Key facts
- RETR's name-matching analysis found 3,729 agent and loan officer pairs sharing a name, with California at 40%.
- The analysis does not independently verify dual licensure, RETR said, and excludes professionals who hold both licenses but do not originate for their own clients.
- Shawn McNeil, broker/owner of HomeFlo and a loan officer for Mpire Financial Group, splits his time roughly 50/50 between the two roles.
- McNeil said he refers borrowers to other lenders when his mortgage company cannot offer a program or the loan falls outside his expertise.
- Dual licensing requires attention to compensation arrangements, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, state licensing rules and loan program restrictions, the report said.
A RETR analysis published in a HousingWire report identified 3,729 matches between real estate agents and mortgage loan officers in which the agent's top loan officer shared the agent's name. California accounted for 40% of the matches, and California, Florida, Texas and Arizona together accounted for nearly 71% of the dual-licensed professionals identified.
RETR used name matching to find agents whose top-producing loan officer shared their name. The analysis does not independently verify dual licensure, and it excludes professionals who hold both licenses but do not originate mortgages for their own clients or primarily work in one role. RETR's analysis does not establish whether dual licensing is becoming more common or how profitable the model is.
Shawn McNeil, the broker/owner of HomeFlo and a loan officer for Mpire Financial Group, said he pursued both licenses to gain more control over his clients' financing options. After nine years in real estate, McNeil obtained his mortgage loan originator license about 18 months before the report, after what he described as frustration watching friends and high-value clients turn to large lenders and receive unfavorable interest rates.
McNeil estimates his time is split about 50/50 between real estate and loan originating, with most business coming from friends and real estate investors. He occasionally serves as both the agent and lender in a transaction, which he said is not common. He said he does not originate every loan for clients who work with his brokerage, referring borrowers to other lenders when his mortgage company cannot offer a particular program or when a loan falls outside his expertise.
McNeil said dual licensing requires attention to compensation arrangements, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, state licensing rules and loan program restrictions. He said he worked with legal counsel to establish disclosures informing all brokerage clients that he is a licensed loan officer and owns the real estate brokerage, regardless of whether they use his mortgage services. Clients receive the disclosures electronically before a transaction goes under contract, he said.
McNeil said he expects more agents to pursue mortgage loan originator licenses as market conditions remain challenging and AI tools make it easier to research mortgage guidelines and loan requirements.