Anyone else using them for leads? Experience? Good/Bad.

I heard costs are too high and quality is not there. At least that is what clients tell me. I have never nor will ever by from them or Lendingtree.

LendingTree leads were great, we had a close ratio around 38%, which is phenomenal however the fees they charge are outrageous. Lendingtree just got sued for 5.8mm. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2006/01/23/daily23.html Little does the consumer know, they would be much better off going through a broker not having to provide "kickbacks" as I call them, to Lendingtree.

I still don't understand how they get around Sect. 8 (RESPA). They are also a lender. They charge $XX.00 per lead then when the loan closes they charge anywhere from $250 to $1,100 depending on loan type & loan amount.

I don't believe them to be an honest or ethincal company. Before I entered the industry I got a loan through them and was surprised at the unnesesary fees. I was never disclosed this and was faced with the choice of either taking the loan or not. I tell everyone I know of their dirty little secret.

Lending Tree = Bad Business

At least in my experiences and those of all I talk to.

Maybe no complaints have been filed? Maybe they need to be?

I told Yoda about your post, he was tickled.
Yodas Post

I'm sure RESPA is very aware. I think it might boil down to split entities and loop holes. In my opinion it's a conflict of interest and should be pursued accordingly.

I am a Lending Tree lender and I would not trade my lead source for anything else out there. We have had Lending Tree for one year and I have closed over 100 loans with them and another 25 or so referrals that came from doing people right on Lending Tree. I always see people knocking them but at the end of the day noone else has a better lead source. My guess on why so many brokers dont like them is that it is very tough as a mortgage broker to get approved to be on their network. My understandig is that they only approve banks and correspondent lenders. I am not sure about the RESPA violations but my guess is that they are a multi million dollar company and I am sure they have done their homework. Goodluck.

I agree they are a good lead source, however the fees they charge are rediculous. As mentioned above, little does the consumer know they are, in essence, getting ripped off. When I was set up with them, we charged all their fees off to the borrower. This was fully disclosed, however I didn't feel comfortable with it at all. It reached over my ethical boundary.

We eat that cost versus giving it to the borrower. We have found that we can price loans out fairly and still make money even after paying Lending Tree.

Thats a lot to eat, depending on the LTV, loan amount and loan type.

We are in a percentage business. They charge more for higher loan amounts but we make more on those anyways. 9 times out of 10 the borrower still gets a better deal than going to a broker so i do not see the harm in this site for someone looking for a good deal.

If you get out of the office and meet people, you wont have to spend money on leads.