Anyone use LendingTree.com before? How was it?

[blurredvision]

The new wife and I are considering purchasing a house sometime soon if we can get a monthly price we like, but we're completely new to the whole ordeal. I spoke with a friend who suggested some options, one of which was to first meet with an old friend who worked for a mortgage company. Our old friend doesn't work for them anymore, so now I'm wondering as to what options are best to start out with.

I'm a sucker for marketing, so lendingtree.com was one place I thought about starting to see what kind of rates we can get. However, I don't want to start at the wrong place, and end up with all this crap on our credit reports from checks that will hurt us at the second, third, fourth, etc. place we might go.

So, is lendingtree.com a good place to start? Are local banks a better option? We've only been with our current bank, US Bank (checking and savings), for about a year. We've both been at our jobs for quite some time for our age (me 3+ years, her almost 6 years), we've lived in our current apartment for 3+ years, so I figure it's a good time to show our stability, and possibly get our rates down. However, this may only be able to be done with a personal touch, meeting face-to-face with bankers. Unfortunately, we both work 9-5 jobs M-F, so finding time to do this would be hard, making something like lendingtree.com that much more desirable.

Sorry for the possible gibberish, but I'm just a little confused on how to proceed. Thanks.

 

[waggy]

we used it for the taurus we baught 2 years ago. we also tried to get a house mortgage but all the lenders were more expensive then the local one we recieved.

 

[GrammatonJP]

if ur going to check the rates, create a new email.. they spam u like theres no tomorrow.

 

[LukFilm]

LINK - had great experience with these guys (Mike)

Remember that if you use Lending Tree, you will pay $400 extra in fees because that's what LT charges the mortgage brokers to have them be listed on LT's site and they, of course, pass that unto you.

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: GrammatonJP
if ur going to check the rates, create a new email.. they spam u like theres no tomorrow.

Hell, I used it almost 3 years ago and I'm still getting spam.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: GrammatonJP
if ur going to check the rates, create a new email.. they spam u like theres no tomorrow.

i considered refinancing... LT was a waste of time and a source of never ending spam

 

[GrammatonJP]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: GrammatonJP
if ur going to check the rates, create a new email.. they spam u like theres no tomorrow.

Hell, I used it almost 3 years ago and I'm still getting spam.

Lol... that is so true... we had to block their whole domain off work.. some guy tried it out and we still see rejects daily... its amazing..

 

[theknight571]

We've used them twice.

The first time (2-3 years ago I want to say) went well... we ended up not using any of their lenders, but it wasn't a bad experience.

The 2nd time was about 6 months ago... we started getting calls at home, calls at work, emails at home, emails at work, etc. They, and some of the lenders, won't leave us alone now. Even after telling them when they call, that we're not interested and to please stop calling.

I don't know if their policies changed, or if the lenders that use them are just scum... but it's a little out of hand.

 

[dullard]

I tried it last year. Got a ton of emails - which were welcome. But then when I decided their rates (and/or fees) all sucked, it took a while to get them to stop emailing/calling. After a month though, they gave up. I haven't had anything from them in about a year.

Use it only if you have time at home/work to answer their barrage of calls/emails.

Honestly I found most places to be similar. You can get the same interest rate anywhere - but they'll charge different fees to reach that rate. Or you can get the same fees anywhere - but they'll charge different interest rates. Don't look at just one of those statistics.

I found ING Direct to have the best deal of anything online or locally. But they were very slow. About 2 weeks passed between the time I first contacted them and when they finally sent the paperwork. By then, ING Direct had increased their interest rates and thus I instead used a local guy who would honor older interest rates. Overall it was a wash - I could have used ING Direct, but chose to go local to support the local small business.

 

[TygGer]

My buddy used lending tree and was happy. You pretty much put your info out there and a bunch of different companies compete for your business. As far as I can remember, he didn't pay any fees for using it... just the standard proc. fee (varies), etc that all companies will charge.

Your credit score won't go down on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th report if you do all your shopping within a 2week window.

My recommendation would be to go ahead and apply for one through lending tree and also shop around your local banks and/or mortage companies.

Oh, and you don't have to do the pre-shopping (good faith estimates) in person. The local places may require an actual signature to close, but they can and will work with you on time since they are trying to earn your business. GL