NEWThe April issue is live, laundromats, self-storage, and pet services business models.Read this issue
Financial Services · Licensed

The Mortgage Brokerage

A mortgage brokerage earns a commission on every loan it funds, with almost no inventory and very little capital to start. The catch: volume swings hard with interest rates, the loan officers keep most of the commission, and the shops that survive are the ones that build purchase-market realtor relationships and manage cash through the boom-bust cycle.

Commission per funded loanVolume swings with ratesLoan-officer split is the costRealtor relationships are the moat
01

The Snapshot

Is this worth your attention?

$500k-$5M
Typical annual revenue
3-15 loan officers, varies with rates
18-30%
Net profit margin
on the override after LO splits
$25k-$150k
Cost to start
NMLS licensing, bond, working capital
6-24 mo
Typical payback
fast in a boom, slow in a rate drought
High
Day-to-day difficulty
recruiting, compliance, rate volatility
Low-Medium
Absentee potential
once you have a producing LO team

A fit if you…

  • Can recruit and retain producing loan officers
  • Understand that volume rides on interest rates
  • Can build referral relationships with realtors
  • Will hold the NMLS license and run clean compliance
  • Can manage cash through a rate-driven boom and bust

Probably not if you…

  • Want steady, predictable monthly revenue
  • Dislike recruiting and managing commissioned salespeople
  • Cannot stomach volume swinging with the rate cycle
  • Have no appetite for licensing and compliance detail
02

Step Inside the Layout

A live look at one tool inside

This is the actual 3D floor from the full model - drag to explore it. Inside, you configure the space yourself and watch the economics move with every choice.

Loading configurator…

This is just the surface

The full model is the complete, interactive deep-dive, and every business here is built to the same standard: a live economics simulator you tune to your own numbers, an interactive 3D walkthrough, a location scorecard, an owner-fit assessment, buy-versus-build guidance, and the full breakdown of how it makes money and what quietly kills margin.