A tried-and-true native of the Lake Geneva area, Rich Honquest knows everything there is to know about the southern Wisconsin mortgage industry. When you ask him where he lives, he gives you his lake association’s pier number, not his address. You can often find him at Chucks, The Duck Inn or Mars (if the wait isn’t too long). “Lake Geneva is in my blood, it is my happy place,” he says. “I will always and forever be a Lake Geneva guy.”

Honquest grew up on the shores of Lake Geneva, working summers on the gas pier. “I have a very acute knowledge of the area,” he says. “I make sure my vendors understand the value of lake access homes vs. homes with no lake access. When you go to a local title company, the employees will know my name and have dealt with me before. Most lenders in this magazine just do business in this community from time to time, but I live in the community and am a part of it daily.” Out of Honquest’s roughly 300 transactions in the past 2.5 years, 10% have been in lake-access communities and over 25% have been in southern Wisconsin.

In contrast to most lenders, Honquest worked as a Realtor himself for over 10 years. “It allows for me to truly know both sides of the business in a way that 90% of mortgage lenders do not,” he says.

After working as a Realtor for some time, Honquest decided he wanted to spend more time on weekends with his family at the lake, so he transitioned to lending in 2019. He found immediate success with over $100 million in loan origination in his first two years as a lender, but his biggest accomplishment has been having all of his business come from past clients and Realtor referrals. 

Honquest is happy to be starting a family with his wife. The couple welcomed their first baby this past September.