Friday, April 30, 2010

Prosper Under Maintenance

Prosper


Prosper Under Maintenance

We are currently making enhancements to our site starting at 6:00 PM Pacific, Friday, April 30, 2010, and should be back online by 10:00 PM Pacific, Sunday, May 2, 2010.

While the site is under maintenance, none of your information will be lost or forgotten. Thank you for your patience.

Regards,
Prosper

Monday, January 4, 2010

2009 Results In Borrowers "Prosper"ing

Happy New Year!

While I recognize that the results for 2009 will be a little bit skewed because not all the capital was deposited at once and not all the loans funded the same day, it is easier to look at this on a calendar year basis.  2010 should be a more obvious rate of return.

Here are some milestones:

1st funds transfer initiated on 10/14/09

1st funds received in Prosper account on 10/20/09
(EXACTLY as Prosper predicted in their email to me)

1st loan funded for $25.00 (my portion) on 10/28/09

1st payment of 1.13 posted on 11/13/09 (early!)

1st complete repayment of a loan for 26.06 (extremely quick) on 11/17/09

Total interest received in 2009 - $9.88

All loans are current and I have $17.91 available to bid. When I have $25.00 available to bid I plan on purchasing another note fraction.  Currently I have 25 active notes.

My account total is $659.88 as I added another $100 in December. Next time I'll figure the simplified interest rate. Click on here or on the title of this post to visit Prosper.com to loan or borrow.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Loan Payments So Far So Good

Earlier this month I was reading a post from a guy a few years ago who decided to stop investing at Prosper because his returns were better than a bank, but not what he expected.  He thought that for the risk he was taking, he should be getting better than 8%.  He related that he was disappointed at the number of people who had defaulted on their loans which caused his overall return to drop.  Keep in mind that even after all the defaults his return was around 8%.

There are a lot of people who would be happy with a return of 7% or more.  Still, I am striving for more and looking for ways to invest in people and still get a good or even great return.

While I am definitely new to loaning dinero at Prosper, I have not yet had anyone stop paying on a loan.  If this trend continues I will be receiving much more than 8% on my money.

You have the option to look at each loan individually and decide to take a risk on a real person instead of simply going by the numbers.  I do not mean to say that the numbers mean nothing, but they are only one factor.  This is the method I choose as I am of the opinion that this will increase my skill of making profitable loans over time.

As of this morning I have received payments of 1.12, .18, .91, 2.29, 1.05, .91, 1.08, 1.01, 1.10, .22, 1.10, .98 and one complete repayment of 26.06.  There are also 5 more payments in process, which I assume means that these payments have left the financial institution of the borrower and are somewhere in between there and my account at Prosper.  I encourage you to invest in people by loaning to them.

In my back office at Prosper the line that reads Gain/Loss to date equals 5.53.

All numbers above are in dollars and cents.


If I can do this, so can you.  Keep in mind that you could lose money.  I hope you don't. 

I am currently in the black.


 Click here or on the title of this post to visit Prosper.com and find out more about how to make a profit loaning money to real people.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

What Were You Doing Two Years Ago?

While this blog is new, I have been blogging at theBigManWalking.blogspot.com for nearly two years.  I encourage you and everyone to get more exercise.  Start with walking if that's where you're at.  Here's an edited entry from early January, 2008:

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I feel better already. I decided to get moving in 2008 and from January 1-5 I've done over 12 miles total. I've been wearing a pedometer since last summer. If you've never worn a pedometer, you can get used to it. It's second nature to me now. I remember to put it on my belt 90% of the time or more.

I recommend recording your progress every day, which I started doing in 2008.  I find daily records help inspire me.

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By looking back I am reminded that I need to go get a pedometer again.  I have gotten out of the habit and I am now reminded of how much it helps. 

We can also learn about our financial outlook by looking back a couple years.  What were you doing that was working two years ago?  What were you doing that didn't work out?  Did you learn from it?  Was it a systemic problem or just a small (or big) glitch?

As we look to the future, what criteria do we use for investments?  If I am loaning people money and expecting a good return,  do I have a method that allows me to pick better candidates with a larger reward for the risk involved?  Am I satisfied with less because I see myself as doing some good?  Will that be o.k. with me in the future?

Interesting questions...

Click on the title of this post to learn more about Prosper.com.

Click here to do some good.  Even if you don't donate, please register and be a cheerleader.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Four Minutes Return Email

OK.  Now I'm impressed.  Again. I just sent an email to Prosper and received a response in under five minutes.

That's great communication.

Start Up Solo Law Firm Needs Cash

Today's headline comes straight from one of the borrowers to whom I have loaned. 

There are numerous reasons for a borrower to use Prosper.com.  Some refinance existing debt.  Some would simply rather owe the money to real, live human beings instead of a faceless corporation.  Others need capital for a business, whether a start-up or an existing business.  I saw a church get a loan for about 11% to complete the purchase of a building.  Still others with excellent credit actually get low interest loans and re-loan the money to other Prosper borrowers.

No matter what the purpose of the loan I find it exciting that the payments are now coming in.  So far I have had 1 borrower completely pay off his auto loan in a few days.  I assume that he refinanced at a lower rate once he got the loan through Prosper.  In addition, I have received 5 payments on time and currently there are 8 more payments being processed.  I have also received one very early payment from a Kiva.org borrower and not one borrower is late.

This seems like a really good time to do some good and make a good return.


Click here or on the title of this post to explore loan possibilities (as a lender or a borrower) at Prosper.com.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Prosper Communicates Well

If you're like me, you want to have timely and accurate information regarding what's going on with your money.  I like that Prosper instantly sends you an email to let you know if your loan offer is outbid.  Below is one of the first notices I received.  Click here or on the title of this post to visit Prosper.com.


From: Prosper (No reply)
Received: Oct-22-2009 3:37 PM PDT
To: Toastmaster007
Subject: You were outbid! Listing #XXXXX
Dear Charles,

You have been outbid. This means that other lenders bid at a lower yield percentage. By bidding your minimum rate from the onset, you can help prevent having to rebid your offer should another lender outbid you later.

If you want you can bid again now:


Helpful links:

Title: Paying off CitiBank Mastercard
Listing #: XXXXXX
Amount requested: $7,500.00
Current yield: 15.30%
Listing ends: Oct-22-2009 3:57 PM PDT
Time left: 0d 0h 19m

Your bid amount: $25.00
Your minimum bid yield: 15.32%

Regards,
Prosper 



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You can see that my minimum bid on this particular loan was 15.32% and when all the bidders collectively pushed the rate below that my bid was null and void.  When Prosper sends this email it gives you a chance to bid again at a lower interest rate if there is still time left.  If you look closely you will see that when I received this email there were only 19 minutes left to bid.  If you are serious about a particular loan you need to stay on top of it.