# Online community loan sites **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646 "2011-10-14T16:57:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/1 "2011-10-14T16:57:12Z")
I’m talking about sites like [http://www.prosper.com/](http://www.prosper.com/) where users can either invest their money to individuals/small businesses via loans, or request loans. Anyone used these as either a lender or to get a loan, any feedback on these sites? I’m curious how they work and actual experiences with them. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/2 "2011-10-14T19:54:09Z")
I use [prosper.com](http://prosper.com). Found out about it in 2009 and put in $100 just out of curiosity. Today I have $120, all of it reinvested back into loans. So far I have not had anyone not pay me back. Usually someone will ask to borrow a few thousand dollars, set an interest rate they are comfortable with, and lenders can can bid to put money into that loan in $50 increments. I don’t know how the delinquency/default procedure works since I’ve never participated in a loan that went bust. Lenders are treated very well, the fees are negligible and you can start with as little as $50. I don’t know how well prosper would fare as a for-real investment vehicle, but its great for learning how lending works in the US, they hold your hand through every step of lending money to someone and provide lots of reference literature. If I wasn’t worried about having to buy a new car in a year or two I might be tempted to pump a few thousand into high risk high interest loans and see what happens, but that would be closer to gambling then investing. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/3 "2011-10-14T20:44:14Z")
Thanks for the feedback! How long did it take you to get your $120 from the $100 loan? Also interested in anyone who got a loan as well. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/4 "2011-10-14T23:41:29Z")
I did the online loan thing at [kiva.org](http://kiva.org) for about three years, just a rotating $50 loan. It usually got “paid back” within six months, then I reloaned it. I love the concept, but walked away from kiva (leaving the $50 behind of course) last year after it was disclosed they were being [somewhat less than honest about their pactices](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/business/global/09kiva.html). > [@](#): > > …lenders like Mr. Kristof were not making direct loans. Borrowers like Ms. Cruz already have loans from microfinance institutions by the time their pictures are posted on Kiva’s Web site. > > Thus, the direct person-to-person connection Kiva offered was in fact an illusion. Kiva’s lenders were actually backstopping microfinance institutions, and since Kiva and other online giving and lending models pride themselves on their transparency, Mr. Roodman and others suggested it might better explain what its lenders’ money — about $100 million over four years — was really doing. > > “The person-to-person donor-to-borrower connections created by Kiva are partly fictional,” he wrote. “I suspect that most Kiva users do not realize this.” I still think it’s a fantastic idea, and now that you’ve brought it up I think I’ll give it another whirl - not with kiva, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/5 "2011-10-15T02:24:21Z")
I’ve got a little money on loan at kiva. There’s also a separate thread dealing with Lending Club (similar to Prosper). My understanding was that at least at first, Prosper’s model didn’t work too well for the investors - they rated loans incorrectly and overall, few lenders were making any money. Lending Club’s statistics are a little misleading but seem to be a bit tighter, overall. I’m still on the winning side, lending-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/6 "2011-10-15T12:06:37Z")
It took me 2 years to go 100 to 120, but my money was just sitting there not invested in loans for about 8 months, prosper ran into some legal troubles in my state and told me I couldn’t lend anymore. The issue seems to be resolved now. All in all my prosper investment seems to be beating the S&P500 over the last 2 years, but comes with substantially more risk. It is also nowhere near beating the rate of return I get on my pretax 401K contributions, which I am not maxing out right now, so for me its a no brainer where any extra money I get is gonna go. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/online-community-loan-sites/599646/7 "2011-10-16T20:46:53Z")
I both lend at Lending Club and have a loan from them. If you want to apply for a loan and get me a bound you can ask me for a referral code.