I was curious if anyone here had any positive/negative experiences with this site.

I'd be interested in lending only.

3/2/2007 2:46:08 PM

that seems like a really cool idea, but it also seems pretty sketchy

3/2/2007 2:52:00 PM

Yeah, found a good fatwallet thread and I doubt I'll sign up with the site now.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=654540

3/2/2007 2:56:38 PM

i read an article on wired about this yesterday that got me interested. i haven't decided whether or not i'm actually gonna try it--if i do, i'll let you know how it goes.

5/10/2007 5:18:03 AM

sounds like a brilliant idea. So how does it work exactly? Do you get your lump sum from one user or multiple users if you are a borrower? Or does it come from the site/company and the company takes it from several lenders per loan?

5/10/2007 6:25:34 AM

One of my coworkers uses it and has had some success with it.

Another similar one with a charitable twist is http://www.kiva.org

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/

The article describes how "Micro Loans" can help people in developing countries. They are a non-profit organization. Their Micro Loan program and gets people in touch with people in developing countries that need loans. The loan amounts are as little as $100 up to about $1K to $2K.

Kiva's loan repayment rate is 100% and world wide the repayment rate for Micro Loans in general is 97%.

I haven't tried it yet, but probably will in the near future.

5/10/2007 7:59:05 AM

what do you mean by "success"?

It sounds like you loan some money, and then hopefully get it back. You don't make any money of it (no tax breaks either)...atleast I don't see anything that says you do.

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 8:10 AM. Reason : d]

5/10/2007 8:06:09 AM

I love the folks in the FatWallet thread that seem surprised when someone seeking alternative loans is >30 days late on repayment

5/10/2007 8:11:22 AM

^^ they pay interest on the loans.

I mean success in that he has lent money out and had it repaid plus the interest.

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 8:15 AM. Reason : asgh]

5/10/2007 8:15:36 AM

oh, i just looked at kiva.org which does not charge interest and is not tax deductable and assumed they were all that way. my bad.



[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 8:21 AM. Reason : f]

5/10/2007 8:17:02 AM

Nah. On prosper you can find someone with a good rating asking for a 10% loan, but you could probably get the same returns and less risk in the marktet.

5/10/2007 8:25:23 AM

yeah, this seems like an interesting concept, but if the loan was low risk, they wouldnt be posting on the website.....they would already have the money through more traditional means.

5/10/2007 8:27:43 AM

it depends on the situation really...i can't even get a $200 overdraft account at the secu b/c my debt-income ratio is too high (student loans) even though my credit is great

5/10/2007 9:09:46 AM

lets be honest though, a credit score doesnt mean shit if you don't have the money to repay a loan.

5/10/2007 9:11:40 AM

if you're using the money to buy a car, then no, but if you're using it to consolidate credit cards which you've been paying on time, then it would seem to be a pretty good indicator

5/10/2007 9:19:36 AM