No. Not at all. Lending Tree doesn’t run a credit report – they simply provide you with the names of lenders. They also give your name and number to the lenders, who typically then will contact you. They won’t check your credit until you actually submit an application with a lender.
Yes, it will have a great negative impact on your credit score. Check out http://financeguru.consumerspot.info for some useful info and tips. Good luck!
Yes you can get dinged by using Lending Tree, or DiTech, or any other web service that provides your information to multiple lenders. The reason for that is there will be a lot of activity on your credit report (each of the lenders will request a preliminary report to see what kind of credit risk you are)
And, no it will not really ding your credit score/report because the inquiries are of an inquiry nature, not of an actual offer of credit.
Essentially, there are three types of inquiry against the typical credit report.
1. General inquiries that credit card offerers make. Essentially, they contact the credit reporting agency and ask for a list of names of people that meet certain criteria. They then send them credit card offers. (It is more complex than that, but the end result is the same.)
2. There are the inquiries you get from using Lending Tree, etc… in which you “invite” multiple people to look at your credit report
3. There is the “real” inquiry, where you submit an application (signed) and the bank you are trying to get the loan from does a FULL credit check.
The third type is the one that will create the biggest dent.
Lenders these days pretty much ignore the flurry of inquiries that happen in the 6 months or so prior to you submitting an application. Me, I would not worry too much about the inquiries.
******************
Now, this is my personal editorial, take it for what it is, advice. And advice is only worth what you pay for it, this advice is free.
I would do some research using BestRate.com, and BankRate.com instead of using Lending Tree. Reasons:
– The banks really are not competing.
– If the bank was really competitive with rates and fees, they would not have to get their leads from a web service.
I went to Lending Tree when I needed my first mortgage, and of the 4 offers I got, each and every one of them were from pushy brokers that had high commissions, and fees. Bigger pain in the assets then it was worth.
Yes and no. Lending tree does not run your credit but the lenders who are competing for your loan do. The good thing is that within a 30 day period your credit can be checked when you are applying or shopping for a loan. It will look as if it was 1 hit as opposed to over 200 from all the lenders. The bad thing is that after the 30 days, a lender may (but shouldn’t) rerun your credit and contact you to see if you were still looking for a loan. I use to work for a lender through lending tree, and these loan officers are often shady. If you have good credit, go through your BANK.
All of the information in response is correct in a way. The biggest problem with using companies like these is that they don’t qualify or verify the quality of the lenders they are giving your information to. You could get a quote from a lender that is planning on giving you a bait and switch. I recommend asking people at your job or your friends for recommendations on who you should use. I work off of referrals exclusively. Typically people that lend through lending tree are desperate for business because they aren’t very good at their jobs. If you’d like to speak with me, you can visit my Chase website CaseyCasperson.com. My phone number is on the site and you can call me with any questions. If I quote you an interest rate and you prefer to lock it in, I can give confirmation that day.
6 Responses to Do I take a bigger hit on my credit score by using Lending Tree to search for a mortgage rate?
Christie
March 4th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
No. Not at all. Lending Tree doesn’t run a credit report – they simply provide you with the names of lenders. They also give your name and number to the lenders, who typically then will contact you. They won’t check your credit until you actually submit an application with a lender.
Dzo
March 4th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Hi,
Yes, it will have a great negative impact on your credit score. Check out http://financeguru.consumerspot.info for some useful info and tips. Good luck!
cbmttek
March 4th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Yes and no.
Yes you can get dinged by using Lending Tree, or DiTech, or any other web service that provides your information to multiple lenders. The reason for that is there will be a lot of activity on your credit report (each of the lenders will request a preliminary report to see what kind of credit risk you are)
And, no it will not really ding your credit score/report because the inquiries are of an inquiry nature, not of an actual offer of credit.
Essentially, there are three types of inquiry against the typical credit report.
1. General inquiries that credit card offerers make. Essentially, they contact the credit reporting agency and ask for a list of names of people that meet certain criteria. They then send them credit card offers. (It is more complex than that, but the end result is the same.)
2. There are the inquiries you get from using Lending Tree, etc… in which you “invite” multiple people to look at your credit report
3. There is the “real” inquiry, where you submit an application (signed) and the bank you are trying to get the loan from does a FULL credit check.
The third type is the one that will create the biggest dent.
Lenders these days pretty much ignore the flurry of inquiries that happen in the 6 months or so prior to you submitting an application. Me, I would not worry too much about the inquiries.
******************
Now, this is my personal editorial, take it for what it is, advice. And advice is only worth what you pay for it, this advice is free.
I would do some research using BestRate.com, and BankRate.com instead of using Lending Tree. Reasons:
– The banks really are not competing.
– If the bank was really competitive with rates and fees, they would not have to get their leads from a web service.
I went to Lending Tree when I needed my first mortgage, and of the 4 offers I got, each and every one of them were from pushy brokers that had high commissions, and fees. Bigger pain in the assets then it was worth.
Dewey K
March 4th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
No if you get them all within a months time, mortgage and auto inquiries only count as 1
lovelyrj7
March 4th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Yes and no. Lending tree does not run your credit but the lenders who are competing for your loan do. The good thing is that within a 30 day period your credit can be checked when you are applying or shopping for a loan. It will look as if it was 1 hit as opposed to over 200 from all the lenders. The bad thing is that after the 30 days, a lender may (but shouldn’t) rerun your credit and contact you to see if you were still looking for a loan. I use to work for a lender through lending tree, and these loan officers are often shady. If you have good credit, go through your BANK.
Casey C
March 4th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
All of the information in response is correct in a way. The biggest problem with using companies like these is that they don’t qualify or verify the quality of the lenders they are giving your information to. You could get a quote from a lender that is planning on giving you a bait and switch. I recommend asking people at your job or your friends for recommendations on who you should use. I work off of referrals exclusively. Typically people that lend through lending tree are desperate for business because they aren’t very good at their jobs. If you’d like to speak with me, you can visit my Chase website CaseyCasperson.com. My phone number is on the site and you can call me with any questions. If I quote you an interest rate and you prefer to lock it in, I can give confirmation that day.