an absolutely wonderful experience working with Michael and Shannon during the closing on our new home! They were both incredibly professional, knowledgeable, responsive, and helpful throughout the entire process. They made what can sometimes be a stressful experience feel smooth and easy. Michael and Shannon went above and beyond to answer...
Communication was very good.
You guys tried and make it happened
Michael and his team are always communicative and responsive. I really appreciate the weekly updates, and the level of customer service you receive when working with them is truly rare these days. They consistently go above and beyond to keep you informed and make sure you feel supported throughout the process. Highly recommend!
Michael and his team were amazing - again! This is our second time working w/ Michael and Shannon and they were both wonderful to work w/ and just as impressive in handling our home buy.
Michael was knowledgeable and kept us all updated throughout the process.
Michael's communication was great and kept us informed throughout the process.
Michael was very reapinsive and helpful and went out od his way to make sure it all went well when there hiccups he atood up fixed them and showed hia commintment to making sure we were hapoy ans delivering the product he promised!
I’ve worked on dozens of transactions with Michael Gayda and his team, including Shannon Vargas, and they have consistently delivered exceptional service. Michael is an outstanding communicator who keeps everyone informed throughout the loan process, and he has a real talent for thinking outside the box to find solutions when challenges arise. Sh...
The whole team is personable and responsive - they make getting a mortgage seem easy!
Fast response times - personal service - all answers provided
Working with Michael and his team is always great! I'm confident my clients will be well taken care of and have a great experience. Thanks again Michael!
Michael and his team of professionals are TOP NOTCH! I have worked with them for years across multiple transactions and you simply cannot find a better team. Everything about our transaction was easy and smooth because of them. We cannot recommend them enough! We love our new home but if we ever need another mortgage, Michael will be my first call....
Michael and Shannon were absolutely amazing to work with, made this the easiest experience I could ever imagine.
and Shannon Bowen amazing job especially Michael. I appreciate so much that you had my back. I know it wasn't easy, but your efforts on my behalf matter even more because of itu thank you.
I am honored to leave the second review for Michael Gayda. PLease refer to my previous review on 09/2016. I mentioned that I will use him again for my next purchase, I did indeed. I just bought my second and forever home. Michael made it happen and gave me a very competitive rate!!!. He is the best in Town.
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Michael Gayda and his team are amazing! Michael Gayda and his team are quick to respond either with a phone call or email. I love that I have them in my back pocket and will not use any other lender again! His team has made all my transactions very seamlessly and flawless.
Michael Gayda was an excellent resource when I purchased my home! Michael was more than willing to help and answer any questions I asked (and I had a lot of them since I was a first time home buyer). I have recommended friends to use Michael for initiating a home loan and would recommend any person I talk with to take advantage of his expertise a...
Very communicative and quick to respond. Kept the transaction on track.
We had a little hiccup at the end regarding closing mix-up due to appraisal delay, but other than that everything was handled very professionally and things went pretty smoothly throughout the process.
Michael Gayda and his assistant Shannon were the definition of professional. They were quick to respond if I had questions and always kept me informed of what was going on.
Comminication was clear and steps were very organized. The team made the process easy!
More
- View more testimonials on Experience.com & Zillow.com
Realtors! Announcing Our: Real Estate Realities Masterminds
On 10/21/2026 at 2:00 pm
In a crowded market, doing great work is not always enough. People also need to understand what makes working with you different. Join me for Real Estate Realities: Jumpstart Your 2027 with Lance Pendleton on October 21 at 2 p.m. ET. Lance will share how to: - Create messaging that cuts through industry noise - Build a business around what clients truly need - Deliver an experience people remember and want to refer See you there!