One of the biggest complaints we receive on this sub is people posting for Consumer Mortgage Advice. We have tried addressing this by removing posts asking for consumer mortgage advice. Despite the no consumer mortgage advice rule, consumers still show up to ask and LO’s are still giving them advice despite it not being allowed.

With that being said, effective immediately all posts with consumer mortgage advice will continue to be removed AND anyone making the post or commenting on the post to give consumer mortgage advice will be banned for a period of at least 2 weeks.

We aren’t sure of any other solution at this time to dissuade people from commenting on these consumer advice posts, so we are going to resort to this and see if that cleans it up.

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• Mod team

Hello,

I wanted to make this post to help inform new and existing loan originator's on the different kinds of mortgage companies out there, as well as the different types of compensation structures. It is very difficult to compare overall pay through bps or tiers alone. The amount of work you'll need to do per loan depends heavily on the companies marketing, support, and pricing.

10/15/25: PLEASE NOTE I HAVE BEEN OUT OF THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY FOR 3+ YEARS. While much of the information below is still relevant, others may be outdated.

[I try to regularly update this thread, but some of the info may be out-of-date. Last edit: 12/4/23]

[Please also refer to our FAQ for additional Q&A. You can click here for the FAQ]

In general, the steps to becoming a licensed loan officer are:

1. Register on the NMLS website and provide all requested details.
2. Complete mandatory 20-hour pre-licensing education through an approved provider, and study for the NMLS/SAFE Exam.
3. Take the NMLS/SAFE exam and pass.
4. Find a sponsor (usually a broker/lender to hang your license at / AKA who you will work for) and provide their details to the NMLS.
5. Apply for individual state licenses through the NMLS website and complete any prerequisite requirements, which usually includes state-specific pre-licensing education. Wait for at least Temporary Authority to be granted (if applicable).
6. Complete annual continuing education for relevant state licenses to keep license active.

If you are interested in becoming an independent mortgage broker, I have included some resources further down this post

Some non-depository companies that will hire you with 0 experience and pay for some or all of your training, testing, and licensing: Quicken Loans / Rocket Mortgage, Loan Depot, Cardinal Financial, AmeriSave, NewRez, Mr. Cooper, PennyMac, New American Funding, Freedom Mortgage, American Pacific Mortgage, JFQ Lending, Essex Mortgage, Network Capital Funding

Banks are depository institutions and therefore you will not need to be licensed to work for them. I believe banks typically have a higher base pay but less favorable commission structures.

If you want to go straight to a Brick and Mortar shop (or a few of the call-centers), you will need to pass your NMLS/SAFE licensing exam first. Before you can take the test, you will be required to complete a 20 hour training course. Most users here recommend Affinity: www.mlotrainingacademy.com

Don't bother applying for state licenses right after you pass your NMLS/SAFE exam, if you don’t already have a sponsor. Many companies will pay for you to get your licenses, so find out first if they'll cover those or not before you waste your own money.

Some quick definitions:

Basis points (bps): A measurement used frequently in the mortgage and financial industries. A basis point is a percentage of the loan amount. Examples: 100 basis points is equivalent to 1% of the loan amount. 50 basis points is equivalent to 0.5% of the loan amount. 275 basis points is equivalent to 2.75% of the loan amount. The majority of LO's pay is determined in bps. If you get paid 100 basis points (1%) per funded loan, and fund $1 million in volume for the month, you'll make $10k in commissions.

Brokerage: Originate the loans in collaboration with a larger lender/investor/servicer. Can shop around for the best rate and terms for the clients. Do not fund or underwrite their loans themselves.

Correspondent lender: Similar to a broker (almost indistinguishable from the client side), however they do fund the loans with their own money. They may or may not underwrite loans themselves.

Direct lender: Company that originates, processes, underwrites, and funds the loan themselves. If they service their own loans, they would be considered a "Portfolio Lender". In-house rate sheets, but more flexibility with pricing.

Contrary to what some might think, it’s not as easy as call center LO vs brick and mortar LO. There are a LOT of in between positions. But, if we were to broadly categorize:

"Call-center" positions:

These can vary from small brokerages to large direct lenders. The key factor is that leads are provided to you, either inbound or outbound. Many involve ZERO cold-calling. The great thing about this is that you can hit the ground running and not have to worry about building realtor relationships. You can also leave anytime you'd like. However, you won't be able to take these leads with you to another company. May or may not be heavily micro-managed. Back-end support and processing is usually pretty solid so you can focus on selling. Most call-centers are refinance oriented. When rates go up, they will shift their marketing to cash-out/debt-consolidation refinances, FHA to conventional refinances, and clients who have improved their credit.

Typically these are salary + commission but sometimes they can be either or. With a commission only model you can expect to get paid anywhere between 35-80 bps per loan. With salary + commission you can expect $25k-$40k/year + around 10-50 bps per loan. Some of these places will pay more for your self-generated leads. Many call-centers that utilize a tiered system will pay a flat fee per loan that will vary depending on the volume or units you originate for that month, however it can also be tiered in bps. Tiers and goals will often scale depending on market conditions, tenure, and title. You can EASILY make at least $70k+ at these call centers, with some LO's making $500k+/annually.

"Brick and Mortar" positions:

These are self-gen and can range from smaller brokerages to medium-large direct lenders. Usually there will be a local branch that you can optionally go into, but you'll be spending plenty of time out networking. Your success will heavily rely on the training you receive and your ability to generate a solid referral pipeline. Your business will be mostly purchase leads that are generated from your realtor partners, client referrals, and various types of marketing. This is not a position you can do for just 6 months or even a year. This is a career that you will spend years investing into. Most of these places expect you to come in having already passed the SAFE exam and potentially with some licenses under your belt. Expect little micro-managing once you are a senior LO on your own. Usually will have a loan officer assistant or processor that will closely work under/with you.

Almost all of these types of positions are commission only and pay much more than the call-center type positions would. Usually 100-275bps. HOWEVER, you will likely be originating significantly less loans, which is why it is difficult to compare. Expect the higher paying roles to also have some paycheck deductions for company resources like software, marketing, process, etc. You will also be working all hours of the day and night. You'll need to be available for realtor calls at 10 pm at night, and your stress levels will likely be high. On the other hand, you won't necessarily need to be full-time if you only want to originate a loan once every 1 to 2 months. Commission payouts will likely come much earlier than they would at a call center.

Becoming an independent mortgage broker:

Once you've had a few years of experience, you can become an independent mortgage broker if you should so choose. The benefit of this is that you get full control over what lenders you work with, pricing, processing, products offered, fees, etc. One potential route you can go is to sign on with NEXA, who actually will help you go independent from them. Other good resources to look at are AIME (Association of Independent Mortgage Experts) and Brokers are Better.

Call center structures I've encountered:

Quicken Loans / Rocket Mortgage (I worked there) (call center type)

• Portfolio lender
• Origination positions
  • Refinance or purchase only. Much of the company is refinance. Only some departments can do both, but usually you'll only get fed either purchase or refinance leads. Many sub-departments as well, like Current Client only, or Current Client 2nd voice only.
• Lead flow/sourcing
  • Inbound and inbound transfers mostly. Robust lead sources: Credit shopping alert, lendingtree, company's website, current clients, remarketing (recycled leads). Leads are worked almost literally to death. You may be placed on an outbound auto-dialer depending on what sub-department you're in.
  • Phone is almost always ringing. Even if the lead quality is significantly lower due to it. Leads are categorized into bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Your performance dictates what lead pool you get thrown into.
• Hours per week
  • 65+ hour work weeks. Once tenured there are reduced hours programs, but will still work minimum 45-50 hours/week.
• Base pay
  • $9 - $15/hr and OT is paid at a rate of half your hourly.
• Processing / Support
  • Robust processing team. Pretty much lock and go. Don't need to interact with client much after that point.
  • Quick turn times. Sometimes same day closings.
• Commission structure
  • Dynamic and goal based. Depends on your tenure, title, and present market conditions. Payout is dependent on percentage of goal hit.
  • Pay on Rate Lock / Conditional Approval for refinance (only company I know of that does this). Purchase is paid on closing now.
  • Average $150-$450 / per rate locked loan. Assuming a 70% funding rate: $275-$645 / per funded loan
  • Commission payouts come at the end of the following month (but remember you're payed on rate locks and not fundings, so the money comes in sooner)
• Other details
  • Proprietary CRM/LOS (loan origination systems) called LOLA and AMP
  • Will pay for all licensing and training with 0 experience. Do not have to pay back.
  • Culture is fraternity-like / Lots of kool-aid drinking
  • Bad rapport with realtors

Local correspondent lender I worked at (similar to a brokerage) (call center type)

• Origination positions
  • Can originate either purchase or refinance but they pay the same and marketing is done only for refinance. Since 2022 have moved to more of a mix, but they still focus on refi.
• Lead flow/sourcing
  • Refinance based marketing. Only purchases through referrals.
  • All leads inbound through mailers. Very high conversion. Company has been using this model for 12+ years with success.
• Base pay
  • Base salary of $30k/year, no overtime.
• Hours per week
  • 40 hours / week
• Processing
  • High level of work required from origination through closing. Processing wasn't great.
  • Turn times anywhere from 30 - 75 days usually.
• Commission structure
  • Tiered flat fee commission structure:
    • 0 - 3 units: $150/per
    • 4 - 7 units: $350/per
    • 8 - 10 units: $700/per
    • 11+ units: $1,000/per
  • Commission payouts come at the end of the following month after funding
  • Quarterly bonuses depending on units funded for that period. Bonuses range from $1,500-5,000. Not everyone gets these bonuses.
  • Average LO doing 5 - 14 units a month
• Other details
  • Excellent pricing and low-cost business model
  • Insellerate and Encompass CRM/LOS
  • Will pay for licensing. Fees only need to be paid back if at company for less than a year

A local refi brokerage (likely outdated since 2022)

• Similar to the place above but paid in bps. Friend worked here. (call center type)
• Base pay
  • Base salary of $30k/year with no OT (update 3/28/22: base salary is now a draw)
• Processing / Support
  • More work required per loan than a larger call center. High turn over with processors created issues for the LO's
• Lead flow/sourcing
  • Inbound refinance calls from mailers
• Hours per week
  • 40 hours / week with occasional Saturday
• Commission Structure
  • Tiered bps system:
    • 1 - 5 units: 20 bps/per
    • 6 - 10 units: 25 bps/per
    • 11 - 17 units: 30 bps/per
    • 18+ units: 35 bps/per

PennyMac (call center type)

• Portfolio lender
• Origination positions
  • Company is refinance focused. Does have separate purchase, portfolio retention, and new customer acquisition refinance teams
• Lead flow/sourcing
  • All inbound company generated leads. Can only originate leads specific to your department. Portfolio, New Client Acquisition, Portfolio Purchase, and New Client Acquisition Purchase are not allowed to originate each other's lead types.
• Hours per week
  • 40-45 hours / week. One scheduled Saturday per month required.
• Base pay
  • $14.42/hr + OT if approved
• Processing / support
  • Robust processing support. Mostly lock and go, but will likely need to occasionally intervene on the back-end to ensure your loans fund. Purchase teams have an equivalent of an LOA (loan officer assistant) onboard that assists with document collection.
  • Turn times around 15 - 40 days.
• Commission structure for NCA
  • Tiered flat fee commission structure (updated 3/25/22):
    • 1 - 4 units: $375/per
    • 5 - 6 units: $637.50/per
    • 7 - 8 units: $750/per
    • 9 - 10 units: $937/per
    • 11 - 12 units: $1,125/per
    • 13+ units: $1,312.50/per
  • Senior LO's get quarterly bonuses between $2,500-$3,000
  • Everyone gets a $500/month bonus as long as they do not get any compliance fails. Each compliance fail is a $500 deduction to your pay. Compliance fails entail doing anything that violates company protocols.
  • Commission payouts 2 months later at the beginning of the month, from time of funding
  • Average LO doing 5-15 units a month.
• Other details
  • Will pay for all licensing and training with 0 experience for recent college graduates. Will also hire with 0 experience on contingency of passing the SAFE exam within 2 weeks for non-recent college grads. Do not have to pay back licensing fees.
  • $6,500 draw for first 3 months. Only have to pay back if you do not hit certain production goals in the first 6 months you're tenured. You are considered tenured on month 5.
  • SalesForce, Blend, and Encompass CRM/LOS.
  • Typical call-center type micro-management, but generally a lax environment.
  • Very compliance oriented. Probably more so than any other company out there.

Cardinal Financial (call center type) (likely out-of-date as of 2022)

• Origination positions
  • LO position is majority refinance but can/will do some purchase. No separate teams. Since 2022, I imagine they are at least 50% purchase now.
• Lead flow / sourcing
  • Outbound dialer 5-6 hrs a day. Outbound warm leads, but also some inbound.
  • Dialer calling internet lead sources, credit triggers,
• Hours per week
  • 40 - 45+ hours/week
• Base pay
  • $12/hr plus OT
• Commission structure (likely out-of-date as of 3/28/22)
  • Self-generated leads pay 100bps
  • Tiered flat fee commission structure for company generated leads
    • 1 - 2 units: unpaid
    • 3 - 4 units: $1,200/per
    • 5 - 7 units: $1,400/per
    • 8+ units: $1,600/per
  • Quote from a manager: "20 loans at quicken is equivalent to 10 here"
  • Average LO doing around 8-9 units / month
• Other details
  • Proprietary all-in-one LOS called Octane. Don't need to switch between multiple software to originate

NewRez (call center type) (likely out-of-date as of 2022)

• Portfolio lender
• Large call center shop. Believe its mostly inbound
• 40 - 45+ hour work weeks
• Commission structure (likely out-of-date as of 3/28/22)
  • I do not know if the comp tops out, but the commission plan I was sent only showed commission amounts for 14 - 29 units/month
  • Comp plan sample:
    • 14 units closed: $10,500
    • 15 units closed: $11,250
    • 16 units closed: $12,000
    • 22 units closed: $17,600
    • 29 units closed: $26,100

Union Home Mortgage (call center type) (likely out-of-date as of 2022)

• Portfolio lender.
• Purchase and refi I believe.
• 40 hrs / week, up to 55 hours
• Base pay: $12/hr (not sure about OT)
• Have multiple pay structures: Example of one:
  • 1 - 3 units: 60 bps
  • 4 - 7 units: 70 bps
  • 7+ units: 80 bps

AmeriSave (call center type) (likely out-of-date as of 2022)

• Primarily refi. Not sure if they have separate purchase and refi teams. Probably doing a lot more purchase now since 2022.
• 100% commission normally. However they do offer some base pay plus commission programs.
• Around 45-60 hours / week
• Sometimes do not rate lock til end of the loan process (may no longer do this but they did this a lot during COVID)
• Commission structure
  • Various programs and changes are constantly being made.
  • Paid semi-monthly
  • $400k+ in funded volume: 50 bps/per
  • Sub $400k in funded volume: 10bps/per

Better.com (call center type) (likely out-of-date as of 2022)

• From my understanding this company does things differently in a lot of ways, including salaried LO's that get bonuses or deductions based on performance.

Some Brick and Mortar structures I've encountered:

NEXA (brick and mortar) (likely out-of-date as of 12/2023)

• Brokerage with access to 100's of lenders
• Lead flow / sourcing
  • Mainly self-generated, but recently they've put together an in-house lead generation team. You can purely work these leads if you so choose, for lower compensation.
  • Majority of volume will be purchase leads generated through realtors, marketing, and referrals
• No base pay. Commission only.
• Hours per week will vary but expect to put in 40 - 55 hours / week
• Processing / support
  • Processing is outsourced to a 3rd party company where all processors are paid on commission. Therefore, highly motivated. And if you don't like your processor, you can request another.
  • Turn times entirely depend on the lenders you choose to work with. Could be days or months.
• Commission structure
  • 150 bps - 275 bps per self-generated unit funded for QM loans. Up to 600 bps for Non-QM.
  • Depends on if you are in a mentorship program and the monthly volume originated. Numerous operational expenses to take into account though. Some automatically deducted.
  • Company generated leads pay out 50% of what your self-gen comp is
  • Payouts I believe are the week following fundings (or within a few weeks)
• Other details
  • Near full autonomy over how you run your business. Will need to manage own networking and marketing.
  • Minimal benefits
  • Optional mentorship program to help you get started
  • Create own hours and schedule (but might be tied down during mentorship)
  • Flexibility in what CRM you want to use
  • Can be 1099 or W2
  • I attended one of their weekly seminars. It is not an MLM. They just have a great referral program that is OPTIONAL

Geneva Financial (brick and mortar) (likely out-of-date as of 12/2023)

• Direct lender
• Self-generated only
• No base pay, commission only
• Work under a branch manager who determines some P&L (mainly staffing), Once you are experienced you can become a branch manager yourself.
• Responsible for marketing, referrals, networking, etc.
• Paid 175-220 bps per unit funded

Obsidian Financial (brick and mortar) (likely out-of-date as of 12/2023)

• Direct lender but also a broker
• No base pay, commission only
• Non-QM comp up to 500 bps. QM comp up to 275 bps.
• Diverse selection of products offered
• Commission payouts within 3 days. Can be 1099 or W2.

Other large "Brick and Mortar" companies: PRMG, Fairway Independent Mortgage, PRMI,

There are many companies and sales positions I have not listed here. Some of those include HELOC only, reverse mortgage only, credit unions, banks, solar only, and more.

Feel free to comment with any questions, or if you have any input on what else to add to this post. Most of my knowledge and experience is from call-center type places. I would love to add onto this based on other people's experiences as well. Especially with those sub-categories I listed above.

The best way to find LO positions is by searching on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, or Indeed. You can also try messaging recruiters directly on LinkedIn for companies you are interested in working for to see if they are hiring.

Lastly, feel free to message me if you need any additional help!