That's a good question. It's something I have not yet specifically written about. Yet it is something that someone somewhere wondered about. They typed this exact question into Google and searched for it. When the search results came back they saw that I was the second organic listing on the page and they clicked on my blog site.
That took them to this page: The Truth About Lending Tree
From there they clicked around the site, read more than 20 pages, and spent 1 hour and 19 minutes getting to know me better. I use a couple of tracking tools that tell me where a visitor comes from. (No, I cannot harvest your email address or see who you are).
I'm sure that they came away with a better understanding of who I am and what I stand for. I'm also confident they now know that LendingTree is a lead generating website. Their primary business is NOT to get the best loan to the people. "When Banks compete you win!" is only an advertising slogan. LendingTree doesn't care if you get the best rate or the best loan. They care about one thing. Selling your name to Brokers and Lenders - period. They learned about a lawsuit against LendingTree alleging inappropriate dealings. They learned that LendingTree had also owned it's own mortgage company. My guess is that they learned more than they asked for.
They could have also asked about Bankrate as well. Bankrate has it's own lawsuit going on, not by consumers but by advertisers.. Bankrate exists for one reason and surprise! It's NOT to give the consumer the best interest rates for a myriad of products. Bankrate sells advertising space on their site. Those rates they list are old, and highly inaccurate. they are put there by companies who pay to have them there.
They did ask about E-Loan. I'll bet they came away with the idea that E-Loan is the Mcdonalds of lenders. I know people at E-Loan. The corporate office is just miles away in nearby Dublin. They are order takers. They do no analytical analysis. They take the loan app and move on to the next caller. While I am sure there are people in E-Loan that know a debt ratio from a loan to value ratio, they probably won't touch your loan. E-Loan exists for one thing. To skim the cream of the crop loans, hire the lowest common denominator to work those loans, and move on to the next.
They didn't ask about DiTech. If they had, they would have found out that DiTech and E-Loan work on the same business platform.
LendingTree, E-Loan, DiTech or Bankrate. At the end of the day, I have no idea what will bring someone to read my words. Sometimes they'll leave a comment, sometimes they won't. Will they become a new client? I certainly hope so. One thing is for certain, they'll come away with a better understanding of what I do, how I do it, and why I do it. They'll be better informed and perhaps wiser in the ways of mortgage. In the end, I will have made the world a better place. I like that.
This post brought to you courtesy of Mike Mueller.
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Mike,
Great post! I think it was very informative, and your right about these so called lenders..
Tom Weiss
Thomas - Thanks. What started out as a long tail post turned into something else.
Jason - Thank you as well. Sometimes what we as insiders think is obvious is in fact the opposite to consumers.
Bart - Welcome to AR and thanks for the comment.
Andrew - One of the kids I know at E-Loan is a motorcycling buddy. He has a Hayabusa too. in talking loans, it is very clear how little he knows. But hey, he's happy. Oh well.
Ginger - Thanks for visiting my home blog and leaving a comment. I just reciprocated!
Mike,
Thank you so much for clearing that up. I've used 2 of the mentioned names for information, but never finalized anything through them or their banking clients. Turns out I did do the right thing.
Kathy
I have closed several loans for both of those names. I can't say which is better. What I can say is that the E-loan customers appear to be more satisfied with their experience than the LT customers.
Hi Mike - great post, and your title lured me in because I couldn't believe someone here would actually ask that question.....and then I read your post. This is a great read, and I'm certain those folks learned a lot in talking with you.
Sad to say, I've had experiences with 3 of the companies you mentioned, and they were all awful. Two of them never closed with those companies, got them to move to REAL lenders after everything got messed up, and one of them actually did close. And those buyers got nailed to the wall on all kinds of things that were considered 'closing costs' by that company. AND they took it on the rate, too. But they wouldn't listen, and were suckered in by the carrot dangling rate and the false 'closing costs' talked about in the beginning by this company. They're liars, when it comes right down to it in my opinion, and they could care less about the people on the other end of the phone. Just another number or file to the 'order-takers'.
Glad this was featured!
Ann
Kathy - Maybe you did. Maybe you didn't. You might have been bait and switched or you might have been offered a decent and ethical loan. Assuming we're talking Ditech or E-Loan.
Catherine - Featured? Cool. Here's a very funny story. Almost 30 years ago I worked for Lolek at Le Virage. His Daughter is one of the founding principals at E-Loan. She used to work in the kitchen from time to time. Me? I was an assistant captain. Fancy word for a glorified busboy.
Andrew - Correct, it does. That was in the post that google led them to. The Home Loan Center. There's also an issue with LT in that they don't just sell you to 4 different lenders. They are strong recyclers. They'll sell you over and over again, each time at a discount to many many other people. I heard that if you are a broker you only get the recycled leads.
Leon - You may have closed a loan with E-Loan but not Lending Tree (although you may have through their mortgage company, The Home Loan Center.
Rich - Thanks for the thought, personally I am surprised it was featured to begin with. further proof I really don't know what I'm doing.
WOW Mike I had no idea you were once a "busboy" (though captain sounds awfully important!) at Le Virage no less. Do you know the plans for that building now? I drive past it and always wonder but never research it...
Dead on analysis of these internet companies pretending they have your best interest at hand. I cant tell you how many times I am on the net, and tempted to play those lame lowermybills.com games where you bowl, play baseball, or shoot a duck. When you rollover your mouse, it takes you to a loan app. How misleading, and what is more sad is that lowermybills.com will sel that as a premium lead to a loan officer for around $50.
You also left out Quicken Home Loans, which has a HUUUGE office in Scottsdale AZ where they emply around 1500 loan officers....er did I say that...order takers to get the premium loans.
Mike,
You are a forced to either be reckoned with or at least learn from... Thanks for the info!
Great relevant information....and an asset to the blogging sphere
I am sure most people who visit your site would reather deal with you than one of them.
Great post
Mike, if I was in CA, I'd probably pick up the phone and call. Great post.
5 Stars
Catherine - I know it was possibly deemed to be a historic building. Not sure if that happened.
Joey - Thanks!
Brian - That's advertising. Quicken is a good one. They are still touting their SmartChoice loan on TV. (If it's so smart of a choice why don't they call it what is, an Option ARM)
"Get a lower mortgage payment and flexibility with our most popular interest-only ARM." That's from their site!
Brady - wow! a force to be reckoned with? How cool is that? Thanks!
Michael - We all lose plenty of clients to the other guys. True Mortgage Professionals have been fighting the fight for a very long time now.
Gary - You are welcome. Your post was simply awesome!
Laurie - I see the Listing Agents fighting the same forces with any and all the discount brokerages. We do it better, we know we're better and we know there's no comparison. The trouble is convincing the public of that.
Mike,
An excellent post---when the dust settles, let's see who is left standing
Thing is..... whether it is eloan or lendingtree.... they lie to you on tv.
But it seems to work.
Christopher - Unfortunately, Lending Tree's model combined with the inability to enforce anything on a GFE it results in a battle of the best LIAR wins. "When Banks compete, the best Liar wins!" The public is still blind to that.
Gary - Thanks!
Diane - When the dust settles there will be others taking their place. It's the American Way. I'll keep on keeping on. I just launched yet another blog today. This one specific to Reverse Mortgages.
Tom - Everybody lies to me on TV (Except Scully and Mulder)
The truth is out there - just not on TV commercials.
Great info. Mike. I had no idea.
Congrats on the Featured Post...........Duane Hosek in the Black Hills of South Dakota
good info Mike
I guess people do want fries with their notes
I have another bone to pick with the likes of ELoan, Ditech and LendingTree in an upcoming post
Brian - It's all about getting the phone to ring right? I have a binder in my office, I bring it to the seminars I talk at, in it I have every piece of lying mortgage junk mail I have ever received. I used to make notations in Red Sharpie on what they are NOT mentioning but ran out of ink. I'm currently on Volume IV of mike's Big Book of Shame. Interestingly the mail has drizzled to almost a halt in the last couple of months.
Kim - have you also noticed a big increase in recycling your old gold? I have.
TV is my Economic Indicator
Maybe I'll repost that on AR
Duane - Now you know. Thanks for the visit.
Greg - You've got it. And maybe the worst part... I have heard that as you get sold and sold, the calls get slimier and slimier.
David - Looking forward to it - Bring it on!
Jennifer - The Ghost Busters theme song runs through my mind, "Who you gonna call?"
Christopher - yes, but that's too much truth in advertising.
Mike... I don't have time to read any of the comments. But this post demonstrates the type of companies that make it look and sound easy and cheap, but in most cases, could cost the borrower the most money. Good post.