Kyle M. Stephens

Prosper Loan ID #268345
Username: Mango247

I was looking through listings to review when one screamed out at me. It said STOP…LOOK…PLEASE HELP! So, I STOPPED…LOOKED…and wondered why she was yelling at me. Here’s the thing about this listing: This woman’s crazy! Don’t be fooled by the link on the Prosper page that says she has two recent listings. Nope, click it on, she’s got 14 listings! By recent, Prosper must mean in the last two days! I have to admit, I don’t recall ever seeing a listing that has that many recent listings.

I always like to check how the story has changed. I’ll highlight only one section. This is her first stab in the financial situation section, back on Sept. 5. Oh, also note that her income is $2,400/mo.

I have a stable, government job in which I have been employed for 5yrs. I repay my debts in a timely fashion.

Of course she repays her debts in a timely fashion. Of course. I mean, she only has three current delinquencies and 12 in the past seven years. Oh yeah, and that public record, which is most likely a bankruptcy. Don’t worry, the check’s in the mail.

So, here we are three and a half months later. Mango247 must have gotten a raise. Her monthly income is us to $3,200. Congratulations! Her financial situation has also slightly changed:

I have a stable, government job in which I have been employed for 5yrs. I must admit after my heart attack, and being out of work for a few months, money got alittle tight. Since then, I stay consistent in paying back my loans and debt.

She has stayed consistent, she still has three current delinquencies and 12 in the past seven years. Her creit grade has dropped from an E to an HR. Maybe shadowrexy can help her out. Now, I’m not going to make fun of someone for having a heart attack, so I’ll just ask you what kind of substantiation you would need to verify that. Would it make a difference on whether you bid or not? Didn’t think so.

Let me ask you this: if times are tough for Mango247, why is she still spending $79.99/mo on phone, cable, and internet? And why doesn’t Comcast offer me the $79.99 deal? It’s $99.99 for me. Plus, why doesn’t she have to pay taxes on it? Do you find it odd that she spends nearly as much on food each month, $100, as she does on her tax-free phone, cable and internet? Raman Noodles?

Prosper Loan ID #256593

Okay, this picture is an improvement over the previous listing. Rule number one has still been violated because GreenSwirl probably wouldn’t walk into a banker’s office wearing that shirt. Oh, what the heck, wearing that may give her a better chance of getting the loan. Should she wear the sunglasses inside though? If the banker is older he may believe that wearing the sunglasses is a good thing, because her future is so bright. Either that or he may think she has cataracts. If I have any readers, let’s take a poll in the comment section. Sunglasses or no sunglasses? I vote she wears them.

Chances are, GreenSwirl doesn’t listen to 80’s music though, so I’ll move on. I’ll copy her listing here, because I know you’re too lazy to actually click through this link.

This one right HERE.

Jeez, you’re lazier than I thought. He it is:

Purpose of loan:
This loan will be used for inventory production of a cool casual eco-friendly clothing line for Men and Women, made in San Francisco, USA. We receive wholesale orders but do not collect payment until clothing is delivered, a few months lag time. These funds will help pay for fabric and other production services upfront. I am trying Prosper for the first time and think it is a great idea!

My financial situation:
I am a good candidate for this loan because I will recoup this money by late spring (may-june)… I have been in business since 2000 as a sole proprietor and customers love the product. I am in the process of building my wholesale customer base (have been in about 80 stores nationwide over the years) and have several active accounts and a potentially lucrative Japanese wholesale account. In addition, I have an existing e-commerce website, sell at music festivals from spring to fall and am riding the current wave of Eco-awareness - Green products are hot in the marketplace. The clothing line is hip, original and in demand. This is a small loan and I can pay back relatively soon…

The HR credit rating is due to a bankruptcy on my credit report from early 2003 (due to post-9/11 industry recession). The current delinquency is from a car-injury medical bill (I was hit by a car in 2006) that was negotiated down by my lawyer and paid off by the insurance company settlement I received. I was not told upfront that it would be counted as a delinquency otherwise I would not have had it negotiated down - it doesnt make sense to me!

Annual 2007 sales/income: $66,000 (including $43,000 from Sept-Dec)
Monthly net income: $ 2500-3000
Projected 2008 sales: $100,000 +

Monthly expenses: $ 1670
Housing: $ 675
Insurance: $ 70
Car expenses: $ 100
Utilities: $ 50
Phone, cable, internet: $ 175
Food, entertainment: $ 500
Clothing, household expenses $ 50
Credit cards and other loans: $ 50

Purpose looks good. I think lenders understand the lag time thing. I’ve got some good money on a loan from more than a year ago that used the lag time excuse for an eBay business and they’ve stayed current. Okay, I like the fact that she explained her delinquencies but a bankruptcy is never good. It’s not as bad as getting hit by a car, but it’s still not good. As for the insurance settlement being a current delinquency, yes, it doesn’t make sense. Some things don’t make sense to me either, like hippies. They don’t make sense to me. Anyway…

The other thing that really stands out for me is that her housing is only $675/mo., but she lives in San Francisco. Maybe she lives in a hostel. That would make sense.

I’ve got to give GreenSwirl credit for being one of the few borrowers who understands that the Member Summary page is like an About Us page. She has good and helpful information on it and even directs people to her company’s Web site. Maybe she’ll get a few sales from it. That’s a good thing. Plus, if a Prosper lender is interested in providing her a loan offline, they can just contact her through her Web site, SwirlSpace, and cut through the Prosper fees. Any takers?

You may not search around her Web site like I did, because I know you’re lazy, but you have to look here. Isn’t that gross? Is that just me, or is that gross? I don’t know. Props for supporting the women in India who make it though. Maybe you can buy one and then donate it back to the Indian women. I’m sure they use things like that.

Okay, let me wrap this up. I like GreenSwirl. I do. The only problem is that I’m afraid she’ll smoke her merchandise and I, as a lender, may not get paid back. My idea is this: if she can secure this loan with a deed on the eco-village land in Mexico, I’m in.

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Prosper Loan ID #265137

No kidding, this guy’s entire title is this: bills

There’s no picture in this post because, well, there’s no picture in the listing. In my handy guide to a winning listing, the first rule is that there should be a picture. Actually, the first rule is that your first picture should be you wearing professional clothing. This guy is a landscaper, so I don’t mean he should be wearing overalls. I mean he should have a picture of him wearing a suit. Would he walk into a banker’s office wearing overalls? Or, in the case of this listing, um, nothing? I guess we could call this listing a naked listing.

Put some damn clothes on, shadowrexy!

Okay, let me give you an overview of the listing. Naked guy is asking for $2,000 at 12%. Good luck on that rate. Let me go ahead and just copy the rest of his listing:

Purpose of loan:
This loan will be used to…pay bills that are past due

My financial situation:
I am a good candidate for this loan because…my creit score isnt’t that bad

Monthly net income: $ 2500

Monthly expenses: $
Housing: $ 00
Insurance: $ 200
Car expenses: $ 600
Utilities: $ 400
Phone, cable, internet: $ 120
Food, entertainment: $ 300
Clothing, household expenses $ 300
Credit cards and other loans: $ 315
Other expenses: $ 200

I hadn’t noticed before now, but rule #2 has also been violated. Naked dude either misspelled credit, or he’s referring to his “creit” score, which is some sort of new scoring system that has plans to compete with FICO. His credit score may be an HR, but according to the creit system that “isnt’t that bad.”

I’m not sure why he asked for his loan to start off at 12%. Maybe it’s the limit in Nebraska. I don’t know and I’m too lazy to check. A little help in the comments on that one? I will say this, naked guy has only one chance of this loan being filled: If the other person in the world who knows about this new creit scoring system is a Prosper lender, and is impressed by this guy’s high HR creit score. Good luck on that one shadowsexy.

Oh, one last thing. Considering this is his second attempt at a loan, and he hasn’t changed anything on the listing from the first, what are the odds he goes for number three with no change? Even?

I’ll kick off the new blog with this listing. First of all, you’re going to have to forgive me for the crappy photoshop job of this screen shot. I’ll get better at some point. I will say, this listing is an improvement over the borrowers’ previous loan, which only featured one golden retriever. Of course, she’s asking for more money, so you’ve got to raise the stakes, ya know?

Let me quote the rest of the listing:

This is my 2nd Prosper loan - With the 1st, I was able to improve my credit rating from “C” to “B” and buy a home, thanks to Prosper! This loan will be used to consolidate higher interest credit & store cards and further improve my credit rating.
I appreciate your support, Thank You!

Oh, sorry, I just re-read the listing and it turns out the borrower is a he. Who would have known with the golden retriever thing, ya know? Anyway, congrats to him for buying a house and whatnot, but um, can I get some info on how the rest of your life is going? Imagine this guy calling a lender, asking for $9,500 and telling the lender this, with his dogs barking in the background. Luckily he’s answered a few questions. Hmmm, let’s see. He paid off a previous loan early. I’d rather not see that. He’s got a current delinquency, but when asked about it he dodges the question and explains that it’s from a divorce but he’s happily married now. Good for him, but how about paying that bill off now? And then there’s the always reliable idiot who asks why the borrower is willing to pay 35% on a loan, but his credit cards are presumably lower.

A little aside for you, Tommy919, I see you’re a new lender. If you happen to stumble upon this while Googleing your username, YOU’RE AN IDIOT! Even golden retriever man who refuses to divulge any information knows that he doesn’t want to pay 35% for a loan. I mean, my God, he’s supposedly making more than $100,000 a year as an engineer. News flash to you people who always ask that question. And, someone does on every loan. THE INTEREST RATE GETS BID (bidded? Okay, I’m the idiot now) LOWER!!!! That’s the name of the game.

Okay, enough of this loan. I’d bid on it. InvestAtlanta06 may be shifty, but he makes good money, has a low DTI, and has a good history of paying off a previous Prosper loan, so I’m in.

Now, I don’t want to get angry emails from InvestAtlanta06 or Tommy919. This is all in good fun. I’m just busting your chops here. Don’t be upset. This is just how this blog is gonna roll.

I’ve been a lender on Prosper for nearly two years and, although I’m not big time, I’ve loaned more than $2,000 over 25 loans. Some of the listings are really great, and I’ve enjoyed being a part of providing capital to someone while making a good rate of return myself. Some of the listings, on the other hand, are terrible. I love reading some of the sob stories of people talking about how broke they are while asking for money. Would you act like that if you went to a bank?

I’ve decided to start this blog to highlight some of the Prosper listings and to decide whether I should bid on the listing. I welcome comments from other lenders, borrowers and the borrower who created the listing. Hopefully this will be a way to constructively critique a listing… Who am I kidding? I don’t want to do it constructively. Let’s be honest about it. I’d rather roast them.

I hope you enjoy following along. Feel free to email me if you have a listing to suggest. If you’re not a part of Prosper yet, join through my link here and you’ll get $25 if you sign up as a lender. I will too, so sign up now. If you want to be a borrower, use the link too. I’ll get $35 if your loan gets filled. If you sign up through me as a borrower, email me your listing and I’ll review it here. Enjoy!