Here is an interesting excerpt i found on "broker lead guides".

Having an exclusive mortgage broker lead is one of the most important types of leads for anyone to have. As a company in the mortgage industry, it is essential you have leads you can rely on, which is why these leads in particular are some of the best to have. They provide you with top quality and the most likely source of return on your investment. Each company has a different viewpoint on what exclusive mortgage broker lead purchases mean, which is why you should invest some time in comparing companies prior to making a decision.

Find out where the leads come from first. You will want to ensure that you are getting leads coming right from the company’s mechanisms, not third party providers that may have sold the lead to other companies as well. You may also want to find out if the leads are pre-screened. This means that the leads have gone through a process of ensuring they are authentic and in some cases that they are viable. This can greatly increase your chances of closing a deal on them.

Another way to look for the illusive exclusive mortgage broker lead is through a program that allows someone to sign up for the lead on the lead generator’s website or programs and that lead comes directly to you, in near real time. This way, there is no chance of someone else also getting that lead.

Of course, the most important aspect of any lead you obtain is how well they will respond to your services. Take the time to consider an exclusive mortgage broker lead rather than looking towards simple lead generation programs unable to provide you with the quality you need. You may pay more for such a service, but if you are the only one selling your services to the lead, your chances of getting results are higher.

NOW....Here is my view on Exclusive leads Unless you as a broker or mortgage company are marketing and driving traffic to your site; it is difficult to be 100% sure your leads are exclusive to you. There are some ways to get to the truth. Any mortgage lead generation company needs to pay; in most cases upfront for online marketing dollars. In terms of banner ad contracts, warm transfers and performance based costs. The first question i would have for a broker purchasing exclusive leads is "How much are you willing to pay"? If your answer is $65-75.00 then yes I could certainly get you exclusive leads. But if you are paying $15 or $25 for exclusive leads chances are they are not. Here is why it costs on average $25.00 to produce a $150K loan amount lvt under 85% with excellent or good credit. Now how can any business turnaround and sell that to you for anything under $25.00 and still make a profit? Get in writing the sites that these exclusive leads will be generated on test them periodically by competing applications and track what occurs with those leads; not just now but over the course of 30 days to be sure that they are not resold. In their contract be sure it states clearly that YOU are the only person who will ever get these leads and that information will never be redistributed or resold