We first contacted QuickenLoans since they had refinanced us once before and we had liked the process – quick and painless. We got a quote from our contact there, for a 15 year fixed rate loan taking out some of the equity from our house to pay for the roof and kitchen work.

Then, we also contacted LendingTree.com, since I had heard their ads on NPR about “when banks compete, you win”. The process of filling out their site was easy enough, but the real process didn’t begin until I got a call from one of their lending specialists.

He explained that basically, the banks that deal with LendingTree have an arrangement that says that if there is a better offer, they have to beat it. So, having an offer in-hand from the Quicken guy was helpful, and in the end we focused our attention on minimizing the closing costs, even if it meant a little bit higher interest rate.

We liked the overall process, it took about 3 1/2 weeks total from start to finish, and the check for our cash-out arrived just the other day. All in all, I’d have to say that LendingTree provided a good service and value, and we now have a solid new mortgage.