September 1st, 2009
What was once SwapaDebt is now WikiLoan.com. SwapaDebt in my opinion was a disaster. They promised peer 2 peer lending, had users wait for their debut, launched their new web site, allowed registration, did not communicate with new registers, did not allow new listings, and simply never went anywhere! The name change was a smart move for those who were frustrated with SwapaDebt.
WikiLoan now appears to be live. Their website is allowing registrations and is communicating this time through email. There are currently fourteen new listings for loans that look legit, not just test listings. None of the listings have any funding yet maybe due to lack of investors.
WikiLoan.com screenshot
Also, Wikiloan.com is now trading on the OTC and progress can be monitored using ticker WKLI.OB. Currently trading at .20 cents.
WikiLoan trading as WKLI.OB
We will keep an eye on the progress of WikiLoan.com and run a review once the site begins to fullfill lending demands.
August 31st, 2009
Ok… after a great summer with lots of fishing and camping, I am finally updating status of prosper to live. I know I’m clearly behind on their reopening but I have kept my eye on their progress the past few months. After watching a commercial today on CNBC promoting their newly reopenend site, I decided its time to update this site.
Personally, I’ve always felt prosper was an investors haven. Their rates are considerably higher than the competition leading to better returns. However, if you’re a borrower, look out! I’ve invested with prosper with great success and have tried their borrowing side. Borrowing was a disaster. First of all their credit scoring is a mystery. The past two reports prosper pulled gave me a D score and an AA score with no change on my experian credit report. The AA Score allowed me to borrow at a great 5.89% which is slightly higher than my credit union. However, with the D score I received the first attempt, I was looking at a rate of 19.99% which I would not even attempt a test run with.
The site is once again friendly and easy to use for both investors and borrowers. My suggestion with the re-release of prosper to borrowers is to keep trying a new credit pull each month (THEY DO NOT MAKE HARD HITS ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR CREDIT SCORE). If you are shocked by a low credit rating, don’t attempt to receive a loan with a high interest rate. Peer lending is a fun new innovation, but be smart and don’t get stuck with an interst rate higher than your local banks. Try again next month and see if your credit rating jumps like mine did from D- AA. I can’t explain the difference but can tell you the difference between 19.99 to 5.89 was considerable.
Welcome back prosper!
January 3rd, 2009
Fynanz.com appears to be officially shut down. I can’t say for certain because there are no notices, no announcements, and no emails to registered users. These jokesters just left us with a maze on their website. When you visit the site, you are left with two options, “Financial Institutions” and “P2P Borrowers and Lenders”.
Select “P2P Borrowers and Lenders” and you are only able to log into your account. If you are a lender and click on browse borrowers, you are sent back to the beginning. You can’t do anything in your account. The only thing I was capable of doing was transfer funds and visit their “help” section. In the “help” section they don’t mention anything about shutting down. What a joke!
The only message on their site that confirms they are not doing business is; “We are currently not accepting new borrower applications.” You can only find this message when you try to become a registered borrower.
The other option on their main page is for financial institutions. From what I see, fynanz.com has turned into a company which offers student loan platforms for other financial institutions. Basically, they create a student loan site for another company.
“Are you a financial institution interested in establishing a private student loan program?
If so, Fynanz can help!
The Fynanz Student Lending Platform is a turn-key, web based solution that allows you to penetrate the growing private student loan market.”
Goodbye to peer lending fynanz.com.
November 23rd, 2008
Well it seems I may have opened my mouth a little too soon. During a post on 10/30/2008 I reviewed the borrowing process at LendingClub.com. One of the pros I mentioned was “The loan has never shown up on Experian ( it has been over a year) . This is great for people wanting to consolidate debt. Your credit score rises as you use the loan to pay off credit cards and your debt to income percent falls.”
As of today, a year and one month after I recieved a loan from lendingclub.com, they have finally reported to experian. The loan is categorized as an installment debt with fixed payments which is not a bad hit on the credit score. In fact, after the loan was reported, my score did not budge.
LendingClub.com did report immediately to transunion and equifax. Until today, it had seemed that experian was forgotten. This news should not stop you from consolidating debt with a peer lending site. If you can receive a loan at a lower interest rate with fixed payments while paying off unsecured revolving debt, your credit score should still rise.
E.M.
October 14th, 2008
Welcome to PeerLenders.com. Soon this site will be evaluating peer 2 peer lending sites. We hope to provide unbiased reviews for the peer lending websites that are currently available. Stay tuned!
