NFTYDoor Declares Independence, Widens Access to $21 Trillion Home Equity Market

MCLEAN, VA – April 20, 2026 – In a significant strategic shift, digital mortgage platform NFTYDoor announced today it is now operating as a fully independent company, a move it has paired with a dramatic expansion of its home equity lending criteria. The company, which spun out from its former parent, Homebridge Financial Services Inc., is making an aggressive play to capture a larger share of the nation's $21 trillion in tappable home equity by broadening borrower eligibility and enhancing terms for its lending partners.

This transition marks a pivotal new chapter for the fintech firm, positioning it to compete more directly with established players by offering what it claims are some of the most flexible and rapid home equity solutions on the market.

A New Chapter of Independence and Aggressive Growth

NFTYDoor's journey to independence has been swift. Founded in 2022 by CEO Mark Schacknies and COO Jonathan Spinetto, the company was acquired by Homebridge Financial Services on January 1, 2023. Now, just over three years later, the spin-out allows NFTYDoor to operate with greater agility and focus exclusively on its core mission of digitizing and scaling access to home-based credit.

The move is designed to untether the company, enabling it to rapidly innovate and respond to market demands. According to the firm, this new independent structure is the key that unlocks its ability to significantly improve its offerings for both consumers and the brokers and lenders who serve them. The company's leadership asserts that this independence directly facilitates the expansion of its credit box and more favorable economics for its partners, aiming to create a more compelling value proposition in a crowded field.

"We now offer a compelling combination of the widest credit box, meaningfully lower borrower rates, and the highest partner compensation in the market, all delivered through the fastest HELOC platform available, with many loans closing in zero days," said Mark Schacknies, CEO and Co-Founder of NFTYDoor, in the announcement. He emphasized the direct link between these enhancements and market performance, adding, "Most importantly, these advantages translate directly into the highest conversion rates in the industry."

Democratizing Home Equity with an Expanded Credit Box

At the heart of NFTYDoor's announcement is a substantial overhaul of its lending guidelines. The company has made concrete changes to its credit box that stand to benefit a large segment of homeowners who may have previously been unable to secure a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).

Key enhancements include:
* A reduction in the minimum required FICO score from 640 down to 600.
* An increase in the maximum combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratio from 80% to 90%.
* A significant boost in the maximum loan amount, which has been raised from $500,000 to $750,000.

These adjustments are not merely incremental; they represent a deliberate strategy to serve a broader audience. The lower FICO score requirement opens the door for individuals with less-than-perfect credit, while the higher CLTV allows homeowners with less equity built up to still access funds. This is particularly relevant in the current economic climate, where many homeowners are sitting on low-rate first mortgages and are hesitant to refinance but still need to tap into their home's value for renovations, debt consolidation, or other major expenses.

By making its HELOC product more accessible, NFTYDoor is directly challenging traditional lenders and other fintech competitors, such as Figure Technology Solutions and Spring EQ, who have also been innovating in the digital home equity space.

The Need for Speed: Redefining the HELOC Timeline

Beyond accessibility, NFTYDoor is staking its reputation on speed. The company's claim of enabling "zero-day" closings is a bold statement in an industry where loan processing can often take weeks. This velocity is powered by a proprietary end-to-end digital platform that automates much of the origination process.

The platform utilizes AI-powered tools for automated underwriting, real-time credit scoring, automated valuation models (AVMs) to assess property value, and instant income and title verification. The final step is also digitized, with closings conducted via remote online notarization. This technological stack drastically reduces the manual labor and time typically associated with mortgage lending.

While the "zero-day closing" refers to the completion of the digital paperwork and approvals, it's important to note that most HELOCs are subject to a federally mandated three-day right of rescission, during which the borrower can cancel the transaction. However, NFTYDoor has also addressed the post-rescission funding process. By leveraging the RTP (Real-Time Payments) network, the company can transfer funds to the borrower's account instantly once the loan is cleared for funding, even on weekends and holidays. This combination of a hyper-efficient closing process and immediate fund disbursement sets a new benchmark for speed, far outpacing the typical 3-to-10-day closing windows advertised by many other fast digital lenders.

A Partner-Centric Strategy in a Competitive Arena

Unlike some direct-to-consumer fintech lenders, NFTYDoor is doubling down on a B2B, partner-centric model. Access to its newly expanded product suite and favorable terms is available exclusively to mortgage brokers, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions operating under a direct agreement with the company.

This strategy aims to empower its partners, providing them with a competitive product to offer their clients. By claiming to offer the "highest partner compensation in the market," NFTYDoor is creating a powerful incentive for brokers to bring their business to its platform. This approach acknowledges the critical role that loan officers and financial advisors play in guiding borrowers through complex financial decisions.

"The infrastructure we've built is designed to move fast and scale without sacrificing quality," stated Jonathan Spinetto, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder. "We've engineered the platform to deliver a clear-to-close faster than anyone else in this space. That same architecture allows us to rapidly bring new products to market with the consistency and reliability our partners expect."

Beyond HELOCs: Charting a Course into Non-Agency Credit

With its HELOC platform now enhanced, NFTYDoor is already looking toward its next phase of growth. The company has announced plans to expand its product offerings in 2026, moving into more specialized areas of the lending market.

The roadmap includes the introduction of bridge loans, DSCR (Debt-Service Coverage Ratio) loans, and Non-Qualified Mortgage (Non-QM) products. This expansion represents a "broader push into non-agency credit," targeting borrowers who may not fit into the standard qualified mortgage box. DSCR loans, for example, are designed for real estate investors and are underwritten based on a property's cash flow rather than the borrower's personal income. Non-QM loans cater to a wide range of borrowers with unique financial situations, such as self-employed individuals or those in the gig economy.

Spinetto noted that this expansion will be built upon the company's existing technological foundation. "Every product we launch runs on the same core engine: digital origination, compliance, closing, and operational support, so we're extending a proven platform, not rebuilding from scratch." This strategy allows NFTYDoor to leverage its investment in speed and automation to enter new, potentially higher-margin markets efficiently, further solidifying its ambition to redefine how home-based credit is delivered at scale.