LendingTree.com Shares Tips to Complete New Home Construction on Time

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 16, 2007 – So you’re building your dream home and the general contractor has promised you’ll be living in it within 10 months. Short of stepping in and doing some of the heavy lifting yourself, how can you make sure that the builders stay true to the construction timeline and that you get to occupy your dream home on schedule? LendingTree.com offers the following suggestions to make sure your project moves along as planned:

• Finalize your design plans in advance. After signing a contract with your builder, approve your final design as soon as possible. Making your selections prior to the start of construction allows the builder to order materials in advance and prevent potentially costly delays.

• Along with finalizing your plans in advance, avoid making changes to them. Minor tweaks are certainly necessary from time to time, but making large-scale changes midstream can delay the process, and cost you lots of money.

• Get pre-approved for a construction loan. If you are building a home with a custom builder instead of a developer, you will likely need to finance the building process. Getting pre-approved for a construction loan will allow you to draw money as needed to finance all stages of construction.

• Supervise. While you shouldn’t be at the construction site all day every day, you should check in often with the site supervisor to make sure the builders are closely following the pre-approved plans. Catching inaccuracies quickly before they become larger problems can help you avoid delays.

For more information about financing a renovation or new home construction, visit the LendingTree Smart Borrower Center, www.lendingtree.com/smartborrower.

About LendingTree, LLC

LendingTree, LLC is the nation’s number one online lending exchange, providing a marketplace that connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for their business. Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than 20 million loan requests and $152 billion in closed loan transactions. LendingTree provides access to mortgages and refinance loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans, personal loans, credit cards and high-yield savings accounts via www.lendingtree.com and 800-555-TREE.

Launched in 1998 with headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, LendingTree, LLC also owns and operates LendingTree Loans sm, LendingTree Settlement Services, LLC, GetSmart®, and HomeLoanCenter.com. LendingTree, LLC is an operating company of IAC.