Partner Program
How People Who Know Real Estate Turn Their Network Into Referral Income
Published by James Loffredo | September 2026 | 7 min read
Key Takeaway
If investors already ask you who to call for financing, you are giving away something valuable. In the Pinnacle Funding Network partner program you make the introduction, we handle the loan, and when it funds you earn 25% of the origination fee we collect, paid to your business entity within 10 business days. One of our referral partners earned five figures last year from introductions alone. Results vary.
Everyone who works around real estate investors gets the same question sooner or later: who should I call for the loan? Wholesalers get it the day a buyer goes under contract. Agents get it when an investor client finds the next rental. CPAs get it at tax time, when a client wants to pull equity out of a paid-off property. Property managers get it when an owner wants to buy another door.
Most people answer that question for free, every time. They pass along a name, the deal closes or it doesn't, and nothing comes back to them. A referral program turns that same introduction into income, without changing what you already do.
Who Is Positioned for This
The people who do well with referral income are not salespeople chasing strangers. They are people who already sit next to financing decisions and have the trust of the investors making them.
- Real estate investors. You know other investors, you hear about their deals first, and your recommendation carries weight because you have closed deals yourself.
- Wholesalers. Your buyers need financing to close on your contracts. A lender who closes on time protects your assignment fee as much as it pays you a referral fee.
- Real estate agents. Investor clients buy more than once. Every rental, flip and refinance is a financing decision you can point in the right direction.
- CPAs and attorneys. You see the full picture: the portfolio, the equity, the entity structure. You often know a client needs capital before they do.
- Property managers. Owners talk to you about buying, selling and refinancing, and they trust your judgment about the numbers.
How the Money Works
The structure is simple. When a loan you introduced closes and funds, Pinnacle Funding Network pays you 25% of the origination fee we collect on that loan. You are paid only on funded loans, so there is nothing to invoice and nothing to chase on deals that fall through.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| The loan funds | Pinnacle Funding Network collects its origination fee at closing |
| Your share | 25% of that origination fee |
| Example | A $10,000 origination fee pays you $2,500 |
| Timing | Within 10 business days of funding |
| How | Wire, Zelle or check, paid to your business entity |
The fee on any single loan depends on the loan's size and structure, so no two payments are the same. What changes your annual number is volume: how many investors you know who are actively buying, building and refinancing, and how many of their loans fund. One of our referral partners earned five figures last year from introductions alone. That is a real result, not a typical one, and yours will depend on your network.
What You Do, and What You Never Do
A referral partner does one thing: introduces an investor who needs financing, with the investor's permission. You send us their name and contact details through your personal introduction link, and you tell them to expect our call. That is the whole job.
Everything after that belongs to Pinnacle Funding Network. We quote the deal, collect the documents, underwrite the file and close the loan. Partners never quote rates or terms, never negotiate on the borrower's behalf, and never collect applications or financial documents. That line keeps it simple for you and clean for the borrower, and it is written into the partner agreement.
What Makes an Introduction Fund
Not every introduction becomes a loan. The ones that fund tend to have four things in common:
- A real property. An investor who is under contract, holding a rental they want to refinance, or starting a specific project, not someone thinking about investing someday.
- A business purpose. These are loans on investment property only: rentals, flips, bridge, new construction, portfolios and short-term rentals. Primary residences are outside the program.
- A borrower who expects the call. Introductions where the investor knows we are reaching out move faster than cold hand-offs.
- A fit with what we fund. The more you know about the programs, the better your introductions get.
Here is what your introductions can get funded, in 48 states:
| Program | The short version |
|---|---|
| DSCR rental loans | Qualifies on the property's cash flow, not tax returns. Up to 80% LTV on purchases, $55,000 to $5 million, closing in 20 to 30 days. |
| Fix and flip | Up to 90% of purchase and 100% of rehab for experienced borrowers, ARV capped at 70 to 75%. $100,000 to $5 million, closing in as few as 7 days. |
| New construction | Up to 85% loan to cost, with draw-based funding through the build. |
| Portfolio and blanket | 2 to 100 rentals financed in one loan. |
Treating It Like a Revenue Stream
The partners who build real income from introductions treat it like a line of business, not a favor.
- Set it up properly once. Payments go only to a business entity with a W-9 on file, so have your LLC or corporation and its EIN ready before your first introduction. Referral income is business income; talk to your CPA about how to report it.
- Know the moments. The best time to ask whether someone needs financing is when a deal is moving: a new contract, a finished rehab that needs a refinance, a portfolio that has outgrown one-off loans.
- Keep your link handy. Approved partners get a personal introduction link. Saving it where you text and email from makes the introduction a thirty second job.
- Watch the updates. You hear from us when an introduction is received, when the loan is in process and when it funds, so you always know where your introductions stand.
How to Become a Partner
Apply on the Pinnacle Funding Network Partner Program page. Choose Referral Partner if you know investors, or Lending Partner if you are a private or hard money lender sending deals outside your own box. Our investment committee reviews every application. Approved partners sign the partner agreement electronically, send a W-9 for their business entity, and receive a personal introduction link.
James Loffredo is the Founder and Principal of Pinnacle Funding Network, an investment property lender serving real estate investors across 48 states. Reach the team at 214-885-4313 or info@pinnaclefundingnetwork.com.
Referral fees are paid only on loans that close and fund, under a signed partner agreement, to a business entity with a W-9 on file. Results vary and past results do not guarantee future earnings. Pinnacle Funding Network is a correspondent lender and loan originator. PFN originates loans and funds them through its network of institutional capital partners, who make final funding decisions. Rates, terms and programs are subject to change and to borrower and property qualification. This is not a commitment to lend.