Tuesday, November 11, 2014

P2P Accounts (Update) - November 2014



October was somewhat flat month for us on Lending Club as we purchased a total of $677.17 worth of notes this month (a total of $450.00 in new notes and $227.17 notes from the trading platform). We received $690.48 in payments from our outstanding notes.  We came close this past month towards are goal to immediately reinvest the money we collect each month. Glad we found some notes worth investing in this past month.
 
On November 1st, our Lending Club account balance was at $9,045.93 (an increase of $56.24 from last month). We received $690.48 in payments from our active notes; of which, we received, $62.48 in interest (an increase of $1.75/mo.).  The principal balance of our active notes was $8,403.08 (an increase of $49.01 from last month), with $125.00 of loans in review or funding and a remaining cash balance of $517.85.  We are currently generating 4.96% on our seasoned notes. No loans were charged off this month.
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The month of September was somewhat of a disappointment for our Prosper account as we purchased a total of only $262.59.  For the third month in a row, we didn't even find enough notes to reinvest our payments for the month.  That meant our money didn't getting the immediate compounding effect that we always hope to achieve through our P2P accounts. 

Work has continued to be pretty busy for me lately.  Find just 5-10 minutes to do a quick search for new notes continued to be a challenge. If this doesn't change soon, I will need to set aside some time each night before bed to find notes because one of the biggest draw for us toward P2P notes is the ability to immediately re-invest our notes into more notes almost immediately each month.  I will just missed the opportunity to buy the best notes as they are usually grabbed within the first 5-10 minutes after they are listed (*HINT* if you didn't already know, Prosper notes are listed at 9:00AM and 5:00PM each day). Nevertheless, notes that meet my criteria (see below) are hard to find these days.  Therefore, we are also buying notes off the trading platform.   

On November 1st, our Prosper account balance was at $8,760.47 (an increase of $88.96 from last month).  We received $367.11 in payments from our active notes; of which, we received, $63.46 in interest (a increase of $2.82/mo.).  Since we were not very successful in finding new Prosper notes to invest in, the principal balance of our active notes was $8,022.32 (a decrease of $104.82 from last month). We also had $50.00 of loans in review or funding and a remaining cash balance of $558.15.  We are currently generating 7.40% on our seasoned notes.

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Total Value of Both P2P accounts: $17,806.40
($145.20 increase from last month)
 
Total Interest Earned in October: $125.94
($4.57 increase from last month)
 
Estimate Average Interest Earned: 6.18%

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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 below to view  our peer-to-peer lending accounts

PEER-TO-PEER LENDING ACCOUNTS

10 comments:

  1. Given the struggle to find notes, have you considered any automated services for Prosper? And the QuickInvest functionality in Prosper might be something that you could populate with your criteria to snag notes when you aren't available.

    And out of curiosity, why do you list the 4.96% as your seasoned return for your Lending Club portfolio? NAR includes all notes, regardless of age. Seasoned returns, a phrase defined by Prosper, are notes that are over 10 months old.

    Keep up the good work!

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    1. W2R - Because of your comment, I just both my Prosper and Lending Club account to automatically buy notes that fit my criteria. It has been awhile since I tinkered with their capability and I am amazed at how specific you can make your request. Hopefully, the automated services allows me to pick up some notes I wouldn't otherwise have the time to search for or maybe even be fast enough to beat other automated requests. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. :)

      Regarding my posting of the 4.96% rate...to be honest, I just figured that is my return. Does Lending Club post the rate for only seasoned returns. If so, I guess I just don't know where to look.

      Thanks for stopping by and for commenting. You may have just revived my P2P activity! AFFJ

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    2. Glad your spirit has been renewed! Keep us posted on how things change based on the automation of things.

      As for a seasoned return, Lending Club does not have one, so you just have to take it at face value. Your combined adjusted NAR will likely be the closest thing to accounting for the full status of all your notes and your net gains from secondary market transactions.

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    3. Thanks for everything. I've already noticed a couple of automatic buys. Next months report should be better or sure. :)

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  2. Really amazing all the investiment opportunities that you have in the USA. Just wanted a bit to myself, but in Europe everything seems to be non-investor-friend.
    Take care!

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes investments are available but we don't know they exist...keep following bloggers or blogs in your geographical area and I'm sure you'll come across a new investment opportunity eventually.

      Thanks for stopping by, best wishes! AFFJ

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  3. I wish lending club was in Canada because I def would give them a shot. Thanks for the update

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    Replies
    1. Maybe one day AG. If not, you seem to be doing well regardless. Recalling from your recent post, you are very well diversified through multiple investment accounts, real estate, and a start up company!

      Wishing you continued success my friend. AFFJ

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  4. Nice P2p portfolio you have, I too used lending club and not doing to bad. Although I stop contributing to lending club for the moment because I was getting a lot of default. I am just using my interest I received from my lending club to buy notes. I started to change my criteria to be even more strict, before I chase a lot of the high interest rate but now starting to look at it more closely, which seem like it's working better now. Thanks for sharing your update.

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    Replies
    1. Expat - I think many of us have discovered that the higher yielding notes, although great initially, eventually have higher default rates. Better to have learned a lesson than to not learn at all I say. ☺

      I think we have found the right criteria for success. Returns are not as high as they use to be but we are more than satisfied with the progress we are making in our P2P accounts.

      Thanks for visiting...best wishes. AFFJ

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