Most lead vendor calls sound reasonable. The differences that matter live in the terms. Our pricing teardown closes with a compressed, one-line-per-question version of this list. This is the full version: five questions, the mechanics behind each one, the red-flag answer pattern, and a real vendor example where one exists.
Is the lead exclusive, in writing?
A rep's promise that a lead is exclusive on a discovery call carries no weight once the contract is signed. Ask for the exact language in the agreement and read it before you sign anything. PrivateMortgageLeads.ai charges $65 per lead, and its own published terms allow the same lead to be sold to up to three lenders (pulled July 14, 2026). That is a ceiling, not a guarantee, but it is a ceiling you agree to: at $65, up to two other lenders may be calling the same borrower you are. Our own leads are exclusive, one lead to one buyer, at $100 flat, in writing. The cheaper number on the landing page is not automatically the cheaper lead; the worked math on exclusive versus shared is its own piece.
What exactly triggers a replacement, and what is excluded?
The honest version of a replacement policy is narrow: a wrong or disconnected phone number, fake or duplicate information, or a property outside the lender's stated lending states. Three items, plainly stated. That specificity is the point: a narrow, written list is easy to verify against an actual lead. An undefined "bad lead" standard leaves the buyer no way to check a claim. PrivateMortgageLeads.ai's own refund terms make one boundary explicit: a prospect who "did not return or answer my phone calls" does not qualify for a refund. Why the market draws the no-answer line where it does is covered in its own piece.
What is warranted, and what is explicitly not?
No honest vendor warrants that a borrower fits your credit box, hits your LTV, or will fund. That is underwriting, and it is yours. Our own version of this line is published in plain language: "We do not warrant that the borrower meets your credit box, hits your LTV, or will fund. That is your underwriting. It is not our product." A vendor promising an outcome only your underwriting controls is not describing a lead product. Ask what is warranted and what is not, in those exact words, and get the answer in writing.
Who carries the ad spend and the ad-account risk?
Some vendors run pay-per-click campaigns for you rather than selling finished leads. Hard Money PPC, one visible example of this model, charges $2,500 per month plus a setup fee, and the campaigns run on the lender's own ad account, funded by the lender (pulled July 14, 2026). Ad spend and the ad account both sit with the lender under that structure. Our campaigns will run on our own ad spend, through our own separate Business Manager, never the lender's, a structure described on our homepage. We are new in this vertical, with no campaign history yet under this name, so that structure is a commitment, not a result. Why the account question matters this much is covered in why lenders should never run lending creative on their own Business Manager.
Is consent documented per lead, and can you see the certificate?
Per-lead consent documentation protects the buyer's outbound calling, not just the vendor; TrustedForm certificates are the standard form of it. Every lead we sell will carry one. If a vendor cannot produce a certificate attached to an actual lead on request, you are taking the consent story on faith. Ask to see one before you buy in volume.
Ask these five in writing, and most pitches answer themselves before you ever get to price.