Being a Mortgage Loan Officer and Realtor Simultaneously

[Jordan Baker]

Hey Bigger Pockets Family, 

I am recently transitioning out of a W2 based job to become an MLO full time as it being my part time gig was making me more money most months then my full time job. 

However, I like having two streams of income at all times. 

I am wondering if it is possible to have your realtor license and your MLO license at the same time and do both. Now before I get all the people telling me to focus on one, I know doing both at the start is not feasible and it is better to focus on one. However, what I am trying to figure out is can I be an MLO and lets say that I get someone pre-approved and refer them to a realtor, that realtor then goes and helps them find their dream home and gets under contract, once the deal closes could I, as now a licensed realtor as well, get a referral commission from the real estate agent I referred them to. From what I read this seems like it is an acceptable to do both the originating and the referral as long as it is not a government (FHA, USDA, VA) loan. Even if i didn't do the loan for that client because it had to go FHA, I think it could be a good way to open up networking, a larger pipeline, and have a back up source or income. Please let me know your thoughts, concerns, advice, and experience in the matter.

Thank you Kindly. 

-Jordan