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christoofar

Are you PROSPERING? I'm addicted to this website!

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Need to borrow money but the banks won't even talk to you?

Gotta replace your main, get a new reserve? Did BofA jack up the interest rate on your card and now your other cards are going up, too?

Do you got a brother who hits you up for money and promises to pay you back?


Check this out... the place is called Propser.

I've been looking for skydivers and pilots who need to borrow money. For example, I found this girl who wants to start her PPL/CPL.


This is more addictive than Myspace or Facebook! As a lender, I look for people who have a good chance of paying their debt off, and I lend in small amounts ($50). You bid on loans like eBay.

If you need to borrow money, you fill out a loan app and put up a listing, again like selling something on eBay.

If you make your listing attractive, and your credit history isn't bad--more people will be attracted to bid on your loan. When your loan is 100% funded by strangers and the time hasn't yet expired... people can still come in and bid on your loan, but at a lower interest rate. So, if your highest credit card is at 30%, you can put your credit card consolidation loan at a maximum of 29% and let the bidding begin. You can get a HUGE savings on your interest rate this way!


I wouldn't sink my retirement money into Prosper, but instead of putting money into crappy low-interest 1-year CDs I've been doing this instead. When you loan money out, it is locked in to the borrower.

But, as a borrower pays off the loan to Prosper, you receive each payment into your Prosper account which includes the principal plus interest.

You can re-invest those payments back into other loans, or if you want the cash, just a couple clicks will move the Prosper money back into your bank account.

Oh... and as a borrower--it works out just like a bank. Your credit report gets pulled, your payments DO reflect on your credit report (so that's a HUGE plus if you're rebuilding credit), but also if you default, you will go into collections/recovery. Money that is recovered in a default is still payed back to Propser.com lenders who gave you the money.

Any late fees/charges, that you owe to Prosper are redistributed to lenders as well. Prosper makes its money by taking a spread between the APR of what the borrower actually pays, and the interest rate you as the lender actually get (0-1%).

Pretty neat, no? :P



Here's a video that explains how it works (it's a cartoon).


This is a cool way to do financing and it gets rid of the banks! Wee! :P

I feel like a Communist. :ph34r:

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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Here's tips on increasing your chances of getting a loan funded through Prosper


Unfortunately, Prosper can't allow interest rates on Promissory Notes go above 6% in Pennsylvania, so I can't use Prosper to borrow money yet, but for now I'm using it to lend people money.


If you guys need endorsements on your loans, let me know!

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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Heya!

I know it's been forever :P I got insomnia at 5 in the morning (on a Saturday, no less).

Skydiving season in the Philly area hasn't geared up yet (it's 0C/32F outside!!). B|

Yours truly hasn't had a shoulder dislocation in years now, and I think it's time to get back in. :P


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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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* All loans are made by Prosper Marketplace, Inc. and sold to winning bidders registered as lenders with Prosper. Prosper "lenders" are loan purchasers. Each lender's results will differ depending on the default rate of the lender's portfolio, and may vary over the 3-year term of the loans. Loans and returns on loans are not FDIC-insured and have no Prosper guarantee. Loans may lose value.

The guys running this are getting their money right off the top. There may be some success stories out there, but this one has the red warning light flashing on overdrive.

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* All loans are made by Prosper Marketplace, Inc. and sold to winning bidders registered as lenders with Prosper. Prosper "lenders" are loan purchasers. Each lender's results will differ depending on the default rate of the lender's portfolio, and may vary over the 3-year term of the loans. Loans and returns on loans are not FDIC-insured and have no Prosper guarantee. Loans may lose value.

The guys running this are getting their money right off the top. There may be some success stories out there, but this one has the red warning light flashing on overdrive.



The loans themselves are Promissory Notes, which is the bank equivalent of a signature loan. Sig loans these days are not going to be anywhere below 8% for even the best of borrowers--if you can get them.

Promissory notes aren't guaranteed investments, they're simply IOUs (loans). So you have to do what any other lender does, review who is asking for the loan.

Prosper itself is a loan servicer, which means they make their money by running the bidding, the settling, and the subrogation of collections. There's a borrower and a lender fee. The borrower's APR is adjusted for the pro-rata fee and also the closing cost is subtracted from the deposit, and on the lender site, the APR is at a spread below what the borrower is actually paying, which is Propser's cut from the loan.


But if you're stuck with credit card debt in the 20s or high teens and you close a Prosper loan at 4 to 8 points below that amount... you're saving a huge amount of money as a borrower, no?

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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* All loans are made by Prosper Marketplace, Inc. and sold to winning bidders registered as lenders with Prosper. Prosper "lenders" are loan purchasers. Each lender's results will differ depending on the default rate of the lender's portfolio, and may vary over the 3-year term of the loans. Loans and returns on loans are not FDIC-insured and have no Prosper guarantee. Loans may lose value.

The guys running this are getting their money right off the top. There may be some success stories out there, but this one has the red warning light flashing on overdrive.



The loans themselves are Promissory Notes, which is the bank equivalent of a signature loan. Sig loans these days are not going to be anywhere below 8% for even the best of borrowers--if you can get them.

Promissory notes aren't guaranteed investments, they're simply IOUs (loans). So you have to do what any other lender does, review who is asking for the loan.

Prosper itself is a loan servicer, which means they make their money by running the bidding, the settling, and the subrogation of collections. There's a borrower and a lender fee. The borrower's APR is adjusted for the pro-rata fee and also the closing cost is subtracted from the deposit, and on the lender site, the APR is at a spread below what the borrower is actually paying, which is Propser's cut from the loan.


But if you're stuck with credit card debt in the 20s or high teens and you close a Prosper loan at 4 to 8 points below that amount... you're saving a huge amount of money as a borrower, no?


Absolutely.
It kind of came across as you saying being a "lender" through this site is a good investment. This is a great thing for the borrower and the website. The people buying these loans are totally out of their minds, but the old saying will remain true through the end of time.

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* All loans are made by Prosper Marketplace, Inc. and sold to winning bidders registered as lenders with Prosper. Prosper "lenders" are loan purchasers. Each lender's results will differ depending on the default rate of the lender's portfolio, and may vary over the 3-year term of the loans. Loans and returns on loans are not FDIC-insured and have no Prosper guarantee. Loans may lose value.

The guys running this are getting their money right off the top. There may be some success stories out there, but this one has the red warning light flashing on overdrive.



The loans themselves are Promissory Notes, which is the bank equivalent of a signature loan. Sig loans these days are not going to be anywhere below 8% for even the best of borrowers--if you can get them.

Promissory notes aren't guaranteed investments, they're simply IOUs (loans). So you have to do what any other lender does, review who is asking for the loan.

Prosper itself is a loan servicer, which means they make their money by running the bidding, the settling, and the subrogation of collections. There's a borrower and a lender fee. The borrower's APR is adjusted for the pro-rata fee and also the closing cost is subtracted from the deposit, and on the lender site, the APR is at a spread below what the borrower is actually paying, which is Propser's cut from the loan.


But if you're stuck with credit card debt in the 20s or high teens and you close a Prosper loan at 4 to 8 points below that amount... you're saving a huge amount of money as a borrower, no?


Absolutely.
It kind of came across as you saying being a "lender" through this site is a good investment. This is a great thing for the borrower and the website. The people buying these loans are totally out of their minds, but the old saying will remain true through the end of time.



You're absolutely correct.

You ARE out of your mibd if you think this is a wise way to invest in retirement. FAR from it.

However, interest rate cuts and the dropping dollar makes CDs a worthless investment now. Money Markets accounts at the bank are just as bad. BUT... CDs are backed up, and T-bills (Treasury Direct) are also backed up... so if you are very risk averse... don't lend money.

So instead of buying CDs like I have been doing, I am switching over to this. But the lion's share of my investment money is going to my IRA. I also have a stock trading account.

Both my IRA and my stock portfolio have been crap the last 6 mo, but I'm playing the long-term game.

Prosper is a different story. There's no "financial planner" in the picture, and most of your decisions on the site as to who to lend to are emotional.


Since I know skydivers and pilots, if you guys are looking at loans instead of running up the credit cards to buy equipment in addition to saving up for it, I'm very open to lend to skydivers.

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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Since I know skydivers and pilots, if you guys are looking at loans instead of running up the credit cards to buy equipment in addition to saving up for it, I'm very open to lend to skydivers.


So you are actively seeking out people who:
- share a hobby common to yours
- have either gotten themselves in financial difficulty or seek to purchase something they can't currently afford
- can't get backing from more traditional financial institutions
- have a history of financial trouble and/or poor financial decision making
- are seeking loans with no collateral or recourse.

Sorry man, but if this is your idea of a good use of your spare money, you're more likely than not to get what you've got coming to you.

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If I had a good credit rating, it would be an interesting way to make some money without investing any. Taking out a loan at 7% and relending at 25% would be interesting. Sounds kind of dodgy though.



It is risky. There are people on Prosper (and Lending Club) who are doing this.

LendingClub is stricter and uses a schedule of APRs.

Prosper is anything goes. There is a "bid" and an "ask" which is like a stock. You set a maximum ask price for your loan, the maximum APR you are willing to pay. As a lender, there is a "bid" price, which is the lowest APR and amount of money you are willing to bid on the loan. Prosper has the Facebook look and feel to it, but it works exactly like eBay... once your loan is fully funded and the clock ticks towards expiration, other lenders can come in and underbid the people who funded your loan and knock them off your loan listing... that is what lowers your interest rate.

If you have awesome credit (FICO 750 and higher), your rates on wiping off credit card debt can get VERY good. If the credit card companies were charging you 17% on your cards, you can get it as low as 7% on a fixed payment schedule amortized out 36 months. You aren't going to get that kind of savings even on a 0% APR card, unless you have the expectation that you are going to pay off that debt within the 6 to 12 months that the bank underwriting your credit card will keep that balance transfer at zero, with little or no financing fees.

More than half of Prosper loans are credit card consolidation. There's also small business, people buying vehicles (like motorcycles, etc), college expenses, tax debt, etc. I tend to make my loans one person at a time, while some other people choose to use a "portfolio" which is a set of factors you want to automatically bid out on loans to, such as people with only perfect credit with no lates/public records, or people asking for interest rates over 15%, what have you.

Because this is microlending, the idea is that you put your risk into small amounts spread over a very large group of loans. Don't drop $500 on one loan asking for 22% and then expect it to perform. You're taking a risk on that one person not running into financial trouble down the road in 3 years; and you don't know what could happen to that guy.

Instead, loans in $50 increments spread over 10 people is less risky, with interest spreads between 12% and 30%. 3 people out of those 10 could default or fall behind on payments and later catch up, and you still come out a winner.

As far as putting any significant amount of your nest egg into Prosper? NO WAY. Lenders who are putting money in Prosper should only be those people who are not risk averse, and wouldn't be the kind of people to get a heart attack in Atlantic City if they didn't come back with more money than they drove there with.


I've been putting some of my Atlantic City money into Prosper, and this summer I get rid of the car. I pay $175 a month in monthly garage fees to keep my car in the city, and I'm going to use that money I'm wasting on my car to plow back into Prosper.

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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Since I know skydivers and pilots, if you guys are looking at loans instead of running up the credit cards to buy equipment in addition to saving up for it, I'm very open to lend to skydivers.


So you are actively seeking out people who:
- share a hobby common to yours
- have either gotten themselves in financial difficulty or seek to purchase something they can't currently afford
- can't get backing from more traditional financial institutions
- have a history of financial trouble and/or poor financial decision making
- are seeking loans with no collateral or recourse.

Sorry man, but if this is your idea of a good use of your spare money, you're more likely than not to get what you've got coming to you.


You don't think I don't know what I'm investing in? :P

It's one step up from lending money to relatives. If you default, your credit gets socked and you do fall into collections/junk-debt buyers.

And no, I'm not lending to people who are in over their heads. Bank card utilization rates that are really high, DTI that's high and income that's mediocre are never wise people to lend money to.

But... BUT... if my brother hits me up asking me for money, I'm going to force him to go to Prosper instead and I'll put in a bid for his loan. But I'm not forking over 100% of it and having to do the "collections" work myself. [BITCH WHERE MY MONEY?!] :D

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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Yeah, I could have also bought some BSC a few months ago in my E-Trade account and expected it to perform. :PB|

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Since I know skydivers and pilots, if you guys are looking at loans instead of running up the credit cards to buy equipment in addition to saving up for it, I'm very open to lend to skydivers.


So you are actively seeking out people who:
- share a hobby common to yours
- have either gotten themselves in financial difficulty or seek to purchase something they can't currently afford
- can't get backing from more traditional financial institutions
- have a history of financial trouble and/or poor financial decision making
- are seeking loans with no collateral or recourse.

Sorry man, but if this is your idea of a good use of your spare money, you're more likely than not to get what you've got coming to you.


____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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JohnnyD: You are 100% correct on risk. Have you gone to www.lendingstate.com?


DONT DO what this poor soul did. Look at his bleak portfolio... invested almost his whole kitty on HR loans.

And here's one guy who is doing rather well.


I've looked at his bids, and most of the time he picks and chooses from a menu of good credit history borrowers. Some Prosper.com lenders actually use this site to follow the activity of lenders who are doing well and then shadow their lending activity.

This is more fun than the sports book at the casinos :P


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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Ok - I see where you're coming from.
My only advise is to draw a line in the sand as to how much you are putting into this. If you roll your profits back in - fine, but set a very hard limit on what you put in and if you end up losing it, do NOT put any more in.

Have fun. Can you post up your activity so it can be tracked? That would be interesting.

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Will do.

Once I get all the starter money into there, I'll put up a URL to my lending ID so you can see it on LendingStats. You can track individual lenders performance and borrowers. They also have a bunch of other playbook data, like loan performance vs. occupation (browse around for it), there's P2P detractor blogs.


I think as a sociology buff the excitement mostly is watching all the interactions going on between people. These sites rely on crowd theory to work, so LC or Propser benefit in either an up or a down market if there's an oversupply of borrowers (lender's market) or a oversupply of lenders (borrower's market).


This is more fun than putting $500 down on "red" at the Roulette table and crossing my fingers. :)


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I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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Ok - I see where you're coming from.
My only advise is to draw a line in the sand as to how much you are putting into this. If you roll your profits back in - fine, but set a very hard limit on what you put in and if you end up losing it, do NOT put any more in.

Have fun. Can you post up your activity so it can be tracked? That would be interesting.



I sometimes feel so glad that I don't ever do business with Citibank.

If you have any money or owe money to Citibank, you should be really worried about its health, and Price Alaweed's ability to save the bank from eating itself alive.

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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I can't put a listing up. It sucks having no credit.



Oy. I'm in Pennsylvania and the lend cap is 6%. I'm not even gonna try to borrow unless I score above 740 >:(


If you have zero credit (no history at all), one way to start is to look for a secured credit card. You have to be VERY careful though which one you get--because lots of them have really stupid fees. A secured credit card is basically putting money that you own and giving it over to a bank, who gives you a visa/mastercard.

In exchange for that, they charge you interest (at ridiculous rates), sock you with annual fees... but they will put credit history on your report for you. When you start getting card offers in the mail, choose ONE credit card and transfer the balance from the secured credit card over to the normal card.

Keep the secured card open for a year and then close it [cut the card up after you transfer the balance].

Voila. Established credit history.


Ruin your credit, and you can forget ever buying a house, or applying for work in any financial institution or any job with a financial capacity because most employers now run credit checks.


I cannot wait to see what happens when all these foreclosed people do when they run into employment barriers because of their defaults. Employers never checked for credit back in 1990 to get a job, now everbody does.

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

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