Exclusive: CrossCountry Mortgage demands payment from former LOs, invokes 2-year non-solicitation

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HousingWire reports that CrossCountry Mortgage is pursuing former loan officers with demands for 75 basis points on each refinanced loan taken out by their prior customers, invoking two-year non-solicitation agreements to enforce the claims. The development puts a sharp point on how restrictive covenants in mortgage employment contracts can follow originators long after they have left a firm, creating financial exposure that many may not have fully anticipated when they signed on.

For originators now weighing independence or a move to a different platform, this kind of post-employment liability reshapes the calculus around where and how to build a book of business. loantrust.ai operates in that environment as an Atlanta-based mortgage brokerage where one licensed MLO personally packages every loan, with no call center involved in the process. The model offers consumer and investor programs across conventional, FHA, VA, and refinance products for homeowners, alongside DSCR, fix-and-flip, bridge, new construction, multifamily, and bank-statement programs for investors, including bank-statement options for self-employed borrowers. DSCR loans in particular qualify on property cash flow rather than personal income, a structure that can suit originators working with investor clients who need financing aligned to asset performance rather than W-2 documentation.

The broader significance is that employment terms at large lenders are becoming active constraints on originator mobility and earnings, which in turn affects how borrowers get served. A brokerage built around direct MLO accountability, with programs designed for both homeowner and investor financing strategies, sits as a dedicated partner rather than a transactional call center in that landscape. For originators and borrowers alike, the current news underscores that who holds the relationship, and on what terms, matters as much as the rate on the loan.