Is LendingTree Legit?

Today we’ll be answering the question: is LendingTree legit?

A Note On Loans

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to find the “right” loan.

Before taking out a loan, you need to shop around for the best lenders.

But what are you even shopping for? All loans are created equal, right?

Wrong!

Loans are sort of like snowflakes and fingerprints – they are never the same.

So, here are a few things to consider before taking out a loan:

Annual percentage rate (APR)
Loan origination (or loan processing) fees
Prepayment penalties
Late payment fees
Trustworthiness of lender

Keep in mind – even if the terms of your loan are the same – your lender is not the same.

The terms of your loan can have long-term implications on your bank account.

If you are searching for a loan without help, you must first know the total cost you will pay for the loan (the total amount you will pay back).

From there, you need to watch out for hidden fees that are not-so-obvious in the early going.

Lastly, you require a responsible lender that will make your life easier.

Layer in hundreds (if not thousands) of different loan options, and what do you have?

You have the trifecta of annoyance, confusion, and frustration.

Oh, and you probably won’t end up with the best loan possible.

The sheer volume of loan offerings creates a very apparent mismatch.

The loan you NEED is out there, but that loan is rarely the one you receive.

And with that in mind, you have two options:

Waste days (or even months) searching for the best loan
Settle for less than the best loan (or lender)

These options make ZERO sense because you know what you want, and lenders have what you want.

But fear not fellow borrowers – we did not gather you here to highlight this problem and leave you disappointed.

Because one company has gotten off its @$$ to solve this problem for you.

That company is LendingTree, and they are America’s leading online loan marketplace.

LendingTree Overview

LendingTree is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and serves borrowers across the United States.

The company was founded in 1998 and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ.

With LendingTree, you can borrow for things like…

…home loans, auto loans, small business loans, personal loans, credit cards, and much more!

You can also use comparison shopping services on the Company website for autos, home improvement pros, and education programs.

These services are a borrower’s best friend when choosing between multiple businesses and professionals competing for YOUR business.

But is LendingTree reputable? Let’s see.

As of July 2019, here is where LendingTree stands:

22 years in business
50+ billion in loans served
30+ billion in loans saved
100+ million customers served

So if you’re wondering “is LendingTree good at helping customers with loans?” the answer is an easy YES.

But the Company is not here to simply give you a loan.

Instead, LendingTree aggregates numerous lenders together on one web platform.

By gathering multiple lenders, there is more competition for your business.

More competition for your business means more favorable loan terms for you.

So, are you interested in any of the following?

Student Loans (or refinancing)
Home Mortgage (or refinancing)
Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
Auto Loans
Personal Loans
Debt Consolidation
Small Business Loans

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above…

…LendingTree can benefit you!

LendingTree provides the most compressive suite of loan offerings, tools, and resources on the web!

How LendingTree Works

LendingTree promises, “Three steps to your best loan.”

Here are those 3 steps:

Answer a Few Questions (Get Started)

You will begin the process by providing LendingTree with details on the following:

What kind of loan you need
How you will use the funds

Once complete, the Company will send your request to its lender network.

From there, you will get multiple loan offers within seconds.

Shop and Compare (Start Shopping)

Once you receive your offers, it is time to compare.

Since lenders are competing for your business, you will get the most competitive offers.

The process is like shopping for flights on your favorite travel site.

May the Best Loan Win (Find Your Best Loan)

This is the final (and easiest) step in the process.

Here are a few things to do before pulling the trigger:

You can compare offers side-by-side
Speak with loan officers directly to negotiate better terms
Apply online

Once you are ready, pull the trigger on your new loan with confidence!

LendingTree Products

Need a loan? Need advice on a loan?

Go to Lending Tree.

This section covers home financing, credit cards, student loans, and personal loans, including debt consolidation, auto loans, and small business loans.

Home Financing

LendingTree covers every home lending situation you can imagine.

So, which type of home loan are you interested in:

Purchasing your home
Refinancing your home
Home equity loan
Reverse mortgage loan

It does not matter because LendingTree has you covered on all your home loan needs.

You can take out a first mortgage on a single-family property, multi-family property, townhomes and condos, and mobile homes.

Additionally, conventional and FHA/VA mortgages are available.

If you are purchasing a home, LendingTree will even connect you with a local real estate agent in your market.

Credit Cards

Credit cards – where do we start?

Well, if you don’t have one, you need to get one.

Because credit cards are powerful tools for building credit and earning free money.

On top of that, credit cards are everywhere!

You can’t make a purchase at the mall without having one, two, or three-plus thrown in your face.

And now, you can finally tell those merchants where to put their credit cards because LendingTree has your back.

The Company simplifies your search by giving you offers tailored to your specific circumstances.

These offers are based on factors specific to your profile.

You can view offers side-by-side for easy comparison.

And the best part?

You can skip filling out separate applications for each credit card company.

To make things easy, you can view and compare the following information on LendingTree:

Interest Rates
Credit Card Fees (e.g., annual fee)
Bonuses, rewards, and incentives
Card features and benefits
Credit necessary to be approved

You can also filter the above information to find the perfect credit card for you.

Student Loans

Did you know that 65% of students misunderstand the terms of their own student loans?

That statistic demonstrates the absolute madness occurring with student loans.

Student loans are one of the most important financial decisions of your life!

Here are 4 steps for taking out a student loan:

Determine how much you need for college
Research and Compare Loan Options
Apply for Your Student Loan
Get Approved, Accept, and Sign!

But if you are not covered by government loans…

…your loan search could turn into a nightmare.

There are many student loan offerings with their own (often unfavorable) terms.

LendingTree streamlines this process by providing your options in one place.

This will allow you to see which loans are good, which are bad, and which are beyond bad.

You can also learn how student loans work and how they can benefit you.

Get with LendingTree, and join the 35%.

LendingTree has programs for new loans and refinancing existing loans.

Personal Loans

LendingTree has loans for the following personal needs:

Debt Consolidation
Auto Loans
Business Loans
Pay Off Credit Cards
Home Improvement
Major Purchases
Vacation
Wedding Expenses
Moving and Relocation
Medical Expenses
Other

Simply provide the necessary information, like how much you need, and LendingTree will do the rest.

We want to take a deeper dive into debt consolidation, auto loans, and business loans.

These are 3 prominent areas of LendingTree and of borrowing, in general.

Debt Consolidation

LendingTree offers debt consolidation loans and resources to help you manage the process.

And you should understand the following items before choosing your loan:

What debt consolidation involves
How debt consolidation works
The benefits of debt consolidation (also, when you should and should not)

You can find the answers to the above directly on LendingTree.com.

There is no one-size fits all debt consolidation loan.

Accordingly, you may require a personal loan, balance transfer, home equity loan, or debt relief.

LendingTree lists the pros and cons of each type of financing.

You can consolidate various types of debt, including:

Student loans
Unsecured personal loans
Medical bills
Utility bills
Bills in collections
Taxes
Court judgments

Lastly, the Company provides a debt consolidation calculator.

This tool can estimate the money you can save by consolidating your debt.

Business Loans

If you are a small business having trouble securing a loan…

…you need to check out LendingTree.

LendingTree has numerous small business lenders available on their website.

You can visit LendingTree, view your options, and choose the lender and loan program best for your business.

LendingTree provides the following types of business loans:

Small business loans
SBA loans
Short-term business loans
Long-term business loans
Business lines of credit (LOC)
Working capital loans
Equipment financing
Accounts receivable financing
Business credit cards

Auto Loans

You can find loans for cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, and boats.

Simply provide detail on the financing you need (e.g., amount of loan, down payment, etc.).

LendingTree will use that information to find relevant and competitive loan offers.

Since LendingTree covers many different loan types, they will ask for the type of vehicle you are purchasing.

LendingTree Additional Resources

LendingTree offers tons of free resources relating to loans, credit, and general finance.

Even if you are not looking for a loan (thanks for still reading btw), you should read-up and test-out the resources available.

These resources will come in handy to you at some point in your life.

Here are a few benefits you can get from LendingTree’s free resources:

Calculate your loan payments
Understand how your loan works
Read review on lenders
Understand how your credit score works
Learn how to improve your credit score

Compare Mortgage Rates

You can use LendingTree’s mortgage rate comparison tool to compare rates in your area.

You can compare home purchase and home refinancing rates.

Simply enter your home price, down payment, home type, and credit score.

You will receive a list of the most competitive rates in your area to compare directly.

Additionally, you can view a chart of daily mortgage rate trends.

If that is not enough, there is also a handy how-to guide on picking the best mortgage.

Free Credit Score

If you do not already know your credit score – get on it today.

The interest rate you receive on various loans is heavily dependent upon your credit score.

Additionally, it is good practice to monitor your credit score to detect fraudulent activity in your name.

The better your credit score, the more creditworthy you are to lenders.

You can get your credit score free with LendingTree.

Check your credit score without affecting it
Understand the factors that influence your credit score
Discover ways to increase your score and improve your credit

Credit Repair Services

In addition to viewing your score, LendingTree will help you improve your score.

The Company provides a list of credit repair provides that will help you with the following:

Improve your credit score
Negotiate settlements with lenders

There are also informational resources on how to repair your credit, and what to do it you are having credit trouble.

After reviewing all the information, you can decide if a credit repair specialist is best for your situation.

Loan Payment Calculator

LendingTree offers an extensive set of mortgage (and loans, in general) calculators.

These calculators are available regardless of whether you sign-up for the website.

Here are the free calculators available to you, courtesy of LendingTree:

Home Affordability Calculator
Mortgage Payment Calculator
Cash-Out Refinance Calculator
Refinance Breakeven Calculator
Debt Consolidation Calculator
Home Equity Calculator
Reverse Mortgage Calculator
Loan Payment Calculator
FHA Loan Calculator
VA Loan Calculator
Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Ratings and Reviews

You should find this section particularly helpful in your quest for the perfect loan.

LendingTree provides ratings and reviews of lenders in each loan category.

The entire section is comprised of real feedback from real borrowers (like yourself).

You can sort through lenders by name, loan type, certification, and rating.

Ratings are based on the following categories:

Interest Rates
Fees & Closing Costs
Customer Service
Responsiveness

Once you choose a vendor to view, you can filter by state, lender, loan officer, and more.

Lastly, if you work with the lender, you can write your own review.

Sign-Up for LendingTree

Signing up for LendingTree takes less than 5 minutes.

You start by providing LendingTree information, including:

Location
Credit score estimate
Occupation
Income
Financials (investments, liquid assets)
Type of loan you need
Loan amount

Unlike many companies, this information is necessary for you to get the most out of the service.

From there, simply enter your e-mail address and create a password.

At this point, you are ready to view your loan offers!

And signing up is 100% risk-free because…

…LendingTree does not charge fees to use their services.

If you have 5 minutes, sign up now!

LendingTree makes money from lenders who pay to use the platform (now that is more like it).

You should be as accurate as possible with the information you provide while signing up.

If you overestimate things like your credit score and income, you will receive loan offers based on those numbers.

However, this information will be verified before you receive your loan.

If the information cannot be verified, your loan offer will become invalid.

Okay, here is the question you have all been waiting for.

Is LendingTree legitimate? Is LendingTree a good company?

The verdict is in, and…

…LendingTree is 100%, certified legit.

LendingTree will connect you with lenders, and the service is completely free.

One of the main criticisms of LendingTree is the potential for “hard pulls” on your credit by lenders.

This should not be occurring, and it did not happen in my experience with the Company.

However, there are a couple points to keep in mind to protect your credit:

Monitor your credit score (whether via LendingTree or another free service)
Multiple “hard pulls” in a 45-day period count the same as a single hard pull

Hard pulls by lenders is out of LendingTree’s hands, but again, it should not happen.

Additionally, it is not a huge deal (but is certainly obnoxious) for your overall credit score.

Again, this did not occur in my experience, but it is worth noting here.

In summary, LendingTree delivers on what they promise.

The Company will connect you with lenders and find you the loan you need.

Is LendingTree Safe?

LendingTree strives to protect your sensitive personal information.

Here is how LendingTree protects your data (via lendingtree.com):

Transmissions between LendingTree, banks, lenders, loan brokers, and real estate professionals (and affiliates) are encrypted using public key cryptography algorithms with a minimum key size of 128 bits.

Only LendingTree can decode the encryption.

You can verify that your information is secure by checking for the key or lock icon on your browser.

Additionally, LendingTree.com will log you out after a period of inactivity.

Lastly, LendingTree uses Next-Generation Firewalls to protect consumer data from internal and external threats.