In today's environment of information it seems people have become human lie detector test.  It's true we have all been callused by the gimmicks and scams that are all around us.  They are on TV, radio and even the roadways are full of ads marketing their own form of the old bait and switch.  Buy one get one free, free wristwatch with purchase and even the classic free steak, which normally applies only if you can eat your weight red meat.  It's no wonder this scum has worked it's way into the mortgage leads industry as well.  Almost every lead provider is offering free mortgage leads to reel unsuspecting customers in the door while they hit them over the head with a two thousand dollar invoice. 

If there is one place where free anything should be offered it's the mortgage leads industry and the reason why is because it is so hard to find a good lead source that you can trust spending money with and free mortgage leads would take the risk out.  There have been an influx of lead companies praying on the mortgage industry like vultures circling a dying animal.  They know that mortgage brokers need leads and they need them fast to survive this downturn.  Most mortgage brokers know this and have dedicated a budget to invest in quality mortgage leads but with a one-out of-ten shot of finding a good company they could deplete their budget quickly and be left with no deals closing that month and their thumb in their assets.  This being said, offering free mortgage leads might be a good way to pick up a new customer and if they are happy with the quality they might just stick around and increase their order next time.  Bottom line is the mortgage broker takes a big risk because not only can he loose valuable marketing money but have to float expenses due to no loans being funded as a result of a bad purchase.

Free Mortgage Lead Providers

The problem for the lead provider is that generating mortgage leads is not  free at all and rather a quite expensive process.  Quality mortgage leads have become much more difficult to generate due to the laws of probability.  It's simply like squeezing blood from a rock.  It would take a page and a half to break down all the numbers so I'll just explain it by saying that there is only a small percentage of people left in America that have good a enough financial standing and still can benefit from refinancing their home.  You can see how offering free mortgage leads to the public with no return could would be unattainable.  No one is in the business to give free stuff away and if they were they wouldn't last long.

There is a solution.  Some companies have starting offering the truly free mortgage lead on a trial basis to let people try before they buy.  This puts the burden of proof square in the lap of the mortgage lead provider.  Some companies have become selective of just who they will give free mortgage leads to as they want to make sure it is a serious potential client and not just someone trying to get free leads.  This being said, a mortgage office that needs more than 100 leads a month or one with 5 or more loan officers that would be a large enough firm to have a dedicated marketing budget.