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Author Topic: Hello, I am a reporter  (Read 33178 times)

Skeith27

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Hello, I am a reporter
« on: May 08, 2008, 03:11:44 pm »
Hi, my name is Keith Smith, and I hope this isn't something you would consider a violation of the guidelines, but I am trying to talk to people, either on this board, over email, phone, or whatever is most comfortable, about their experiences with Prosper for a story I am doing for Auto Finance News.

Public relations people want to set me up with people to talk to, but I want some grass roots, authentic experiences, both good and bad. Preferably with auto loans if possible.

I don't want to break any of the rules of this site, so I am just posting this here to find out the best course of action. I always find message boards like this one to be the best place to get the pulse of an internet community.

I could list some web sites that I have written for, but I'm sure that would be seen as solicitation, so if you want any kind of verification of who I am or what I write for, let me know.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 03:16:22 pm by Skeith27 »
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112233

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2008, 03:22:36 pm »
Welcome Keith. I hope you feel at home. I'm sure you will get a very warm reception here.
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LoanChimp

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2008, 03:26:47 pm »
I cannot see why someone would need to borrow on Prosper to finance a car. A secured auto loan should always be cheaper...

And on the side, I did lend once (nearly two years ago) to someone needing a car. She defaulted on her Prosper loan...  :-\

(It was a horrible loan choice. At the time, I didn't know any better. I do now...)
« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 03:58:28 pm by LoanChimp »
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biblio1

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2008, 03:33:08 pm »
Some banks do not want more than two open car/motorcyle loans per household.  Adding a teenager, mother in law, etc into the mix could be a situation favorable for a Prosper loan.  My one auto loan borrower (who fit into a different scenario) has been almost perfect in repayment. 
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Mtnchick

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2008, 03:35:14 pm »
Keith, the best advice I can give you is read around these boards. If you want specific people to speak with, I'm sure there's no shortage of those of us who would love to give you our thoughts :)

I will say that many lenders here have been burned by borrowers and by PMI's failure to collect on those that don't pay. Someone coming here for an auto loan would probably be someone who has tried every other avenue and as such, would more than likely not be funded.

2cents
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LoanChimp

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2008, 03:40:29 pm »
To be fair, I just looked at other loans. It looks like there are 3 other loans I've had specifically to purchase a car. 1 Paid. 2 Current.

But that default still hurts...  >:(
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NewHorizon

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2008, 03:41:30 pm »
Some Prosper car loans for ya.

If you talk to any of these borrowers who aren't current or paid off, tell 'em a few dozen lenders would like a word.   ;)

ETA: I think Prosper is going to see this thread and try to contact you to try again to set you up with interviewees.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 03:45:34 pm by NewHorizon »
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Caladia

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2008, 04:15:08 pm »
Hi Keith, congrats on finding these forums!  I had a car loan on Prosper about two years ago.  Link
I'd be happy to talk with you, but I don't think I'd be much help; a lot about Prosper has changed in the time since I got my loan.

Quote from: LoanChimp on May 08, 2008, 03:26:47 pm
I cannot see why someone would need to borrow on Prosper to finance a car. A secured auto loan should always be cheaper...

Loanchimp, when I refinanced my car loan with a Prosper loan, the rate on Prosper ended up being about a point lower than it had been at my Credit Union.  Also, I saved money (roughly $100/mo., IIRC) by not having to have such low deductibles on my comprehensive & collision insurance.  (The loan agreement I had with the Credit Union required me to have low deductibles, which meant a higher rate.  This is not uncommon.)

Anyway, Keith, welcome to Prospers.org, and good luck with your article.  :)




EDITED to fix link
« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 04:17:36 pm by Caladia »
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pioneer11

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2008, 04:17:43 pm »
The link is to the login screen.



« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 04:20:11 pm by Caladia »
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Caladia

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2008, 04:20:43 pm »
Quote from: pioneer11 on May 08, 2008, 04:17:43 pm
The link is to the login screen.





Ha!  My correction beat your note by seven whole seconds!   8)





ETA:  Good grief, my forum skills suck today.  I just realized that earlier I hit "modify" when I meant to hit "quote" in your post above, so now it looks like I edited your post.  (I didn't, I promise!) 

/hijack... we now return you to the regularly scheduled discussion of car loans on Prosper.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 04:26:04 pm by Caladia »
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JammingJAY

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2008, 04:39:00 pm »
Quote
about their experiences with Prosper for a story I am doing for Auto Finance News.

Finding your target poll's will be difficult here. Your input will be general Lender experiences with Prospers paralysis for any type of Customer Service.

Prosper sadly, dose not verify anything in the listing. Income verification is random, the complete removal of any personal identifiable information (PII) is poof'ed even if the borrower puts it on their listing.

Read the official forms.  :D :D

So for a Lender on Prosper the reason for the loan is not verified there is no "car reason", it's all the same.

Now if your "story" is P2P lending...



ETA:Read the Lobby.




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Mark12547

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2008, 04:47:31 pm »
Quote from: Skeith27 on May 08, 2008, 03:11:44 pm
.. I am trying to talk to people ... about their experiences with Prosper for a story I am doing for Auto Finance News.

Are you looking at it from the perspective of the borrower, the lender, or both? Are you looking for recent experience, or experience going back up to two years ago?

Borrowers and lenders have different views of Prosper, and recent members of Prosper tend to have better experience than those of us who joined Prosper a couple years ago--Prosper has been making changes since it "opened it doors" in February, 2006, so some experiences from two years ago wouldn't be so applicable to a new borrower or lender.
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Urbi_et_Orbi

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2008, 06:00:25 pm »
Hi Keith,

Welcome to Prospers.org.  We would be happy to help you get any info you need.  Please feel free to send me a PM if I can be of any help to you.

Can you give us a sense for the direction of your story - so we don't waste your time with piles of info not relevant to your needs?  Do you have a firm deadline?

Urbi
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ira01

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2008, 06:24:29 pm »
If you're interested in hearing the lenders' perspective on Prosper, a good place to start for a (relatively) brief recap of many Prosper issues is http://www.prospers.org/forum/my_summary_of_prospers_problems-t5708.0.html;msg82407#msg82407.
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xraider

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Re: Hello, I am a reporter
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2008, 07:27:45 pm »
Welcome, Keith!  I'm glad that you're posting here.  Most of the pieces on Prosper have been very uncritical "fluff" or feel-good pieces, and there is a little more to the story.

Please feel free to PM me (or anyone else here) and I suspect that most of us would be happy to share our Prosper experiences, good and bad.  In my case, I've had many good experiences, and I love knowing that my participation in a loan made a difference for a borrower.  However, I've had some very negative experiences, as well, which have caused me to stop lending.

There are a lot of third party cites, like lendingstats.com and ericscc.com, that will let you explore real-life lending experiences.  Prosper's own website will also (if used correctly) show you real rates of return etc.

There are also lots of blogs here that you may find interesting.

Please do tell who you write for.
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