Where "free real estate leads" actually come from
Free leads exist. They are not free — the payment is just not in money.
The four common kinds
Your own sphere. Genuinely free and genuinely the best source most people have. It does not scale, which is why nobody builds a business on it alone.
Public records you work yourself. Free to look at, expensive in hours, and the hours are the product you are buying with your time.
A sample from a provider. A real lead, given to start a paid relationship. Nothing wrong with taking one — just know that a single lead tells you almost nothing about a source.
A list in exchange for your details. You are the lead. That is a fair trade if you wanted the contact, and a bad one if you did not.
The version that costs the most
A free list that has been distributed widely is worse than no list, because the households on it have been contacted repeatedly and now treat every approach as spam. You inherit the reputation damage without having caused it.
When free is the right answer
At the very start, when you have more time than money and need to learn what the conversations sound like. That is a real stage and there is no shame in it.
The point at which it stops being right is when you can identify a specific hour of your week that would make more money doing something else.
Questions people ask
Do you offer free leads?
No. We would rather be straightforward about that than offer a sample and describe the service by its least representative lead.
Are public record lists worth working?
They can be, if you have a real outreach process and the patience for it. Without one, a list is a spreadsheet you feel guilty about.
What is the cheapest genuinely useful lead source for a beginner?
The people who already know you, worked properly and asked directly. It is unglamorous and it beats almost everything else per hour spent.
Other comparisons
Get leads in your markets
Pick your states, set a weekly cap, and pause whenever you want. Every lead is sold once, to one buyer.