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| FHA mortgage leads and warm leads are among the latest offering touted by lead generation companies. Meanwhile, one major lead generator had a quarterly charge of nearly $500 million.
FHA verified leads are now available from Low.com, according to an announcement Tuesday. The Internet leads, both purchase and refinance, are run through filters to confirm prospective borrowers meet FHA criteria for loan amount and credit history. Last month Los Angeles-based Low.com announced a new warm transfer program that puts originators in immediate contact with customers. LendingGateway.com announced it now specializes in “super-jumbo” loans in excess of $2 million. Though the company still sells mortgage leads, it noted a lack of borrower options and its establishment of funding sources enabled it to service the higher loan amounts itself. ZipSearch! said last month it was launching The Best Lead Radio Show on Radio ZipSearch! The weekly show will reportedly provide tips, insider information, interviews and insight into lead generation for lead buyers. LeadPoint announced that buyers of its leads can now offer other financial products through its partnership with The Debt Advice Portal. “Brokers can register and submit cases online to a panel of debt solution providers; who will offer free no obligation advice to the client,” according to LeadPoint, which claims to be “the world’s first and largest online leads exchange marketplace. “Brokers earn a referral fee when a case is completed.” Los Angeles-based LeadPoint, which buys and sells loan leads, reported Tuesday that it purchased 81 percent more leads last year than in 2007. The activity was fueled by a 67 percent jump in active sellers and a 90 percent increase in buyers. “We flourished in 2007 because the lead exchange model allows buyers to target high potential consumers that match the types of loans and other products they offer,” said LeadPoint Chief Executive Officer Marc Diana in the announcement. But the news wasn’t so good for LendingTree. A $475.7 million impairment charge related to goodwill and intangible assets at the IAC subsidiary led to a fourth quarter operating loss of $508.1 million, IAC announced. The Charlotte, N.C.-based lead company reportedly had 32,300 closing units during the period for $4.1 million, down from 60,100 units for $7.6 million a year earlier. “This charge reflects the company’s reassessment of the likely future profitability of lending in the face of current mortgage market conditions and the operational strategies undertaken in connection with such market realities,” IAC stated. |
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