The term “mortgage leads” is not well known to people outside the mortgage business. Few consumers hear this term used, even though, they could be a mortgage lead themselves.

Mortgage leads include information about consumers. Loan providers use mortgage leads in hopes of making a consumer into a borrower. These leads are given value that is based on the probability that a specific consumer will lead to a closed loan.

Whenever you, as a consumer, fill out a questionnaire about a mortgage, you become a mortgage lead. In many cases, these questionnaires are filled out when you respond to some kind of mortgage advertisement. If you’ve ever filled out such a questionnaire, then you noticed it included questions that a lender might use to determine whether or not to extend a loan to you: employment, income, credit, house price. Identifying information such as telephone number and email address is also requested because of course, you aren’t a valuable mortgage lead if the loan provider can’t get in touch with you.

In pre-internet times, loan providers did the work of generating mortgage leads by using public records. Public records might give some indication as to borrower who might want to refinance their current mortgage because their current interest rate happened to be higher than the market rate. Increased interest rates decreased this type of mortgage lead activity because there was no easy way to tell which borrowers were interested in refinancing their mortgages.

Now that the internet prevails as a means of communicating with consumers, mortgage leads have become more specialized. Leads are no longer generated by loan providers. Instead, there are lead specialists who do nothing but seek out mortgage leads. These lead specialists often have no mortgage experience. Rather they take advantage of a marketing background to develop advertisements to entice consumers to respond and give information that will lead them to become a mortgage lead.

Some people might think that if a mortgage lead gets you a mortgage, then there is no harm in filling out the questionnaire. It’s better to be approached by a loan provider than it is to have to hunt them down, right? To answer that question, consider this. The lead specialist is paid to do one thing: generate mortgage leads. Once he has been paid for those leads he has no stake in whether those leads turn into closed loans or not. In essence, the lead specialist can make all the loan promises necessary to get you to give your personal information, yet he has no responsibility to ensure those promises are kept.

The nature of the mortgage leads business is an impersonal one. With lead specialists selling to the loan providers that pay the highest price for their leads and often selling single leads to multiple loan providers. In some businesses there is an intermediary between the lead specialist and the loan provider. The lack of personality in this relationship will likely carry over to the one that you have with the loan specialist – one that is purely financial.

It is possible to buy a new home without resorting to getting a mortgage loan. It is not the easiest or quickest route to take. Buying a home with cash requires years of planning, starting small, a willingness to be flexible, and patience to wait on the end result.

Buying a home was once something that was only done with cash. It wasn’t until recent history (just after WWII) that mortgage loans became the normal way of purchasing a home. The lending industry has also loosened its practices, making it easier for more people to borrow more money – resulting in an ever increasing housing market.

Even with these artificially high prices, it doesn’t mean that a mortgage loan is the only route to take. It is still possible to buy a home for cash. The first step is to save. The sooner you start, the quicker you will get there. Find the least expensive place you can and rent for a while. Save the difference towards your first home.

Once you have a sufficient amount saved, purchase a small home within your budget. Remember that location is always vital, but also look for a home with strong bones, some character, and features that set it apart (say a large yard or the age and quality of the build). Buy, decorate, and do any remodeling of this start home with the intention of turning around and selling it in the future. Start saving your rent and other money once again.

Keep and eye on the housing market. When the market slows down and becomes a buyers market (when the sellers are eager to sell) AND when you have saved up another chunk of money, it is time to start considering a trade up. Contact a real estate agent in your area (you may have to shop around, not all of them are quick to pick up the smaller homes). Let them know your plan. Once you find a buyer for your home, start looking for a larger home (with the same qualities as before) that is within the price of your proceeds and savings. Keep in mind that because you are paying cash and won’t have to go through the time and process of getting a mortgage loan, you will probably have more negotiating room than other buyers.

Continue this process until you find the house of your dreams. You will be able to move into the home with out a mountain of debt and without ever having to negotiate the mortgage loan industry. It will take some time, some patience, and some flexibility, but it will be more than worth it in the long run.