Who sends mortgage business
The professionals who meet your client before you do, and why they have a reason to refer:
- Real estate agents - the first call after an accepted offer, and the source of most purchase volume.
- Financial advisors and CPAs - clients refinancing, buying investment property or restructuring debt after a tax review.
- Divorce and estate attorneys - a house that has to be refinanced into one name, or sold and repurchased.
- Builders and new-construction sales - buyers who need pre-approval before a lot is released.
- Insurance agents - homeowners policies are written at closing; the agent hears about the purchase first.
Who you send business to
A referral network only works in both directions. These are the partners your clients need next:
- Realtors - pre-approved borrowers who have not chosen an agent yet.
- Home inspectors, appraisers and title companies - every file needs them, and a reliable one keeps closings on time.
- Insurance agents - a binder is required before funding; you decide who gets that call.
- Contractors - renovation loans and buyers who will remodel after closing.
Where the loop breaks today
- Realtor relationships are concentrated: two or three agents send most of your files, and losing one means a quiet quarter.
- Referrals from advisors, attorneys and builders happen by accident, not by design, because those people never think of you when the moment comes.
- Nobody tracks who sent what. A partner who has sent you six borrowers feels ignored when you cannot remember a single one you sent back.
How Referral Nova is used in mortgage
- Your profile lists the borrowers you want (first-time buyers, jumbo, self-employed, investors, VA) and the professionals you can refer to, so the AI matches you with the agents and advisors whose clients fit.
- Suggested matches come with the reason: a realtor who marked "mortgage" as a partner they want, an advisor whose clients are buying rentals in your state.
- Book a 20-minute Zoom from the profile, then send and receive referrals with the borrower's situation attached. Both sides see the referral move from New to Won.
- Your Contribution Score counts the referrals partners marked as real business, so the loan officer who gives gets ranked higher in everyone's matches.
Referral fees and rules in this field
RESPA Section 8 prohibits paying or receiving anything of value for a referral of settlement-service business, which includes mortgage origination and title. Referral Nova charges no referral commission and takes no share of any fee, and the referral fee agreement members can sign is a document between two members that you should not use for settlement-service referrals. Build the mortgage side of your network on reciprocity and service, which is what the tracking is for.
Which matching factors matter most
For mortgage, the referral-to-me factor (partners who said they can refer borrowers) and the reverse-alignment factor (agents and advisors who want to meet lenders) carry the most weight, then location, because licensing is state by state.