Lending Tree & Rocket Mortgage: The basics
LendingTree: The Marketplace Aggregator LendingTree is an online marketplace that connects borrowers with multiple lenders. Unlike Rocket Mortgage, LendingTree doesn’t lend directly. Instead, you input your information, and they sell it to the highest bidder—lenders who then compete for your business by offering their best rates and terms. It’s a convenient way to shop around, but it won’t show you “all lenders” (only those that pay to advertise on their channels), and you could be getting a lot of sales calls after you click submit.
Rocket Mortgage: The Call Center Dynamo. Rocket Mortgage, formerly Quicken Loans, is a giant in retail lending. With billions poured into marketing, they’re hard to miss. But don’t be fooled by their shiny ads—Rocket’s rates can be higher and fees sneakier. Their average loan size is bigger, and their customer reviews come in at 3.8 stars. Impressive, but still a step behind the best-in-class lenders.
Tomo Mortgage: Launched in 2020, Tomo Mortgage is here to shake up the industry. We offer killer rates, zero lender fees, and a process that’s all about making home buying easy and stress-free. Our customer reviews? 4+ starts on every review platform: Consumer Affairs, Google, Bankrate, Zillow, etc. We’re not just a breath of fresh air—we’re a whole new way of doing things.
The breakdown
| Lending Tree | Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans) | Tomo Mortgage | |
| Summary | LendingTree is a platform that connects borrowers with multiple lenders who compete to offer the best rates. It sounds ideal, but there’s a downside—any lender can purchase your information, leading to a flood of sales calls from multiple lenders’ teams. With a Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating of just 1.05 out of 5 stars, not everyone is a fan. | As the second largest retail lender in the U.S., Rocket Mortgage spends more than any other lender on sales and marketing (billions since 2020). This approach is popular among less informed new home buyers, largely unaware of Rocket’s higher rates and hidden fees. (the typical loan at Rocket averaged $4,700 in lender fees*) | One of the fastest-growing digital lenders in the U.S., Tomo Mortgage focusses 100% on reducing the cost and complexity of buying a home. ($0 in origination fees) Their low rates, no fees, and quick turnaround generate strong customer reviews. |
| Founded | 1996 | 1985 | 2020 |
| On-time Close Rate | NA | Not reported | 98% |
| Customer Reviews | 1.0 Stars on Consumer Affairs | 3.8 stars on Consumer Affairs | 5.0 stars on Consumer Affairs |
| Employee reviews | 3.5 stars | 3.5 stars | 4.1 stars |
How to judge mortgage lenders
- Interest rates: Don’t get fooled by flashy numbers. Always compare the “par rate” with 0 points and check out the APR (Annual Percentage Rate). This is your real cost of borrowing, so get the full picture before signing up.
- Lender fees: Also called “origination fees” or “application and processing fees, which Rocket Mortgage charge over $4,700 in per loan. At Tomo Mortgage, we’re lender fee-free, saving you thousands of dollars at closing.
- On-time close rate: This is how often lenders actually close on the promised date. Industry standard? About 40%. But Tomo Mortgage –flexing a 98% on-time close rate, and we’re proud of it. Other lenders don’t even bother to share this info, but it’s a huge deal.
- Pre approvals: While some lenders don’t take the time necessary to prepare a strong pre approval and offer letter, this is critical to making a successful offer on a new home. Tomo Mortgage’s online pre approval only takes 15 minutes, and it includes a soft credit check—but way more reliable when you’re making an offer on a home.
- Customer satisfaction: If you’re finding it tough to trust what lenders are telling you, one of the best ways to gauge their reliability is by looking at reviews from people who were once in your shoes. Did those customers have a smooth experience with the lender? What went right—or wrong?
- Employee reviews: Insights into employee satisfaction can reveal a company’s values and transparency. Unhappy employees often lead to bad overall experiences. (See what their engineers have to say, for example.)
The verdict?
Rocket Mortgage is great if you want a slick, tech-driven experience and don’t mind paying a bit (or a lot) extra for it. LendingTree can be nice for those who want to shop around and compare offers, but they’re one among many different price-compare websites out there (LendingTree, Bankrate, NerdWallet, and Realtor.com, among dozens of others, offer ways to compare rates across different mortgage lenders).
For most people the most important factor is the rate. We were curious to see how Tomo Mortgage’s APR (annual percentage rate) stacked up against Rocket Mortgage, so we looked at three Zip codes for two weeks on Nerdwallet (where we could compare apples-to-apples on loan scenarios). Using the median home sale price for each location, a credit score range of fair at 680, and with putting 5% down.
In this scenario, from August 7 to August 20, 2024, Rocket’s average APR was 7.64%, while Tomo Mortgage’s average APR was 6.26%.
So, we’re obviously biased, but we’d say don’t choose Rocket Mortgage or one of the many lenders from Lending Tree. Tomo Mortgage has lower rates, lower fees, and better reviews. It’s a pretty obvious choice.
*sources: Business Insider Mortgage Reviews: Rocket Mortgage, and HMDA data from 2023
If you’re ready to start your journey to homeownership, get pre approved with Tomo Mortgage today.
