We’ve all seen the commercials for Lending Tree, where family members and long-time bank customers give the bank mortgage agent the bad news that they are using Lending Tree to finance their home purchase.

When banks compete, you win.  But is this really the case?

The XBroker says that eLenders don’t give you the best deal, just the agent most likely to pay for the privilege of representing you.  He’s pretty sharp about his criticism, but make sure you do the research yourself. 

E-lenders are likely to be much more expensive than a local
mortgage brokerage or bank. Most of them are mortgage bankers (also
called Direct Lenders), who have the very special privilege of not being required to disclose all fees associated with obtaining a mortgage.  This is more than just opinion…click this  comparison between DiTech and Wholesale Direct Rates.

The problem revolves around the type of mortgage lender you are using.  All fees are not required to be disclosed with some lenders, so like focusing on the monthly payment when you have a car, focusing just on the rate is a sure fire way to spend thousands more.