There’s No Place Like Home Charlotte Observer Binyamin Applebaum Dec 11, 2005 When snow fell on Charlotte a couple of winters back, executives at online mortgage broker LendingTree strapped on the headsets of snow-stranded employees and fielded questions from customers."You're talking to the CEO," Doug Lebda, the CEO, told one caller. "You're as high as you can go."LendingTree, now a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp, plans to add 600 jobs next year, mostly in the call center next to its headquarters in the Ballantyne Corporate Park.
Kids Say Charge It! Granny Says Make Do Forbes.com Scott Reeves Oct 27, 2005 ... Yankee grandmothers used to say, "Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without." Their grandchildren generally have abandoned thrift and routinely take on debt to satisfy immediate desires such as clothing, consumer electronics or travel.The shift, LendingTree says in a research report titled "Living With Debt: A Life Stage Analysis of Changing Attitudes and Behaviors," undercuts the cultural values of past generations and erodes the basis of accumulating and maintaining personal wealth.
Lenders go on the offensive Orange County Register Mathew Padilla Oct 15, 2005 Is it time to refinance? That’s a question a number of homeowners are asking these days, with mortgage rates at seven-month lows... .Ultimately, the decision to refinance comes down to whether a borrower sees some economic benefit to it, said Jim Svinth, chief economist in the Irvine office of LendingTree.
Rising Mortgage Rates: What’s a Potential Home Buy to Do? USA Today Sandra Block Oct 10, 2005 Don’t take big risks to lower your rate. Adjustable-rate mortgages don’t reduce your monthly payment much now. ... The narrow spread may drive some desperate borrowers to take loans with low initial "teaser" rates and several payment alternatives. ... "You're putting yourself at risk," says Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com. "Eventually, you'll be required to pay both the interest and the principal, and your payment could spike much higher."
Home Sales Likely to Stay Steady Despite Rising Rates USA Today Sue Kirchhoff and Sandra Block Oct 07, 2005 Mortgage rates hit a six-month high Thursday, but economists say they may not rise enough in the near term to make a big dent in home sales.... Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, says he doesn't expect interest rates to slow demand for housing until long-term rates top 7%. "I don't see that happening any time soon," he says.
Low Payments Now Can Be Trouble Later The Times Union Pamela Yip Sep 12, 2005 Not long ago, financing a home was like ordering from a menu with only one item: You got what was available, which was the plain-vanilla, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. ..."Mortgage programs now are not just one-size-fits-all," says Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, an online lender.
DJ Lenders See Limited Appeal for 40-Year Mortgages Dow Jones Newswires Allison Bisbey Colter Aug 31, 2005 "There are more lenders offering (interest-only mortgages) than 40-year amortizing loans, simply because 40-year amortization does not have a huge impact on monthly payment differentials, but an interest only does," said Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, an online mortgage broker. ... "Rightly or wrongly, it seems like consumers are really focusing on (the size of their) monthly payments, rather than their ability to pay their home off," Hsieh said.
Borrowers Buffet New Mortgage Menu Isn't All Easy to Digest The Dallas Morning News Pamela Yip Jul 26, 2005 "There are so many more programs these days it could be confusing to the consumer," Mr. Hsieh says. "The lower the monthly payment, you're giving up something else.... If your objective is to live in the home and retire and pay this home off, you can't be lured by the lower monthly payment because the lower your monthly payment, the less you will be reducing the principal on the loan," says Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, an online lender.
Pick-a-Payment; Mortgage Risks are High USA Today Sandra Block Jul 22, 2005 "[I]f you've been intrigued by promotions for "Option ARMs" or "pick-a-payment" mortgages, be wary. ... "The attractiveness of this product is flexibility, but that flexibility sometimes can get people in trouble," says Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com.
Lender Sends Clients Flying Knight Ridder Michele Chandler Jul 18, 2005 About 170.2 million frequent-flier miles good on five major airlines were awarded last year to people who bought, sold or refinanced homes or took out a home-backed line of credit using online loan company LendingTree. ... "Consumers pay nothing extra to participate in the airline mileage awards program," LendingTree spokeswoman Mindy Neubauer said.
Loose Reins on Galloping Loans The New York Times Edmund L. Andrews Jul 15, 2005 Interest-only mortgages and option-adjustable-rate mortgages let borrowers put off principal payments. In both cases if rates do not rise these borrowers could do well because they would pay the principal with dollars that are worth less because of inflation. But with rates at historical lows, they are likely to rise, and borrowers could end up paying more in the long run. Here are some examples based on current rates. Sources: LendingTree.com
US Housing is Hot, but Types of Loans Seen Cooling Reuters Julie Haviv Jul 14, 2005 "[W]e are also dealing with an industry that is going to shrink in volume over the next few years, so lenders are fighting aggressively for customers," said Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, an online facilitator which matches consumers with lenders competing for their business.
Homeowners Get another Crack at Refinancing Associated Press Eileen Alt Powell Jun 15, 2005 Homeowners who missed the refinancing boom of 2002-03 have another crack at it while mortgage rates hover below 6 percent. ...Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, an online mortgage site... pointed out that the prevailing rate of about 5.75 percent for a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage isn't far above the all-time low of 5.21 percent registered in June 2003, making it a good time to refinance.
Real Estate Answers The Sacramento Bee Jack Sirard May 20, 2005 For help with your question, I turned to Anthony Hsieh, chief executive officer of LendingTree Loans, based in Irvine. ..."If you are more concerned about affordability, there are far more options, such as interest-only payments and payment option ARMs that can reduce your monthly cash flow by 20 to 40 percent as compared to a traditional fixed-rate product," he says.
Reward for Buying Home: Flight to Hawaii; Loan Company Offers Miles to Consumers San Jose Mercury News Michele Chandler May 06, 2005 Under the program, people who buy or sell a home using a LendingTree-affiliated real estate agent receive 3,000 frequent-flier miles for every $10,000 of the home’s total purchase or selling price. ... Someone using an agent affiliated with LendingTree to buy a $665,000 house would receive 199,500 SkyMiles at closing on Delta Airlines – enough to buy economy round-trip tickets for five to Hawaii, with nearly enough miles remaining to cover one more economy round-trip ticket to Canada.
Condo Conundrum The Charlotte Observer Amy Baldwin May 02, 2005 If your building goes condo and you want to buy, you might have to come up with a down payment fast – unless you already have one saved. Here are some tips and info from Anthony Hsieh, president of Charlotte-based LendingTree.com. "Figure out what you can afford, and remember to include homeowner’s association dues. ... - Shop around for your mortgage. Borrowers have lots of options. You may be really surprised by the difference in offers between lenders."
Home Equity can be a Rich Resource to Tap – But Do it Wisely USA Today Sandra Block May 02, 2005 But increasingly, lenders are charging prepayment penalties. The penalties typically apply to loans paid off within the first three to five years, and range from six to 12 months' interest, says Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com, an online service that matches borrowers with lenders. Some penalties are "soft," which means they're waived if you sell your home, Hsieh says. A "hard" penalty is triggered if you pay off the loan early for any reason, including selling your home, he says.
Mortgage Options Get Creative USA Weekend Sharon Epperson Apr 22, 2005 A caveat: Don’t assume you’ll build equity simply through a home’s appreciation. "That’s a big gamble," says Anthony Hsieh, of LendingTree.com. And if prices drop, payment-option ARMs "could be foolhardy," he says, as buyers may have paid little principal.
More Consumers Opting for Adjustable-Rate Mortgages The Associated Press Eileen Alt Powell Apr 07, 2005 Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree.com in Charlotte, N.C., an online service that helped the Fullertons find their mortgage, said "young couples are especially attracted to ARMs because "affordability is their key concern."
6 Mortgage Rip-Offs to Avoid MSN.com Liz Pullman Weston Apr 04, 2005 Know what a competitive offer looks like. The loan savings calculator at MyFico.com can give you a rough idea of what rates to expect, given your credit scores, while quotes from online sites like Eloan and LendingTree can give you detailed information on the going rates and fees.
Teaching Kids About Money Forbes.com Scott Reeves Mar 30, 2005 Teaching kids how to manage money is one of the biggest challenges facing any parent. ... "As a parent, the best way to teach a child about finances is to be a role model," says Edward Powell, chief consumer officer at LendingTree.com in Charlotte, N.C.
Borrowers Get Nervous About Rates The Wall Street Journal Ruth Simon Mar 24, 2005 "Most home-equity lines are tied to the prime rate," says LendingTree.com president Anthony Hsieh. "People are getting very nervous." The prime rate has risen to 5.75% from 4% in June.
Buying the Perfect Vacation Home Forbes.com Scott Reeves Mar 23, 2005 "Before you invest in a second home, consider the location, pricing trends and the time horizon for your gain," says Edward Powell, chief consumer officer of Charlotte, N.C.-based LendingTree.com "A lot of people take equity out of their current home to make a down payment on a second house. That’s fine if the market continues to rise, but if it flattens or falls, you can get into big trouble in a hurry."
Mortgage Rates, ARM Applications Both Rise Bankrate.com Holden Lewis Mar 17, 2005 "Borrowers are going to ARMs for a number of reasons," says Ed Powell, chief consumer officer for LendingTree.com. For some people, low-rate ARMs offer the only possibility for buying the expensive houses that they want. And a lot of borrowers buy homes knowing that they will move out (and, they hope, up) within a few years.
A LendingTree Site Aims to Help Home Buyers and Sellers The Charlotte Observer Binyamin Applebaum Feb 27, 2005 Just as LendingTree changed the way many Americans shop for loans, Lebda believes RealEstate.com can change the way they shop for homes. Both sites, he said, give power to the customer.
Home Equity Boom: Rewards and Risks The Charlotte Observer Rick Rothacker Feb 15, 2005 Last fall, Charlotte homeowner Mark Greenhalgh says he started looking for a home equity line because he wanted to do some renovations and consolidate some bills. The 34-year-old used LendingTree’s web site, and almost instantly had offers from multiple banks, he said. "I regrouped everything," he said. "It gives me more flexibility to get bills squared away and to do some home improvements."
The Commission Squeeze Time Magazine Daniel Kadlec Jan 24, 2005 When Bryan Geston set out to buy a home, the first thing he did was log on to LendingTree.com where he described what kind of house and mortgage he wanted. A day later, several real estate agents and lenders contacted him. Then in a single afternoon, he viewed more than a dozen listings online and visited two places in person. That night he made an offer. The process was painless, says Getson, 23, who moved into his Centreville, VA., home just five weeks after starting his search. "As a bonus," he adds, "I’m getting a Home Depot gift card for $1000 that I’ll use to redo some cabinets."
Living Debt-Free Forbes.com Scott Reeves Jan 12, 2005 If you dream of living debt-free as the bills pile up, you’re not alone. A survey of 1,000 consumers by LendingTree.com found that most people have no strategy to manage their debt, and some who struggle to make monthly payments still plan to go deeper in the hole with big-ticket purchases.