Company Profile
Prosper Loans is the first peer-to-peer loan marketplace in America. Peer-to-peer lending is becoming a viable option for people who either have to, or want to bypass traditional bank lending. As of now, the company has funded over $6-billion in loans and boasts over 2-million members.
The benefits of working with Prosper Loans are many. Some of the most important are:
- Paperless and quick online application submission
- Fixed rates for all loans
- Loans are unsecured
- Flexible repayment terms
- Simple fixed monthly payments
- Wide range of loan amounts from $2,000 to $35,000
- No upfront fees
- No penalties for prepayment
In addition to loans, Prosper Loans is also a vehicle for investors looking to increase their returns beyond a portfolio of stocks. They can decide on risk level and amount invested. The control level offered by Prosper Loans is unique and investors can benefit easily.
Service Profile For Borrowers
Prosper Loans makes the loan process simple. It was created for people in need of nontraditional loans and also for investors. On the borrower side, the company makes applying for a loan simple. To start, potential clients enter the amount they are requesting, the purpose of the loan, and their individual credit health. If approved, borrowers then agree to the interest rate, choose their term (3-5 years) and receive funds.
The advantageous thing about Prosper Loan procurement is that loans are given for a wide variety of needs. Those needs are much more diverse than traditional banking options. Here are some of the most common Prosper Loan situations:
Debt Consolidation Loans
Debt consolidation is a huge concern for many Americans today. More and more people are faced with the financial culmination of bad purchase decisions, medical costs and unmanageable interest rates. As a result, they are looking to manage old debt. Using debt consolidating companies can prove pointless because many only service clients who have defaulted on their loans. Debt consolidating companies can be helpful for people with harrowing credit tales. What about people who have debt but it isn't big enough to be classified as disastrous? This is where peer-to-peer loan products can be invaluable.
Having large amounts of debt also can cause a person to be denied a lower-interest loan. Without that, chipping away at debt in a reasonable timeframe can be impossible. Being stuck with a high interest rate can create a pay-pack period much longer than desired. Anyone who has loans knows that longer loans mean more interest payments. Prosper Loans can help these customers by providing that lower-interest rate loan they need to dig out of financial holes. With lower-interest rates, the loan payments can chip away at debt more easily and make it manageable.
Home Improvement and Household Expenses Loans
Homeowners often have dreams of remodeling, building an addition or a paying for a costly repair. Again, traditional bank loans may either be impossible to procure or the interest rates may be too high to manage. Prosper Loan can answer these needs also. Their home improvement loans are flexible and can increase existing equity. They are built on individual creditworthiness and, if approved, can be customized to the terms most convenient for the borrower. With the reasonable 3- or 5-year timespan, they also help homeowners avoid being stuck with payments for 10+ years like many traditional lenders insist on.
Medical/Dental Loans
Many Americans are looking to manage high medical and dental debt. According to ACA International, in 2015 Americans built up over $4-billion in uncompensated care. Anyone who has been in a hospital or needed medical care of any size knows that costs can add up quickly. On average a 2-day hospital stay costs upwards of $4,000. That doesn't include specialized testing or outpatient care. People are discharged and sometimes left with debt that insurance providers don't cover. Many people are looking for alternative ways of paying off debt that make it more manageable. Prosper Loans have loans with rates that cater to otherwise difficult loans to pay off. The lower interest rate and short lifespan of the loan are both attractive options for any borrower.
Business Loans
One of the most valuable uses for Prosper Loan is their ease of business loan funding. While many applicants can't get loans from traditional methods, Prosper lends based on individual need (and not business need.) It specifically is entrepreneur-friendly. If a business owner has yet to establish credit, this can be the perfect solution. Again- basing creditworthiness on individual credit can be a huge advantage.
In addition, because Prosper is a peer-to-peer lending structure the chances of an investor wanting to encourage and support new ideas is high. Most investors already think "outside the box" so if a business is not suitable for bank backing, peer-to-peer lending may be the solution. Potential borrowers get the opportunity to discuss why their business ideas are viable and worthy of financial backing. Also, the loans do not require hefty collateral and are unsecured. They also come with the same reasonable interest rate that other forms of Prosper Loans have.
Auto/boat Loans
Prosper Loans aren't always need-based. The company also offers loans for purchases like cars and boats. Anyone in the market for a new car or boat knows how some lenders can apply unreasonable interest rates to loans or require considerable down payments. They also can come with heftily priced vehicles if you want low mileage and newer models. This is where Prosper Loans can help with either a purchase or refinance. Again- the loans are unsecured and simple to procure if you qualify. They aren't concerned with the type of vehicle a borrower is looking for; rather, they just are concerned with the amounts and decide accordingly based on qualifications.
Vacation/Special Event Loans
Another use for Prosper Loans is for a vacation. Do you have a costly get-a-way you've been dying to go on? Do you have a wedding or honeymoon to fund? Do you want to give a vacation to a special retiring couple in your life? Any one of these can be solved with a vacation loan. Funding events like these with a reasonably priced loan can help to make the event fun but eliminate the budget-worry that comes along with a big cost. Again- these loans are flexible on schedule so you can opt to pay off a loan for any approved amount of time you need. The maximum loan length is 5-years so borrowers won't spend decades looking at looming debt. Plus, with the interest rate promised to be reasonable, pay-off will be simpler than with a traditional bank loan.
Taxes Loans
Sometimes loans aren't for recreation. Sometimes loans are needed for legal debt. Prosper Loans can answer this need too. Anyone with tax debt knows how critical timing is. The entire loan process is simple and paperless. That means all applications and documents can be uploaded within seconds to the proper account. They are reviewed and a decision is made within a few days. Most people boast receiving their funding after approval within 7 days, although many much sooner. In the case of paying taxes this is good news. Prosper Loans gives time to repay the loans while the original debtor is satisfied immediately.
New baby/Adoption Loans
Adoptions are another reason for Prosper Loan requests. Any new parent understands the elevated cost of living and how much a new baby can cost. The company offers unsecured "baby loans" for up to $25,000. These can be applied to everything from general costs to medical expenses to legal costs. Again- the loan decisions are quick and easy to apply for. Plus, they are unsecured and come with flexible terms. In the case of unforeseen expanded family costs, this can be a viable solution.
Miscellaneous Loans
There are other reasons loans may be requested such as engagement ring financing, special occasion loans, family/friend loans, and short-term loans. Prosper Loans have categories for these loans too and they come with the same moderate and flexible repayment options. With Prosper Loans, the reason for the loan isn't as important as it is with traditional lenders. This is why their variety of loan types are so varied.
Loan Features
Here's some of the highlights of what makes Prosper personal loans for debt consolidation such a great option. You'll find them much easier to work with compared to a big national bank and all the hoops they make you jump through to get a loan. You'll find that you can quickly consolidate your credit card debt with one low monthly payment even if you don't have perfect credit scores.
- Paperless and quick online application
- Fixed rates for all loans
- Unsecured personal loans
- Flexible repayment terms
- Wide range of loan amounts from $2,000 to $35,000
- No upfront fees
- No penalties for prepayment
Service Overview For Lenders
On the investor side, Prosper Loans offers a method of diversifying beyond a portfolio and a possible estimated return of 6.8%. Investors are able to create an investor account or a retirement account. The investor account allows anyone to begin investing with just $25 and can earn solid monthly returns. Accounts are flexible in that lenders can contribute on their own schedule. A small investment can test the return-waters and be increased at any time.
If desired, investors can also choose the amount of risk they are comfortable with. These rates range from 4.38% to 11.13%. An investor can also opening a retirement account that translates into opening either an IRA with a 401k rollover, an IRA transfer or Traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE account. By choosing risk, they can lend with a greater control than over stocks and bonds.
In the peer-to-peer lending world, interest rates are competitive because they work in an auction model. Lenders can mitigate any losses (which isn't possible in portfolio-based investing) by choosing which borrowers to work with. Giving investors this power is unique to Prosper Loans' business model.
Fees
With Prosper Loans fees for borrowers are kept low by a range of tools. Overall fees are minimized considerably by paperless applications and upload of all requested documentation. There is a pre-qualification tool to save time for applicants who may be questioning their acceptance. Once accepted, there is a "soft inquiry" made on the credit report. The actual inquiry appears only if the loan transaction is completed. Also, the fees are not applied until the loan is transferred. At this point, origination fees can be anywhere from 2 to 5% of the loan total. Better credit will have lower fees. There are no prepayment penalties for early pay-off. Most borrowers will find that the fees are reasonable and not out of the ordinary in any loan situation.
The Pros for Borrowers
Overall Prosper Loans comes out on top due to their general ease of procurement and pay-back structure. First, the loans are based on individual credit scores and competitive. They can be solutions for borrowers who were denied other lending options or whose lending needs aren't suited to traditional models. Though borrower's credit scores have to be relatively stable, the personal interest in need plays a part in approval. A wide range of financing requests are accepted and normally traditional banks are not this open. In addition, credit quality is not everything. High credit scorers may get the best interest rates and sure, the interest rate for payback may rise with lower credit scores, but this is to be expected. Most people in today's market are accustomed to only prime credit scores earning the lowest rates. The auction set-up however can chip away at the interest rate too, bringing it even lower than the borrower anticipated.
The Prosper Loan products have a lot of pros for small business owners also. The loans are based on individuals and not business records or credit. Remember too that lenders are on a peer-to-peer basis. Finding a lender who is aware of the entrepreneurial struggle to get his or her ideas off the ground is common. Finding an investor who identifies with a small business struggle can be key to procuring funding. If a borrower has a great idea, likely similar business minds will note that and opt to support it financially. It means that loan requests have a "human element" to them. Borrowers can explain to real people why their idea is a good investment. Traditional banking solutions are much more cut and dry than Prosper. That human factor may be a solution for many applicants.
The Pros for Investors
When it comes to investors, there are pros too. Any investor knows the volatility of stock and bond markets. They also are accustomed to investing and letting the portfolio play out. Little personal choice plays into the lifespan of this type of investment. The difference with Prosper Loans is that investors can decide what they want to invest in based on the individual request. Let's say an owner of an IT company in its twentieth successful year has the chance to invest in an IT start-up. They can obviously identify with a great IT idea and business model so getting behind it may be a good financial decision and also an enjoyable investment. This doesn't happen with portfolio investing. Again- the "human factor" plays into pros for investors also.
In addition to the personal interest, investors can control the amount of risk they are comfortable with sustaining. It can change for every investment or stay at a specific rate they approve of. The flexibility and ability to diversify are unmatched by current investing vehicles in the business marketplace today.
The Cons for Borrowers
There are cons for Prosper Loans but they are all reasonable and to-be-expected. First, interest rates can still remain high for all applicants but the highest qualifying ones. Plus the time for pay-back is limited to a 3- or 5-year period of time. Also, origination fees can be high. In the end though, they still offer a financial solution to applicants who opt out of traditional banking solutions whether due to necessity or by choice. Again- most borrowers are used to the prime interest rates being awarded to high credit scores.
The Cons for Investors
There is a con for investors. Prosper Loans may be too much if investors are used to the portfolio type of structure where they invest and let it go. Remember that these loans are built in an auction-like structure and that requires constant decision-making for investments. If an investor wants full control over individual investments this is perfect; if they don't, it may not be.
Who is this Option Best For?
The type of loan provided by Prosper Loans is best suited for creditworthy clients who want a small loan (under $35,000) for a specific reason. They are looking for funds short-term and are open to an alternative method of procurement.
It also is a great option for small business owners who need cash but aren't financially ready or keen on traditional options. Prosper Loans can step in with reasonable terms and meet the need quite easily. Recall that there is a human factor to these loans so a business owner passionate about their cause may be able to sway investors to take a chance at their idea. That is rarely possible with bank lending.
Summary
Visit SiteIn the end, Prosper Loans are useful tools for anyone looking to either borrow or invest money in the non-traditional sense. Borrowers can find reasonable options for immediate short-term financial needs. Investors can find lending requests that are more than just routine portfolios. The human aspect of Prosper Loans shines through with all their loan products - for both borrowers and lenders. For those ready to rely on peer-to-peer lending for their future, this is a great solution!