How to buy mortgage leads: what to check first

Buying a mortgage lead is buying a homeowner's request plus the right to call them about it. The price per lead tells you little. What decides whether it funds is who else gets it, how fast it reaches you, and whether the consent covers your company. Here are the lead types, the checks to run before you sign, and how to judge a test.

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Updated

The short version

Check first
The consent text, and whether it names your company
Proof
A TrustedForm certificate or Jornaya LeadiD with each lead
Ask
How many companies receive each lead, and how fast
In writing
Filters, caps and the return policy, in an insertion order
Judge by
Cost per funded loan, not cost per lead

What kinds of mortgage leads are for sale?

Seven types. They overlap: one lead can be opt-in, exclusive and real-time at once.

Opt-in form leads
A homeowner fills out a form about a refinance, HELOC or other loan and agrees to be contacted. The answers and the consent come from the homeowner.
Exclusive
Sold to one buyer. Vendors define it differently, so read the contract. See exclusive vs shared mortgage leads.
Shared
The same request goes to more than one company. Cheaper per lead, and the companies race to call first.
Real-time
Posted to your system the moment the homeowner submits. See real-time vs aged leads.
Aged
Requests days, weeks or months old, sold again for less. Ask who the consent covers and whether it still holds.
Live transfer
A call center reaches the homeowner and transfers the call to you while they are on the line.
Trigger leads
Credit bureau lists of consumers who just applied for a mortgage, limited by the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act since March 2026. See the trigger leads ban.

What makes a mortgage lead qualified?

It fits your buy box, reaches a working phone, and comes with consent that covers you.

A qualified mortgage lead is one you can legally call, that reaches a real person, and that describes a loan you can make. Three things decide it, and you can check each one:

  • Fit. State, product, credit range, property value, loan-to-value and amount fall inside what you lend on. If a vendor cannot filter on these, you pay for leads you cannot use.
  • Contactability. The phone and email are real and belong to the person who asked. Ask whether the phone line is verified before delivery.
  • Intent. The homeowner asked for your product, recently. A HELOC request from this minute beats a generic form from months ago.

Ask for a sample lead with every field before you buy. Ours is on the sample lead page, and the products are on HELOC leads, refinance leads and VA cash-out leads.

What should you check before you buy mortgage leads?

Eight checks. A lead provider worth testing answers all of them in writing.

  • The consent text names you. Read the exact consent the homeowner saw. It should name your company or link to a list that does, with your company on it before the first lead arrives.
  • TrustedForm or Jornaya LeadiD on each lead. A TrustedForm certificate documents the landing page, timestamp and consent language shown, with a session replay. A LeadiD can be checked through Verisk's TCPA Guardian, which returns consent and disclosure results.
  • How many buyers get each lead. Get the maximum in writing and check it against the consent text.
  • Delivery speed. At submit, or in a batch hours later? See speed to lead.
  • Filters, caps and schedules. So you only get loans you make, at hours your team can call.
  • A written return policy. Which reasons qualify (bad number, never inquired, duplicate, wrong product), the deadline, and how credits work.
  • A contract and an insertion order. A master agreement plus an insertion order with the price, filters, caps and schedule.
  • A test program. A capped start, with a test post to your system before any live lead.

Why does the consent text matter so much?

It decides whether you may use a dialer or send texts at all.

The consent text matters because the TCPA rules tie autodialed and prerecorded telemarketing to a written agreement with the seller. Under 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) and (a)(3), telemarketing calls to mobile numbers made with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice, and prerecorded telemarketing calls to home lines, need prior express written consent; the FCC treats texts as calls. Section 64.1200(f)(9) defines that consent as "an agreement, in writing, bearing the signature of the person called that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver or cause to be delivered" that telemarketing.

In 2023 the FCC adopted a rule that would have limited consent to one seller at a time. On January 24, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit vacated that part of the order in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, and section 64.1200(f)(9) reads as quoted. Consent that covers several named companies is still how shared leads work, which is why you check that your name is in it. More on TCPA rules for buying mortgage leads.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Confirm your consent requirements with your own counsel.

How do you run a mortgage lead test?

Set the rules before the first lead, then track every lead to an outcome.

  1. Write the buy box and the cap

    Products, states, credit, loan-to-value, amounts, a daily cap and your calling hours, all in the test insertion order.

  2. Connect your CRM and test the post

    Leads land where your team works, fields mapped. See CRM integrations.

  3. Call every lead the same way

    One cadence for the whole test, so you measure the vendor and not your follow-up.

  4. Track and judge

    Contacted, application, funded, or dead with a reason. Then total spend, minus approved returns, divided by loans funded.

How do you judge a mortgage lead test?

A cheaper lead is only cheaper if it funds at a similar rate.

Judge a lead test by cost per funded loan: what you spent, minus credits, divided by loans closed. An example with round, made-up inputs, where the price of one lead from Vendor A is "one unit":

  • Vendor A: 200 leads at 1 unit is 200 units. 4 loans fund. 200 / 4 = 50 units per funded loan.
  • Vendor B: 100 leads at 2 units is also 200 units. 5 loans fund. 200 / 5 = 40 units per funded loan.

Vendor B costs twice as much per lead and is the cheaper source of loans. A lead that costs twice as much has to fund at twice the rate to break even. Returns count too: if 10 of Vendor A's leads are credited back, its spend drops to 190 units and its cost per funded loan to 47.5.

A few funded loans is a small sample, and loans fund weeks after the lead, so read early weeks on contact and application rates, then confirm with funded loans. Try your own numbers in the mortgage lead calculator.

Red flags when buying mortgage leads

Slow down if you see any of these.

  • No published consent text, or consent that does not name your company or link to a list that does.
  • No TrustedForm certificate or LeadiD, or ones you cannot look up.
  • "Exclusive" with no definition in the contract, or no answer on whether the lead is resold later as aged.
  • No cap on how many companies get a shared lead.
  • No written return policy.
  • A large prepaid block before any test.
  • Trigger lists sold as new prospects. Since March 2026 a credit bureau may sell those only for firm offers, to companies the consumer authorized or already does business with.

Vendor types and the questions for each are on mortgage lead generation companies. To build your own pipeline instead, see how to get mortgage leads.

How does LenderMatch answer these checks?

LenderMatch sells opt-in HELOC, refinance and VA cash-out refinance requests in real time. Each standard request goes to at most four participating lenders and partner companies, all named on the partner network page the consent links to, and exclusive programs are available on request. A TrustedForm certificate and a Jornaya LeadiD are captured on every form submission, and the phone line is graded A to F. Terms sit in a master services agreement and a test insertion order, with no set minimum and a test post before anything goes live. Details: how requests are generated and the lender FAQ.

What else do lenders ask about buying mortgage leads?

What are the best mortgage leads to buy?

The ones that fund at the lowest cost per closed loan for your team: a homeowner who asked for the product you sell, in a state where you lend, with consent that names your company, delivered fast enough for you to call first. A test tells you which vendor that is.

Where can I find mortgage leads for sale?

Consumer marketplaces, exclusive lead shops, ping/post exchanges, live transfer call centers and aged lead sellers all sell them. See mortgage lead generation companies for how each type works.

What is a qualified mortgage lead?

A lead that fits your buy box, reaches a working phone, and comes with consent that covers your company. You check qualification field by field; it is not a label a vendor can put on a lead.

Should I buy exclusive or shared mortgage leads?

It depends on the price per lead, your contact rate and how fast your team calls. The exclusive vs shared guide walks through the trade-offs and the arithmetic.

Do I need my company named in the consent?

Autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls and texts need prior express written consent that authorizes the seller, so buyers commonly require their company to be named in the consent or on a list it links to. Confirm the requirements with your own counsel.

Which sources is this page based on?

Read on October 27, 2026. This page summarizes the rules and is not legal advice.

More for lenders

Every page in this section, plus the public partner network page borrowers see before they submit.

Guides for buying leads

Start with a test program.

Tell us your products, states and filters. We reply within one business day to talk through pricing and a test insertion order, and a test post reaches your system before any live request does.

Prefer email? Write to contact@lendermatch.io.

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