Zopa?

andymc29

There's a loan site called zopa.co.uk it looks very good, it basically people lending to people, instead of bansk lending. This means you get a good return on lending money, much more than you'd get with any bank, and if you're borrowing money you get a better interest rate than the banks would give.

Anyone tried it? I'm thinking of lending money once I'm out of debt.

bryanbukowski

Yeah, I actually lent a couple of thousand last year & I could recommend it to anyone if you have the money spare.
I think the risk is about whether the person pays the money back though you do get to choose who you lend to.
I'd say it's less risky than stocks & shares though so highly recommended!

b

andymc29

yeah, I'm going to do it after my DFD.
When do you get your money back if you want to withdraw it?

System

Hi

I'm a lender on Zopa, I decided to try it out with a couple of hundred quid to see how it goes before investing more.

Unfortunately I've have a couple of defaulters which have got so far now that they've been written off and I've lost out, so not a great result for me!

I have seen reports of people making a decent return though, so it can be a worthwhile investment, as long as you are aware of the risks.

You can minimise your risk by lending in small units therefore spreading your cash over many borrowers, then if one of them defaults it won't be too painful!

Regards
UNDERGROUND

Gorgeous_George

I'm a fan of Zopa. The rates of return for lenders should beat most current rates (you set the rates, the fees are fixed but bad debt is partly down to luck although you can mitigate against it). Borrowers can apply for the loan and choose whether to take it once teh rate is known.

There's a thread on the referrers board where all borrowers and anyone lending £2,000 can get £40 back from the referrer's Tell a Friend £50 reward (search the forums for 'Zopa refer').

GG