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Zopa

I have about £500 that i have been saving for my daughter. I was wondering if Zopa was a decent place to invest it.

As you can see i dont have a lot to invest and I cant really afford to tie it up for any long period just in case. Does anyone have any experience of short term loaning through Zopa?
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Comments

  • Nosht
    Nosht Posts: 744 Forumite
    I think that Zopa has an 18 month to 2 year turnaround on your cash.

    Regards,

    N.
    Never be afraid to take a profit. ;)
    Keep breathing. :eek:
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  • LeeSouthEast
    LeeSouthEast Posts: 3,822 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    At a minimum, and you are not guaranteed to get back your initial investment if it all goes pearshaped. That said, I'm a Zopa lender, and so far averaging 9% interest.
    Starting Debt: ~£20,000 01/01/2009. DFD: 20/11/2009 :j
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  • C_Mababejive
    C_Mababejive Posts: 11,668 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I thought minimum loan was now 3 years?? Anyway with AA grade borrowers,its a near certainty you'll get your money back. Of course HMRC wants some of it too.
    Feudal Britain needs land reform. 70% of the land is "owned" by 1 % of the population and at least 50% is unregistered (inherited by landed gentry). Thats why your slave box costs so much..
  • as others have posted, the fact that it's tied up for ages, you pay tax on it and may not get the £500 back means it isn't really suitable for what you want.

    how about putting it in your / an ISA, premium bonds (hey, you never know you could be the £1000000 winner :) ) or speak to a bank or an IFA about saving in your childs name
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  • ses6jwg
    ses6jwg Posts: 5,381 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Is Zopa regulated and covered by the FSA?
  • Jonbvn
    Jonbvn Posts: 5,562 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    ses6jwg wrote: »
    Is Zopa regulated and covered by the FSA?

    ZOPA is not covered by FSA. However, ZOPA is only the middleman in the transaction between a lender and a borrower. Therefore, if the borrower is unable to repay their loan, it's goodbye to your money.
    In case you hadn't already worked it out - the entire global financial system is predicated on the assumption that you're an idiot:cool:
  • amcluesent
    amcluesent Posts: 9,425 Forumite
    edited 18 January 2010 at 8:05PM
    > if the borrower is unable to repay their loan, it's goodbye to your money.<

    Possibly, Zopa use a debt collection agency, not sure if they factor the bad debt too.

    >I cant really afford to tie it up for any long period just in case<

    Zopa isn't for you then IMHO
  • Paul_Herring
    Paul_Herring Posts: 7,481 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I thought minimum loan was now 3 years??

    It is, but
    1) Some people pay back early and
    2) Not all of the money on a contract is lent out for the full 3 years - you get some of it back every month.

    That said, for the OP, I would advise against Zopa, if you don't have other savings.
    Conjugating the verb 'to be":
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  • ses6jwg
    ses6jwg Posts: 5,381 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I've got about 30k, split 12k in stocks and the rest as cash and about £200 in premium bonds, worth having a flutter with say £500 on Zopa or not?
  • luvpump
    luvpump Posts: 1,621 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    craigg1981 wrote: »
    I have about £500 that i have been saving for my daughter. I was wondering if Zopa was a decent place to invest it.

    As you can see i dont have a lot to invest and I cant really afford to tie it up for any long period just in case. Does anyone have any experience of short term loaning through Zopa?

    With the greatest of respect, 500 quid is such a small amount to "invest" its hardly worth it, the best you can hope in a savings account is about 3.5%, which works out to about 17 pounds interest over a year , befor tax ! ..
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