Some banks pay a fee to a third party website who advertises for banks and for real estate brokers. Consumers subscribe to the website to receive listings of homes for sale. The website also provides the consumers' names and phone numbers to banks who contact the consumers to see if they'd be interested in a mortgage once they find the house they want to purchase. So basically, the website provides the bank with a list of people who are house hunting. The website obtains the consumers' consent to share this information when the consumer signs up for the home listing e-mails.

In some ways this is very similar to purchasing a list of names from a credit bureau or other third party.

Does this type of activity constitute prohibited compensation for mortgage referrals under RESPA Section 8?