Almost a good idea
Written: Jul 08 '00
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Pros: Great ads
Cons: Poor execution, poorer results
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| billmc's Full Review: LendingTree |
LendingTree.com sure has great ads. The premise of bankers fighting to win my business is an appealing notion indeed. Sadly, I must report that this site is long on promise and short on delivery and execution. The promised lower and more aggressive rates never materialized.
A relocation caused me to search for a new residence. After a brief survey of the real estate market in my new location, I went to LendingTree with my basic loan parameters. The site requires that you divulge a great deal of personal information, which is obviously of value to someone. (I seem to be receiving some junk mail now which originated from LendingTree, for example.) The forms are rather long, and not a lot of fun to fill out. For my trouble in filling out the forms, a credit card was offered, which, had appealing terms.
Within a day or two after filling out the forms, I did get the promised four loan offers. I also got telemarketed pretty hard by several of the lenders. One of the lenders called 2-3 times a day for several days. I thought the whole idea here was using the Internet and e-mail to conduct this transaction? Obviously, some are clearer on these concepts than others. LendingTree seems lacking in the overall "clue" category.
Here is where the weirdness set in. In parallel with my LendingTree application, I went to a conventional mortgage broker, suggested by my realtor. I didn't tell my realtor or the mortgage broker about having applied with LendingTree. The conventional mortgage broker started the process with a loan program fully 1.25% lower than the average Lending Tree offer. (!!!) At this point, I called up the firm with the worst LendingTree offer and told them their rates were sky high, and that if they wanted my business, they should offer me a better price. The sales person told me that LendingTree was generally used by people with bad credit to shop around for credit. This sales rep said she wasn't authorized to sell anything except certain home mortgage programs to Lending Tree customers. If I wanted one of their other loan programs, they could either send me an application packet or, I could come in personally to apply. Called a second Lending Tree lender, and got basically the same story.
Bottom line: On my jumbo mortgage, I'm saving well over $1,000. per month by using a conventional lender and applying offline through a source my realtor provided. I'm not at all impressed with Lending Tree. I didn't get good results at all.
Plus, the credit card with the good rate "just for applying, subject to credit approval" never materialized. Overall, not a good experience.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
billmc
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Member: Bill McCauley
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Details to follow when I get some spare time...
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