Richard Honquest grew up on the shores of Lake Geneva, his “happy place,” working summers on the gas pier and gaining an acute knowledge of the area.
As a mortgage advisor with Preferred Rate, he knows everything there is to know about the southern Wisconsin mortgage industry. When potential homebuyers visit a local title company, the employees there all know Honquest’s name because they have worked on his closings.
Since the pandemic, he has made a conscious effort to make Walworth County one of his primary sources of business. With his long-established network in southern Wisconsin, he continues to be uniquely positioned to ensure smooth, successful transactions. Today, more than 30% of his business comes consistently from this area.
2025 marked Honquest’s best production year ever, as he funded upward of $65 million in mortgages, all while helping scale his team’s footprint and influence. Alongside his two partners, he played a central role in expanding their group by bringing on eight additional mortgage loan officers, strengthening their reach and capacity to serve clients throughout southern Wisconsin.
The Preferred Rate team, which opened its Lake Geneva office in late 2024, continues to build momentum. With a growing roster of strong mortgage advisors and a fully established brick-and-mortar presence, they are deepening their commitment to the local community.
“We are establishing a footprint in the southern Wisconsin area to focus on the people we feel are consistently overlooked by Realtors and lenders,” Honquest says. “A vast majority of the agents and lenders here focus on lakefront and high-end luxury clients, often from out of state. We are here to help the public servants, teachers, nurses — the people who live here day in and day out and make this community what it is.”
