Small mortgage companies need to figure out how to market their services in the most cost-effective way. There are different ways to get leads for mortgages. The choices are direct source leads, internet leads from their own website, newspaper ads, third-party online leads, or mortgage brokers.
Mortgage lenders can get leads directly from online companies like Lending Tree or from mortgage companies like leadpoint.com that bundle and sell leads. Lending Tree sells their online leads directly to mortgage companies, which have to compete with 4 or 5 other mortgage companies for the loans. Lending Tree says on their website that they work with 9 of the top 10 banks.
Mortgage brokers buy leads from the Internet that Leadingplanet.com sells to them. They say on their website that they give thousands of mortgage professionals new leads every month, and their main goal is to provide leads that are affordable and will help more people get loans. According to Claudio Perida, "Leads are what keep our loans alive. I need a reliable source of mortgage leads if I want to be consistent and get things done."
Mortgage sites on the Internet offer to sell bundles of mortgages by type to brokers or banks directly. The loans are put into groups of 25 based on the type, such as purchase leads, refinance leads, debt consolidation leads, second mortgage leads, home equity leads, etc. One site had a list of 18 types of leads.
A bundle of 25 mortgage leads cost between $125 and $150. At the lower price, one bundle would cost $3,125, while all 18 bundles would cost $56,250.
You can sell the same leads over and over again. The broker who buys the leads must find a company willing to close on the mortgage.
Some places that lend money have set up websites so that they can market leads directly. This is important because more and more people who need money are looking for lenders online. In order to get the most bang for their advertising buck, small companies must carefully research all of the options available and chose the one most suited for their needs.
