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Question:

Feedback on LendingTree?

I will be a first time home buyer in a few months and was wondering if anyone has any good/bad experiences with LendingTree.com?

Answers:

1) you should find a good broker. They do the same thing, but can also help you make the right decision about what kind of loan to use.

2) I used them a few years ago when my credit wasn't as good. The third (and final) broker I connected with was AMAZING. She was an absolute crusader who got me funded at a decent rate when no one else was interested. Too bad I can't drop you a name and number here. She was that good!

3) Lending tree is a good place to start. Banks get e-mails from them and then someone from that institution will contact you. You just have to be careful of what type of loan option you take. Absolutely under no circumstances should you take the balloon mortgage. This will slowly increase the payment amount over time. It is also called a interest only payment other than that you should be fine.

4) Go to two or three local title/closing companies and ask them for referrals. Tell each of the referrals that you are going to get quotes from other lenders and DO IT! Get an education - it will be WELL worth it. You can literally save 1000s of dollars in closing costs and even more money over the life of the loan. Best of luck! Joe...

5) This is just something to think about. Who pays Lending Tree for their time and effort? The mortgage company that receives your business, right? So, that mortgage company then charges you a higher interest rate in order to pay its bills. Why not go to your bank and see what the rates are? Chances are, if you have been a customer for a number of years, you will get a pretty decent loan. If that does not work, go to a company like Countrywide. They work with first time homebuyers and usually get pretty good interest rates.

6) Horrible experience with them. They literally backed out on a loan 3 hours before closing with no real explanation. The biggest hassle was a lack of a physical office I could walk into to demand answers when things went bad. There are a lot of ways you can get screwed when you never see a person face-to-face and have your hands tied dealing with online companies.

7) I would not recommend an online company for a first time homebuyer. You will not get the attention you need. Further, many online companies are basically lead generators for brokers who buy leads. You are basically giving away your sensitive info to someone who sells it over and over as a hot lead. Be prepared for your phone to ring and ring and ring. Its not unheard of to get those calls even 6 mos to a year later....when your info is sold as cold leads. You will enter everyone of those companies data bases guaranteed. Take the phone off the hook at dinner time! Good Luck and Congrats on doing what many loan agents haven't yet........bought a home that is!

8) I'm a mortgage broker who often works with leads from LendingTree. Here's the low-down from the other perspective: LendingTree is a lead generation company. They will take the information you provide and send it to up to four different brokers and/or loan officers (the difference between the two isn't important). Often those brokers and loan officers will then try to reach you by e-mail or phone, especially if your requested loan amount is enough to promise some decent return in fees. Now let me clear up a few things. Yes, LendingTree lenders LendingTree leads, and of course we pass that fee back to you. However, the fee isn't all that much and is more than offset by the fact that we have to compete for your business, and, thus, have to give you lower interest rates than someone who knows you're not shopping. Like anything, competition drives down cost. When comparing a mortgage broker to a bank, mortgage brokers a) have access to more than one bank and have access to more programs than your bank, b) represent your interests, not the bank's, and c) the bank on your list is probably on mine. They just offer me wholesale rates while you have to shop retail. Add to this that your average broker works for about 1% on your average deal while banks commonly work for 2% (Remember that competition thing? Well when banks know that when you walk in looking for a loan, you're not shopping around and can get away with more). All of these things work to reduce the rate you receive from your broker and thus save you money. Not to say you shouldn't shop at the bank too--ALWAYS SHOP--but don't assume you're getting a better deal from them. 9 times out of 10, that isn't the case. Finally, and most importantly, you should always know what you're shopping for. Most people who shop LendingTree become victims of bait-and-switch. Why? Because they get Good Faith Estimates from 4 different companies and simply go with the one that promises the lowest rates. Well guess what. Many of these companies know that you'll just go with the lowest numbers, and it's just an estimate that holds no real weight, so they can "offer" you whatever they want. It just has to be the lowest and something you'll actually believe. This is especially true when you're shopping for a purchase, since they can give you the higher price at the end, when it's too late for you to back out. Scary huh? The best thing you can do is educate yourself. Know everything about the GFE. Know what should be on there, and if you get a GFE that doesn't include it, don't believe the hype. If you get a rate from one company that's too good to be true and far less than what everyone else is offering, it's quite likely a lie. Educate yourself, educate yourself, educate yourself. Then shop. LendingTree can be a great tool for you if you know how to use it. If you don't, you'll get sideswiped and your a$$ handed to you at closing like many of the other people who've responded.

9) Lending Tree and similar sites are being sued for directing traffic to their wholly owned mortgage companies. I suggest you visit some local banks in the area or find a local mortgage banker that your friends or family had a good experience with.

10) Mortgage brokers can offer you more "first-time buyer" programs than lending tree. You should also see where your credit score is. If you're looking to buy in a few months, you have PLENTY of time to set yourself up to get a very good rate. If you need more info, please contact me ...tabbutler30@yahoo.com I am a loan officer and I just completed a very informative class on credit reporting and loan processing.

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