Comments on: LendingTree.com http://marc-bourassa.com/2009/02/01/lendingtreecom Reality from Marc's point of view! Sat, 19 May 2012 06:10:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Marc http://marc-bourassa.com/2009/02/01/lendingtreecom/comment-page-1#comment-7964 Marc Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:57:20 +0000 http://marc-bourassa.com/2009/02/01/lendingtreecom#comment-7964 Hey King, If you've got a job and good credit they're falling all over themselves to offer loans. I suppose somebody figured out that giving loans to folks who will pay them back might be a sound approach. Also, I suspect the vast majority of financial institutions have been acting responsibly - certainly the smaller ones - so it's business as usual. Something else that's bucking the trend is that my house appraised for fully 50% *more* than I expected it too. Looks like this is a pretty robust neighborhood. As far as business practices of banks go. I think any customer could easily see what kind of business practices their bank indulged in long before this supposed bail-out. I was briefly a customer of Bank of America, but they would ream you every which way but Sunday with fees and service charges. When you're doing business with someone and they treat you like an adversary from which to suck all life then it is time to move on. Which is what I did with them. My current bank, SunTrust, is a lot more reasonable for the basics. Their stock portfolio is laughable WRT service charges so I suppose no institution is perfect. As I reflect on it, my strategy in all things is to patronize institutions where they are reasonable and I do not indulge in their services where they are not, I will patronize someone else for those services. So my stocks are managed at one institution, my banking at another. And I could not see EVER bundling my services for things like cable, telephone and cellular service because those plans are set up to entice you in with good introductory rates and then seem to jump outrageously once they figure that you are committed. (rant mode off)<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7964','Marc'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('7964','Marc','Hey King,\r\n\r\nIf you\'ve got a job and good credit they\'re falling all over themselves to offer loans. I suppose somebody figured out that giving loans to folks who will pay them back might be a sound approach. Also, I suspect the vast majority of financial institutions have been acting responsibly - certainly the smaller ones - so it\'s business as usual.\r\n\r\nSomething else that\'s bucking the trend is that my house appraised for fully 50% *more* than I expected it too. Looks like this is a pretty robust neighborhood.\r\n\r\nAs far as business practices of banks go. I think any customer could easily see what kind of business practices their bank indulged in long before this supposed bail-out. I was briefly a customer of Bank of America, but they would ream you every which way but Sunday with fees and service charges. When you\'re doing business with someone and they treat you like an adversary from which to suck all life then it is time to move on. Which is what I did with them.\r\n\r\nMy current bank, SunTrust, is a lot more reasonable for the basics. Their stock portfolio is laughable WRT service charges so I suppose no institution is perfect. \r\n\r\nAs I reflect on it, my strategy in all things is to patronize institutions where they are reasonable and I do not indulge in their services where they are not, I will patronize someone else for those services. So my stocks are managed at one institution, my banking at another. And I could not see EVER bundling my services for things like cable, telephone and cellular service because those plans are set up to entice you in with good introductory rates and then seem to jump outrageously once they figure that you are committed.\r\n(rant mode off)'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Hey King,

If you’ve got a job and good credit they’re falling all over themselves to offer loans. I suppose somebody figured out that giving loans to folks who will pay them back might be a sound approach. Also, I suspect the vast majority of financial institutions have been acting responsibly – certainly the smaller ones – so it’s business as usual.

Something else that’s bucking the trend is that my house appraised for fully 50% *more* than I expected it too. Looks like this is a pretty robust neighborhood.

As far as business practices of banks go. I think any customer could easily see what kind of business practices their bank indulged in long before this supposed bail-out. I was briefly a customer of Bank of America, but they would ream you every which way but Sunday with fees and service charges. When you’re doing business with someone and they treat you like an adversary from which to suck all life then it is time to move on. Which is what I did with them.

My current bank, SunTrust, is a lot more reasonable for the basics. Their stock portfolio is laughable WRT service charges so I suppose no institution is perfect.

As I reflect on it, my strategy in all things is to patronize institutions where they are reasonable and I do not indulge in their services where they are not, I will patronize someone else for those services. So my stocks are managed at one institution, my banking at another. And I could not see EVER bundling my services for things like cable, telephone and cellular service because those plans are set up to entice you in with good introductory rates and then seem to jump outrageously once they figure that you are committed.
(rant mode off)

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]]> By: King http://marc-bourassa.com/2009/02/01/lendingtreecom/comment-page-1#comment-7963 King Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:53:27 +0000 http://marc-bourassa.com/2009/02/01/lendingtreecom#comment-7963 1. You have 2 banks willing to give(loan) you money? The news keeps saying banks aren't giving any credit and that is what's wrong with the economy. 2. What (if any) weighting are you giving to the 'business practices' of the banks to your decision as to which one to use? i.e. would you do business with one that took the govenment handout and used it for bonuses? would you do business with a bank that needed a bailout vs a bank that did not need to be bailed out? Just curious.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('7963','King'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('7963','King','1. You have 2 banks willing to give(loan) you money? The news keeps saying banks aren\'t giving any credit and that is what\'s wrong with the economy. \r\n2. What (if any) weighting are you giving to the \'business practices\' of the banks to your decision as to which one to use? i.e. would you do business with one that took the govenment handout and used it for bonuses?\r\nwould you do business with a bank that needed a bailout vs a bank that did not need to be bailed out?\r\n\r\nJust curious.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> 1. You have 2 banks willing to give(loan) you money? The news keeps saying banks aren’t giving any credit and that is what’s wrong with the economy.
2. What (if any) weighting are you giving to the ‘business practices’ of the banks to your decision as to which one to use? i.e. would you do business with one that took the govenment handout and used it for bonuses?
would you do business with a bank that needed a bailout vs a bank that did not need to be bailed out?

Just curious.

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