Prosper Progress Report - April 2008

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On the 3rd day of each month, I will be publishing a status report of all the loans made through , a peer to peer credit website that allows you to borrow or lend money. It is important to track your Prosper investments so you can learn more about the borrowers and their ability to repay the loans. By doing so, you will gain insight for future investments.

Loan Date Established Credit Grade Loan Amount Loan Rate Loan Status
3rd 03/2008 B 59.67 24.41% Current
6th 09/2007 E 75.00 22.00% Current
7th 06/2007 B 100.00 16.00% Current
8th 01/2008 D 70.98 18.95% Current
8th 11/2008 C 63.90 28.80% Current
8th 05/2007 HR 50.00 20.93% Current
14th 02/2008 C 72.51 22.39% Current
20th 03/2007 C 50.00 17.00% Current
20th 03/2007 C 50.00 16.99% Current
24th 01/2008 B 65.42 21.34% Current
24th 04/2008 E 60.74 32.00% Current
25th 03/2008 HR 91.40 35.00% Current

Summary

Daily Interest Accrual : $0.44

Average Interest Rate : 23.89%

Interest Income Earned : $11.83

Credit Grade Breakdown

Credit Grade # of Loans Average Rate
B 3 20.58%
C 4 21.29%
D 1 18.95%
E 2 27.00%
HR 2 27.97%

Loans Paid In Full

To date, only one loan has been paid back in full.

New Loans

One new loan was added in April. The borrower requested $3,000 to pay off a Cash Call loan (another type of payday loan with very high interest rates). She had an credit rating of E and a 24% Debt to Income Ratio. She explained her situation where she had to use a Cash Call loan and how she changed her situation to enable a better management of her personal finances. There were 100 bids on this loan. I bid on this loan because the borrower clearly understands the snowball effect which is the purpose behind this loan. By paying off the payday loan, she will have more money to pay down her bills with.

Old Loans

All in all, the performances of the loan has been satisfactory. One of the borrower paid extra this month. Another borrower was less than 15 days late, had a payment in transit but it did not clear. I am not too concerned about it, it happened once before. The borrower resubmitted immediately and the payment cleared.

Net Income

Net income for the month of April was $11.83, an increase of $3.49 from March. For the year to date, my lending portfolio has created a total income of $34.92.

Strategy

I miscalculated last month the total lending investment which according to my investment exposure strategy (2% of my net worth) should be $650.00. To date, I have $600 invested. As a result, I transferred $25.00 into my account which will be combined with the April interest and principal repayments which was used to bid on a 12th loan.

I will revisit this strategy on a monthly basis since my net worth has been rising faster than I anticipated this year. While I am keeping an eye on the news regarding the credit crunch in today’s market, it appears the loans I have extended have been faring well regardless of the credit rates and the borrower’s credit scores. Several of the borrowers have been paying extra on principle which is a good sign of responsible credit management.

My exit strategy is to replace my capital with the interest I earn from this lending portfolio. I am not quite sure how this is suppose to happen. All I know right now is when the total value of my Prosper loans exceeds 2% of my net worth, it is time to transfer the excess balance out so I can control my risk exposure and keep the money moving into other investment opportunities that will help grow my net worth even more. Preservation of capital and growth of investment go hand in hand but often difficult to determine where the fine line is when it comes to risky investment, especially with loans and stocks.

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  1. I only have two $50 loans on Prosper (hey I am paying off my own debt and building my emergency fund) but they have been doing well. While I have not received extra payments from the people who borrowed they have been paying on time and I think I might throw another $50 that way to fund another loan.

    lulugal11’s last blog post..Wealth, Money and Life Network favorite posts

  2. Lulu, keep working on your debt. Consider the two loans you have on Prosper now more of an education. You are learning about the process of being a lender, who the borrowers are and how the interest makes a difference for the borrower and for the lender.

    I am sure you can realize from the Prosper loans now how your lenders view the interest on your debt so that’s exactly what you should be doing, working on paying it off.

    It is tough to decide whether to add more investment capital or not. I am still figuring that one out because of the $50 bid minimum. I plan to write about my approach in this matter.

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