Sunday, June 8, 2014

P2P accounts (update) - June 2015

 


May was decent month for us on Lending Club as we purchased a total of $1,150 worth of notes this month. At the end of May, our Lending Club account balance was at $7,729.96. We received $471.17 in payments from our active notes in May; of which, we received, $43.36  (an increase of $2.85/mo.) in interest.  The principal balance of our active notes was $7,030.86 (an increase of $707.79 from April total), with $350.00 of loans in funding and a remaining cash balance of $349.10.  We are currently generating 5.28% on our seasoned notes.

 
 
We have not yet added any money to our Lending Club cash balance as we normally do at the beginning of each month but will likely add something before the end June.


  
May was another good month for us on Prosper as we purchased a total of $470 worth of notes this month. At the end of May, our Prosper account balance was at $7,884.42. We received $297.13 in payments from our active notes in May; of which, we received, $53.69 (an increase of $4.27/mo.) in interest.  The principal balance of our active notes was $7,424.98 and a remaining cash balance of $459.44.  We are currently generating 7.76% on our seasoned notes.
 
 (we just added $200 of cash at the beginning of May)
 
Please note that we just added $200 to our Prosper Account on June 1 so the $8,109.43 number is inclusive of this recent deposit. We decided to add some more funds because with the pending investments of $534.00, we only have a remaining cash balance of $100.44. 

In an effort to grow both P2P accounts, we are currently re-investing all of the payments that we receive from our notes. And when the cash balance is low, we are continuing to add more funds to the account so that we may constantly purchase new notes.

 

NOTES CRITERIA:

Our family has been investing in peer-to-peer lending notes for approximately 3 years now. And because of past defaults, we have now refined our search criteria. As a result, we now take a slightly more conservative approach with the notes we invest in. Currently, we only invest in notes that fit the following initial criteria:
  • Amount requested is under $6,000;
  • Credit score of 700 or more; and
  • Monthly payment will be less than $250.
From those we evaluate (Employment Status):
  • The borrower's income (prefer > $50,000 but depends on amount requested);
  • Length of employment (must be > 2 years); and
  • Their occupation (certain occupations, known to be more secured, are more desirable).
We then look at (Ability To Pay):
  • Their credit history;
  • Revolving balance; and
  • Debt to income level, etc.
We do not invest in any notes where borrow is currently delinquent, of if they have had  a public record within the last 12 months. We also do not invest in notes where the description provided is "Other." We feel that there is too much risk involve when the borrower is not willing to reveal why he/she needs the money.

Click here to view our the current value of your peer-to-peer lending accounts.

5 comments:

  1. AFFJ,
    I have always been a little skeptical on p2p lending accounts but it looks like your doing very well with them. How little can you start with on Lending Club? And when someone defaults, do you lose out on your investment?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Update: I just read I can't use P2P Lending accounts in Massachusetts. I am not sure why but if I moved to Rhode Island, I would be able to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From our experience, P2P lending has been a great alternative investment tool. Not sure why, but some states do not currently allow them. Hopefully one day. :)

      Thanks for stopping by. Best Wishes! AFFJ

      Delete
  3. I have experimented with Lending Club before, but was introduced to Prosper in your post. Thanks! Regarding your filtering criteria in Lending Club, have you found that the purpose of the loan affects its default rate? For example, are home renovation loans less risky than small business loans?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Al - The purpose matters to me because it helps me understand if they will be adding to their current debt or if the debt is actually decreasing as with a debt consolidation loan. Generally speaking, I favor debt consolidation loans over others because they generally do not add to existing debt (unless they are borrowing more than they owe which sometimes they do). Thanks for stopping by - Best wishes! AFFJ

      Delete