LendingTree Business Loans Review
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- Date Established
- 1996
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Pros
- Borrower qualifications are lower than with banks
- Financing is available to qualified startups
- Multiple types of available financing
- Applicants can quickly get prequalified
- The application process is fast and easy
Cons
- Some additional fees charged
- Website advertising is not informative
- Customer service is pushy
Overview
LendingTree, based in Charlotte, NC, is an online platform connecting individuals and businesses to a wide range of financial products through its lending partners. LendingTree does not originate any loans. Instead, the company charges its partners for the use of its service. LendingTree’s partners include familiar names, such as OnDeck, Kabbage, Credibly, and Fora Financial.
LendingTree is best viewed as a time-saving tool for businesses that don’t want to slog through the alternative lending wilderness to find the best deal. LendingTree doesn’t give you much information to work with until you’ve submitted your information, so keep that in mind before you apply.
LendingTree Business Loans
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Table of Contents
Services Offered
LendingTree offers the following through its partners:
- Short-Term Loans: Short-term loans grant the borrower a lump sum, which is then repaid daily or weekly, along with a flat fee, over the course of a year or less.
- Business Lines Of Credit: Business lines of credit establish a credit line for a designated amount of time. The borrower can draw on this credit so long as the total amount used is less than the limit. Interest is paid on the amount used in most cases.
- Equipment Financing: Equipment financing includes loans and leases for the use of acquiring physical assets. In most cases, the asset then serves as collateral.
- SBA Loans: The Small Business Administration guarantees SBA loans for up to 80% of the amount borrowed. This allows borrowers to access better rates and longer terms. The application process is more involved, however.
- Invoice Factoring: An advance that allows you to sell your unpaid invoices to a factoring company for a fee.
Borrower Qualifications
When evaluating if your business is eligible for funding, LendingTree doesn’t have explicit rule-out criteria for potential borrowers. Instead, the company will use your credit, annual revenue, and overall profitability to try to match you with a lender who is willing to work with you and your circumstances.
That said, expect to get better — and more — offers if you have good credit, have been in business for a long time, and are profitable.
Terms & Fees
Each of LendingTree’s partners has its own criteria for who it will lend to, the fees it charges, the interest rates you’ll receive, and the length of time you’ll have to pay it back. Some criteria will be contingent not only on the lender but also on the type of product you’re approved for.
There are some things you’ll want to keep in mind. One of the biggest will be how interest is calculated and accumulates. Some products, particularly short-term loans, have fixed fees. You’ll also want to know all the service, administrative, and origination fees the lender charges; these can range from minimal to downright punishing.
You’ll also want to know how frequently you need to repay your loan. Depending on the lender and product, payment may be expected monthly, weekly, or even daily. In many cases, the lender will want that payment automatically deducted from an account, so make sure you’re comfortable with whatever payment arrangement is required.
If you’re curious about who might end up underwriting your loan, you can check out LendingTree’s internal customer review page. For a deeper dive into what each type of product looks like, check out the links in the Services Offered section of this review.
Application Process
It may sound funny, but the application process is probably the reason you’re looking at LendingTree. You can begin the application process online. You’ll be walked through a series of questions, beginning with your business’s classification and including your credit score, your profitability, and time in business. At the end of the process, you’ll be prompted to give your contact information.
Once you’ve submitted all the relevant documents, LendingTree will ideally match you with up to five offers from its partners. The company boasts that you’ll get your offers within two minutes. From there, the process varies, depending on the lender you’re matched with and the type of product you’re seeking.
Sales & Advertising Transparency
LendingTree gives window shoppers fairly little to work with on its site, at least not without submitting your personal information. To see the limited amount of information the company does offer to anonymous browsers, you’ll want to use the pulldown menu on the top navbar and navigate to the product you’re interested in.
Some of those subheadings, such as small business loans, will offer such tools as a loan calculator. Others, such as the line of credit section, go more in-depth on what it takes to qualify. As I mentioned above, you can also go to one of the lender review sections if you want to see what previous customers thought of their experience.
Customer Service & Technical Support
Rating: Excellent
If you need support, you can call LendingTree Monday-Thursday 8 AM-9 PM, Friday 8 AM-8 PM, or Saturday 10 AM-7 PM ET. You can also submit a ticket.
If you prefer to interact with the company through social media, you can follow LendingTree on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
User Reviews
Negative Reviews & Complaints
LendingTree has an A+ rating with the BBB, which is an improvement over its recent A- rating, which had been based on the company’s subpar response rate to complaints. So it sounds like LendingTree has had some growth in that area. Customer reviews of the company are mixed, with a slight tendency toward positive. Customer complaints include:
- Communication: Customers complained that customer service wasn’t always able to answer their questions.
- Quote System: Customers didn’t like having to submit their personal information before being able to evaluate the products.
- Aggressive Marketing: A prevalent complaint from customers was about receiving persistent calls after submitting their information on the site. Remember that your information is going to get passed around to a lot of different lending partners, so you may be setting yourself up to get a lot of phone calls from thirsty lenders.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
LendingTree has a 4.5 out of 5 TrustScore on Trustpilot. Customers liked:
- The Ease Of Use: Customers found the application process to be extremely easy.
- Customer Service: Most customers found LendingTree staff to be helpful.
- Decent Rates: A number of customers say they received good rates through LendingTree.
Final Verdict
LendingTree Business Loans
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LendingTree is a well-known, comprehensive service that can match most applicants to some kind of funding with relatively little fuss and pain. A few points of caution apply, however. The company doesn’t give you a lot of information to work with before submitting your information, and, after you do submit it, you can expect some pretty aggressive marketing until you sign.
Not convinced you want to go this route? We can get you started with our comparison charts for merchant cash advances and small business loans.
Erica Seppala
Erica is a writer based in Greenville, South Carolina. She is a graduate of Limestone College. Initially determined to be an accountant, she put away the calculator and picked up a laptop to pursue her dream of being a writer. Erica has spent the past 10 years writing blogs and articles for hundreds of private clients, and she loves sharing her love of research and the written word with everyone around her.
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