Who We Are
Northstar Mortgage Consulting
A consulting group built by mortgage and real estate professionals, for mortgage professionals.
Founded by Ken Rife, Katie Conrad, and Kate Osborn, our firm helps mortgage individuals and teams grow with clarity, confidence, and intention.
Our experience spans every critical area of a successful mortgage business, including:
Origination
Leadership
Real Estate Partnerships
Branch Financial Health
Operations
Marketing
We understand what it takes to build a sustainable, high-performing mortgage business in today’s market. Our approach blends proven production insight with developing strong agent relationships, and intentional growth.
Whether you’re an individual originator, branch manager, or company owner, we’re here to help you build what’s next—strategically and confidently!
Founders of Northstar
Mortgage Consulting
Ken Rife, Kate Osborn, & Katie Conrad
40+
Years of Combined Experience
3
Areas of Expertise
1
Personalized Approach
Organize Your Business. Focus on What Matters.
OUR APPROACH
Cut through the noise. Get real, personalized coaching. Think and grow differently. Rise to the challenge.
YOUR PATH TO GROWTH
Our Plans
No fluff. No theory. No coaching gimmicks.
Built from firsthand experience within an actively producing mortgage branch, we share what's working, what's not, and the strategies driving real, sustainable growth.
Through personalized one-on-one and group support, we help you identify opportunities, overcome challenges, and build a more profitable, scalable business.
Because when the industry gets better, we all win.
FOR ESTABLISHED LOAN OFFICERS
A Step-by-Step Path for Ongoing Growth
Start with the Core Program, then you may select the continued support option that fits your goals.
STEP 1
The Core Program
$999 ONE-TIME INVESTMENT
6 WEEK PROGRAM
Personalized consulting, actionable recommendations, and proven strategies
to strengthen your systems, improve efficiency, and position your business
for increased production.
Sales strategy and pipeline development
Marketing and lead generation
Structure and productivity
Financial performance and opportunities
Navigating an evolving industry
Additional strategies tailored to your goals
STEP 2
Choose Your Continued Support
After completing The Core Program, you may select an ongoing support option that fits your goals. You must complete The Core Program before enrolling in either option.
Ongoing Support
Continued guidance, tools, & accountability to keep your business moving forward.
Continued strategy and sales support
Exclusive workshops & script calls
Marketing tools and templates
Weekly check-ins
Private community access
$299/MONTH
MINIMUM 3-MONTH
COMMITMENT
The Essentials
NO COMMITMENT REQUIRED
Essential resources, tools, and & support to help you stay connected and informed.
Select workshop & script call recordings
Marketing tools & templates
Private community access
$99/MONTH
FOR NEW LOAN OFFICERS
A Standalone Course to
Launch Your Career
Independent of The Core Program and both support plans. Upon completion, if you’re ready to continue coaching, we’ll help guide you toward the next step in your growth.
NEW AND ESTABLISHING
LOAN OFFICERS
The Foundation Program
$399/MONTH
3-MONTH COMMITMENT
Practical education, real-world insights, and actionable strategies to build a strong foundation, develop confidence, establish strong business habits, and gain the knowledge and skills needed for a successful career in mortgage lending.
Gain real-world insights beyond the licensing exam
Confidently navigate the mortgage process
Build lasting client and agent relationships
Learn proven production strategies with Ken
Build strategic agent partners with Katie
Master systems and marketing with Kate
The Difference
We’ve Sat on Both Sides
of the Table
While we take helping lenders grow their business seriously, we don’t believe consulting has to feel stiff or corporate. Our approach removes the subjectivity—focusing only on real, practical ways to grow your business. Partnerships are built through authentic relationships, collaboration, and actually enjoying the process!
Deep Real Estate Industry Knowledge
Our perspective comes from real experience inside the real estate industry! Kate & Katie have spent years helping lead one of the top real estate operations in our market — a brokerage of more than 500 agents. That experience gave us a front-row seat to how agents actually choose their lending partners. We understand what agents want to hear from lenders, what earns their trust, and the real pain points they face with their businesses, their clients, and their transactions. They have a combined 20+ years of experience in the real estate space. Our guidance is built on practical insight—not guesswork.
Proven Mortgage Excellence
Alongside that real estate leadership experience, Ken brings over 15 years of mortgage lending experience and is a Scotsman Guide Verified Top Originator, ranking among the top loan originators in the country. He has built a reputation for helping families achieve their homeownership dreams while leading his team with passion, kindness, and a commitment to excellence!
Two Perspectives. One Powerful Advantage
Together, our team brings a unique perspective that bridges both sides of the industry — real estate and lending.
FOR TEAMS, BRANCHES, AND ORGANIZATIONS
Your Organization. Your Goals. Our Expertise.
Across mortgage organizations and teams, loan officers and industry leaders consistently turn to our team for insight into what's driving success. Because we are actively involved in the industry, we've become a trusted and relatable resource, bridging the gap between leadership strategy and real-world execution.
Our approach goes beyond surface-level solutions. We partner with loan officers, mortgage teams, and organizations as an extension of their business, bringing practical insight, personalized strategies, and hands-on support to create meaningful, lasting impact.
We remain organization-agnostic, meaning our guidance isn't influenced by affiliations, company structures, or competing priorities. Our focus is on you, your team, and your success. Whether you're looking to increase production, strengthen agent partnerships, improve operational efficiency, or recruit and retain top talent, we're committed to helping you build a stronger, more sustainable business.
We also recognize that growth requires adaptability. A willingness to evolve, challenge existing processes, and embrace new perspectives creates opportunities for improvement. Through honest feedback, strategic thinking, and actionable solutions, we help mortgage professionals think differently, grow differently, and rise to the challenge.
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Retention goes beyond keeping talented loan officers within an organization. It also means protecting and strengthening the valuable agent relationships that drive production. In both cases, strong relationships require ongoing investment, not just a strong foundation.
We help identify why loan officers leave—or begin considering leaving—and support proactive action before it happens. Often, the greatest risk isn't what's said—it's what isn't. Disengagement and dissatisfaction can exist long before they surface.
The same principle applies to agent partnerships. Just because a loan officer has established a strong relationship with an agent doesn't mean that relationship is guaranteed. Other lenders are consistently working to earn that same business. Without continued communication, meaningful value, and intentional relationship-building, even the strongest partnerships can become vulnerable.
Our mission is to help organizations "lock the back door" by creating an environment where loan officers feel valued, supported, and invested in their future—while equipping them with the strategies to build agent relationships that are equally difficult to replace.
We support this by helping drive:
Proactive Retention Strategies: Identify potential challenges, uncover concerns, and address them before they lead to disengagement or lost relationships.
Strategic Brainstorming & Collaboration: Create opportunities for honest conversations, fresh perspectives, and actionable solutions that strengthen both internal teams and external partnerships.
Meaningful Connection & Engagement: Develop high-impact retreats, team experiences, and agent engagement strategies that deepen relationships, loyalty, and trust.
Consistent, Value-Driven Partnerships: Help loan officers remain relevant and indispensable to their agent partners through ongoing communication, tangible resources, and intentional relationship development.
Ultimately, retention isn't about reacting when someone is ready to leave. It's about consistently giving them a reason to stay. That applies to both the loan officers within your organization and the agents who choose to do business with them.
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Our team operates as a Chief Experience Officer (CXO) function, focused on strengthening culture and improving retention at every level of the organization. We provide visibility into challenges, concerns, and opportunities that may not otherwise surface.
As a boots-on-the-ground culture committee, we are embedded, approachable, and proactive—surfacing issues early and helping address them before they turn into turnover. The result is stronger alignment, better communication, and a more connected organization where top producers choose to stay.
We work alongside leadership to objectively close gaps and provide honest, real-time feedback that can be trusted and acted on.
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We want to elevate how loan officers add value to agent partners and brokerages by moving beyond transactional relationships and building true, strategic partnerships. Through our tangible assets, proven strategies, and firsthand insight into what's actually working in the field today, we help loan officers bring more to the table than just mortgage expertise.
Our goal is to shift the conversation from simply earning the next transaction to becoming a trusted, indispensable resource in an agent's business. That means understanding what agents need, recognizing the challenges they face, and consistently delivering meaningful solutions that help them grow their businesses, better serve their clients, and achieve their goals.
By equipping loan officers with the tools, confidence, and strategies to lead with value, we help them deepen existing relationships, establish new partnerships, and create lasting influence within their real estate communities. The result is stronger relationships, greater loyalty, and more sustainable production growth aligned with their individual goals.
are Saying
What Our Clients
BY THE NUMBERS
Our Mortgage Team
Families Served
328
$103M
In Loan Volume
Omaha Mortgage