Mortgage Leads · Buyer guide
Buying mortgage leads can fill a pipeline quickly, or drain a budget just as fast. This guide walks loan officers and lending teams through lead types, vendor evaluation, pricing, testing and the follow-up process that decides whether leads become funded loans.
Key takeaways
A mortgage lead is a consumer who has asked for information about a home loan, usually by completing a form that captures loan purpose, property details, estimated loan amount, credit range and contact information. A lead is an opportunity to start a conversation, not a pre-approved borrower.
| Lead type | Typical borrower | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | First-time and move-up buyers | Purchase-focused loan officers and realtor partners |
| Rate-and-term refinance | Homeowners lowering rate or term | High-volume refinance teams |
| Cash-out refinance | Homeowners tapping equity | Debt consolidation and home improvement products |
| Home equity / HELOC | Homeowners keeping their first mortgage | Banks, credit unions and HELOC lenders |
| FHA and VA | Government program borrowers | Lenders with strong government lending |
| Jumbo | High-balance borrowers | Portfolio and jumbo specialists |
Real-time leads arrive seconds after submission and produce the best contact rates when you call within minutes. Aged leads cost less and suit structured nurture programs. Live transfers connect a pre-screened borrower directly to your loan officer. Many teams combine formats: real-time leads for daily volume, transfers for top producers and aged leads for long-term nurture.
Start from your own numbers rather than a market price:
As a hypothetical example, if a funded loan earns $3,000 and you are willing to spend 30% on acquisition, you can afford $900 per funded loan. If 2% of leads fund, your maximum cost per lead is $18. If better follow-up lifts conversion to 3%, the same economics support $27 per lead. Improving your process can be worth more than negotiating price.
Share your states, volume and criteria and we will send availability and pricing.
Set a fixed test budget, written criteria and a consistent follow-up process before the first lead arrives. Track every lead through contact, application, credit pull, lock and funding, and give the test long enough to reflect your normal pipeline time. Compare sources on cost per application and cost per funded loan, not cost per lead.
Make sure consent language covers your company and the channels you plan to use, honor opt-outs immediately and scrub against Do Not Call lists where required. Keep consent records accessible, and review your outreach process with your compliance team before scaling.
They can be exclusive or shared. Exclusive leads cost more but remove competition at first contact.
As quickly as possible, ideally within minutes. Contact rates fall as time passes.
It depends on your revenue per funded loan and conversion rate. Work out your own maximum before comparing prices.
Yes. State, loan type, loan amount and credit tier are common filters.
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Tell us your states, volume and qualification criteria. We will reply with availability, pricing and a recommended setup.