How to tell if a lead service is lying to you
By Josh MillerUpdated 5 min readAsk where each lead comes from, how many days old it is from the county filing, who else gets it, what the refund policy says in writing, and what their customers' cost per deal actually is, then check the answers against your county's own records. A service that promises deals, says its data is real-time, or won't show you a list that sold in your county is telling you something.
The motivated seller lead business is full of big claims: AI scoring, real-time data, exclusive leads, deals in 30 days. Most can be checked. Here's how.
Eight questions to ask
| Ask | An honest answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| Where does each lead come from? | A named source: county filings, a court docket, an ad form |
| How old is each lead, from the county filing? | A filing date on every record |
| Who else gets the same lead? | A clear number, or "everyone who pulls that list" |
| What does "exclusive" cover? | Sold to one buyer, and what that doesn't mean |
| What's the refund or credit policy, in writing? | Specific cases, windows and cash or credit |
| Do you take out sold and listed owners? | Yes, and how often |
| Which lists sold in my county last year? | Numbers for your county, not national averages |
| What do customers like me pay per deal? | A range, with how it was measured |
Red flags
- A promise of deals. No honest service promises deals. Your market, follow-up and offers decide that.
- "Real-time" data. In our tracking, licensed data ran about 12 days behind the county in the median county, and none of the 1,654 counties we measured was same-day. Ask for the filing date. See the lag in your county.
- "AI-scored" with no proof. Ask what the score predicted last year in your county, and how often it was right.
- Credits, not refunds, and only within a few days. What refund policies actually say.
- National averages for everything. Lists sell very differently by county: expired listings at about 15 per 100 in Harris County, Texas, and about 8 in Denton County.
Check it yourself
Take ten sample leads. Look up each address in the county records: is the filing real, how old is it, and has the house already sold or listed? Ten minutes tells you more than any sales call.
Hold us to the same standard
Ask GoForClose every one of these questions. Our prices are published, including our 5-cent cut on each piece of mail, we never promise deals, and we'll show you your county's own records before you pay.
Questions investors ask
How do I know if a motivated seller lead company is legit?
Ask for the county filing date on sample leads, the written refund policy, how many buyers get each lead, and references from customers in your market. Then check a sample against the county records yourself.
Are "real-time" seller leads really real-time?
Rarely from the county. In our tracking, licensed data sources ran about 12 days behind the county in the median county, and none of the 1,654 counties we measured was same-day. Ask for the filing date.
Should a lead service promise deals?
No honest one does. Deals depend on your market, follow-up and offers. A promise of deals is a sales line.
What is a red flag in a lead service contract?
Long minimum terms, credits instead of refunds, vague definitions of "exclusive," and no way to see how old each lead is.