Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

That`s how I felt. It seems to me that a lot of these people are really enjoying lording it over our heads that we need money and they can make us jump through hoops to get it. They really want to know a lot of really personal stuff, like my budget and specifics about my credit history.

I mean, they expect you to post your paystubs, credit report, etc. and we don`t even know who they are! And there is also no guarantee that they will fund you once you do expose yourself to their scrutiny.

I hope I don`t sound bitter. I think Prosper is a GREAT idea. I just think it`s misrepresented. Instead of a place where "people help people," it`s actually a place where people make money off of other people. Plain and simple.

And, you`re welcome Cole. I`m glad I could help.

Robert,

I am using the word "they" to refer to potential lenders on Prosper.  I usually do not have a problem with a possible investor asking for financial information, in most cases we are talking about larger sums of money. In this case when a person is talking about $50 I am more hesitant. If I loan a person $50 I am not going to ask them for their past two years income statements. These statements contain a lot of information that a dishonest person could easily use to get money based on my credit. I guess that is what I was trying to say in my previous post.

I`m referring to the people who have responded to my posts in the Prosper forum, where I asked for feedback on my listing(s). Not a single one of them was interested in why I`m asking for funding. The vast majority wanted to know about my credit history and household budget.

It would seem that the biggest thing working against me is that my state has a relatively low rate cap (18%, which Prosper bumps down, automatically, to 17%). That mixed with my less than stellar credit history has apparently made my chances just about nonexistent.

I`m not complaining, mind you. If I was in a lender`s position, I might act the same way. I`m just disillusioned with what I thought the site was for--to help people like me who can`t go to a bank for assistance.

I just want to reiterate that I`m not bashing the people on Prosper. This is just the first time that I`ve encountered that type of behavior (strangers asking for extremely personal information). I know it sounds like I`m from another planet, but this is new to me.

See, I don`t have bad credit because I`m a bad spender who has overexeeded her limits (okay, maybe once but it wasn`t by very much). I have "bad credit" because I never bothered to get any. I

I`ve never been interested in owning a lot of stuff, or getting involved in the whole financial game. I keep my life extremely simple. So I`ve never even been asked by a bank or any other type of loan officer for this type of stuff. It`s offputting to see people I don`t know demanding access to such personal information.

Unfortunately, my naivete is apparently stopping me from getting funded now that I`m finally moving forward with an idea that`s been in the making for most of my life. I foolishly didn`t have the foresight to build an empire along the way. I was too busy chasing a dream to care about material things.

Oh, well. It will happen some other way, I guess. But mark my words. It will happen.

I joined prosper so i can find some funding to help me with one of my projects earlier this year.  I got accepted to the largest group.

when i finally asked for funding, it came back that they couldn`t fund me because I live in Nevada.   ???  What the heck is that all about???

I never got a response for that question...

jerik

 

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Cu Gelert - The Legend ... If you`d like to know the value of money, go and borrow some... It is especially hard to work for money that you`ve already spent, on things that you never needed... Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!

Well I was excited when i heard about Prosper on another msg board. It just so happened that the board was based on credit building methods. I figured i would get all my ducks in a row before I atemped to seek ay funding there. So after a few months of going though my credit reports with a fine toothed comb Ive got all clean reports. Actually I`m down to 2 tradelines, both paid off over ten years ago, so there no recent activity. I am pretty much a ghost on paper lol. I read a post on the prosper msg board about having No credit is totally worse than having bad credit. They said something to the effect of ," for all we know you could have been in jail so long all your tradlines are gone..." i thought that was funny.

But here`s the thing. If you follow their guide lines, it does not hurt you to try. Who cares about peoples opinions. And if you get funded, good for you! if you don`t. It doesn`t hurt as much as sitting in the bank with the suits hovering over you like your some dead beat telling you, "No Mr/Mrs. [your name here], unfortunately we cannot fund your loan at this time........ Thanks have a great day...."

Gee, if I were loaning you $2000, would you get mad if I asked you whether you have the ability to pay it back? Why would you get upset if I asked you for details about how you`ve paid back other debts before mine?  Your debt repayment history and your current ability to pay back my loan would be important information for me to make a decision.

I understand your frustration, but I don`t understand your reasoning. Past actions are a good predictor of future behavior.

- Why wouldn`t a person lending you money want to know what your credit history is? S/he would be stupid to loan money to someone without knowing if you have a habit of repaying your debts. The point of loaning money is to earn a return. People who defaulted on past loans are likely to default on new loans, so it would be prudent for a lender to ask some questions. Some would call this "due diligence". I call it common sense.


- There seems to be a big gap between Prosper`s marketing come-ons and actual practice by the real people who are putting in the loan money. Prosper  writes good ad copy, making it sound like anyone with bad credit or no credit can EASILY get a loan.  Real life tells us this just ain`t so.  

- Should lenders lend their money just to  do a good deed for Mankind? Are they honor-bound to help anyone who posts a request on the board ?  I don`t think so.  Again, the point of lending is to get a  return. If your history shows you don`t pay your debts, why would I lend you money? If I don`t ask you about your debt history, I deserve to be cheated. (I don`t mean "you" personally - I am not trying to say something bad about you, yourself.)

The lenders are real people like you and me, with a few $$ to put into the pot and hope to get more back.   Real people are smart enough (usually) to loan money with a good chance of getting it back.  Common sense tells us that a person with a poor credit history is a higher risk than a person with a track record of paying bills on time. So why SHOULD the lenders take a chance on a person with "bad credit" if they have a choice between that one and someone with better credit?  They don`t owe you (or me) anything. This is not an entitlement program.

If you look at prosper.ORG and some other information posted here at startupnation, it looks like the risk to the lenders is pretty high.  So clearly lots of borrowers are not keeping up with their obligations.

A   lender trying to make a profit would avoid any borrower with less than stellar credit, since it is obvious the number of borrowers defaulting at Prosper is high. So I don`t see a problem with lenders asking detailed questions about the ability of a borrower to make those monthly payments, or to ask about the borrower`s history of honoring debts. They`d be foolish not to.

That said, I`m going to post a loan request myself for my startup business.  If it works, that`s great. If it doesn`t, well - it was worth a try.

You have to work on your elevator pitch" to get the good funding.


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Trying to find a china business card.