When I worked as a loan officer, it wasnt unusual for me to come across people who thought they were out of luck because they had bad credit.

This is really not the case, although it is fair to say that you would not be able to walk down to your local bank, have a seat in the branch managers office and walk out with a mortgage.

However, there are alternatives, and you do have choices.

If you contact a broker, tell them your situation, be completely honest and up front with them, otherwise you are just wasting their time as well as your own, and believe me, whatever your situation may be, they have heard worse. Nine times out of ten they will be able to help you.

Conventional banks are not the only ones that lend money. Brokers have access too literally hundreds of banks with a wide variety of programs for people in unique situations from foreclosure buy outs, to 100% financing with poor credit scores.

I speak from experience, because when I was a loan officer I did mortgages for people in unique situations.

Foreclosure buy outs, bankruptcy, late payments on prior mortgages, the list goes on.

I would sit down with my customer, take down as much information as possible, than present their information to many different lenders for them to review. Most times I would find one with a program to help my customer.

Keep in mind, with unique situations, there is risk involved on the part of the bank, so you cant expect to get the best rate in the world. But if it is reasonable, and can put you into the situation you want to be in, than it is well worth it.

So if you think your credit, or a bad situation is preventing you from getting a loan, think again, there is probably a program out there for you, you have nothing too loose.

Mortgage leads can be bought in quite a few different varieties. And depending on which loan officer you ask, some are better than others.

If you buy leads in bulk, most likely you will be buying old or recycled leads.

Mortgage leads can also be bought by way of cherry picking, where you can actually view the lead before you purchase it. You can also see how many times it has been purchased by other loan officers.

Or, you can buy your leads fresh, or hot off the press.

All types of leads can have their benefits to loan officers, but it is very difficult to compete with fresh leads.

You wont be hearing objections, such as:

I did that months ago, or I closed that loan last week.

Mortgage leads that are sold fresh, or in real time are delivered to your doorstep the second the potential customer hits the submit button on the on-line application.

If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker interested in the purchase of fresh leads, be sure you know where the lead provider is obtaining their leads from in order to assure their quality.

Look for the lead companies that obtain their leads through web sites that they own and operate on their own.

Steer clear of the mortgage lead companies that purchase their leads from third party vendors and than sell them to loan officers at a profit.

You never know how many times that third party vendor is selling those leads to other lead companies.

In the end, if it is quality that you are looking for, than give serious consideration to the purchase of fresh leads.