At a Glance

LendingTree is an online lending marketplace that allows borrowers to shop and compare offers from providers of mortgages and other lending products. All you need to do is answer a few questions about yourself and the type of mortgage you need. Within seconds, LendingTree will show you competing offers from its lender network. The service is free to use and won’t affect your credit score.

Key Figures

Loan types: Purchase, Refinance, Home Equity

Loan products : Conventional, Jumbo, FHA, VA, Home Equity Loan, HELOC, Reverse Mortgage

Minimum credit score: 500-620

Repayment terms: 15-30 years

LendingTree has been operating since 1996 and continues to lead the way in helping borrowers compare loan offers. The process is really simple, doesn’t require any sensitive information (social security number is optional but does help improve the accuracy of your offers), and doesn’t affect your credit score. Within 3-5 minutes of beginning the process, you’ll see multiple prequalified offers from vetted mortgage lenders.

When using this service, be aware that LendingTree is not itself a lender. LendingTree plugs into the best rates and terms from its network of vetted mortgage lenders. If you like one of the offers, then you can proceed to the lender’s website to get preapproved and continue on with a formal mortgage application. However, note that the APR and monthly payment may end up being slightly different from what you see on the LendingTree site.

How It Works

LendingTree has broken down the process of comparing mortgage offers to its bare essentials. There are only two steps:

1. Get prequalified rates from multiple lenders. Answer a few questions, including:

• Type of property you are purchasing / refinancing, e.g., single-family home, multi-family home, condominium;
• How the property will be / is used, e.g. primary home, secondary home, rental property;
• Estimated credit score (if you’re not sure, LendingTree can help you get your score in minutes);
• Estimated purchase price / money owing on previous mortgage;
• Approximate down payment / loan-to-value ratio;
• Where you are in the mortgage / refinancing process
• Zip code you are purchasing in / own a home;
• Bank where you currently have an account;
• Details of your employment;
• Details of any bankruptcies or foreclosures in the last 7 years;
• Details of any military service; and
• Contact details

2. Shop and compare. Within a few seconds of completing the form, you should see a list of 3-5 lender offers. Next to each lender, you’ll see their best quote along with details of the APR, loan term and estimated monthly payment. You can click “More Options” to see other offers from the same lender and “Apply Online” to be redirected to that lender’s website, where you can apply for preapproval. Below the lender offers, you’ll also see third-party offers for other financial products such as home insurance, savings accounts, and credit cards.

Types of Loans

Depending on your borrower profile, LendingTree may show you offers for any number of different loan types.

Purchase options may include:

● Conventional Loans

● Jumbo Loans

● FHA Loans

● VA Loans

Refinance options may include:

• Conventional Rate-and-Term Refinance
• Conventional Cash-Out Refinance
• FHA Refinance (e.g. rate-and-term, cash-out, streamline)
• VA Refinance (e.g. IRRRL, cash-out)

Home equity options may include:

Home Equity Loan

Home Equity Line of Credit

Reverse Mortgage (for homeowners aged 62+ only)

Loan Features

When it comes to helping you shop for mortgages, LendingTree doesn’t stop at showing you offers from its lender network. It also offers a range of assistance programs and educational resources, including:

Home value estimator tool. LendingTree’s algorithm searches real estate values based on the market price of recently sold homes near yours to estimate the current market value of your home.

Lender reviews. LendingTree has reviews on approximately 900 mortgage lenders in its network.

Loan officer directory. LendingTree has a directory of hundreds of loan officers working on behalf of lenders in its network.

Glossary. If you’re struggling to understand some of the concepts involved in borrowing, then check out LendingTree’s glossary of words used in the mortgage industry.

Other loan products . Includes personal loans, auto loans, student loans, business loans, credit cards, and banking products.

Rates and Terms

Because it has such a large lender network, LendingTree encourages lenders to compete to offer the best rates. Of course, rates and terms vary according to the borrower profile, so the offers shown to you may differ from the offers shown to someone with a different borrowing profile.

LendingTree’s lenders offer a choice of fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages. Repayment terms typically vary from 15-30 years, although some LendingTree partners offer repayment terms as short as eight years.

Summary

Just starting out your mortgage search? LendingTree is still the leading online mortgage marketplace thanks to its network of hundreds of vetted lenders and smooth, user-friendly website. Just answer a few basic questions about yourself and LendingTree will show you pre-qualified offers from several top lenders.

Contact LendingTree

If you have a question for LendingTree, then the best way to find an answer is on the “frequently asked questions” page on its website. LendingTree is primarily an online service, although it does offer customer service by phone, Mon-Thu, 8am – 9pm EST, Friday, 8am – 8pm EST, and Saturday, 10am – 7pm EST.

HQ: 1415 Vantage Park Drive, Suite 700, Charlotte, NC 28203