Ouch! Blogger critiques Prosper loan applications
Posted
Jan 25 2008, 07:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
It was just a matter of time before some snarky blogger began commenting on the applications for loans at Prosper.com, the peer-to-peer lending site. If you apply for a loan at Prosper and your credit history isn't great, you might show up on Prosper lender Kyle M. Stephens' radar screen. You'd better have a thick skin or a generous sense of humor.
This is particularly true if you have violated Kyle's first rule for Prosper applicants: Post a photo, and make sure you're dressed in business attire, unlike the woman who posed with large sunglasses and an outfit that exposed her navel and then some. Her photo is available at Kyle's site. "Oh, what the heck," Kyle relented, "wearing that may give her a better chance of getting the loan." He added, "If I have any readers, let's take a poll in the comment section. Sunglasses or no sunglasses? I vote she wears them."
He also examined her financial information. "The other thing that really stands out for me is that her housing is only $675 a month, but she lives in San Francisco. Maybe she lives in a hostel," he wrote.
Another woman -- whose 14 listings at Prosper have gotten no or little bidding activity -- also drew his attention. Her application says she needs $5,000 to help with her debt. If times are so tough that she's seeking a loan to pay her bills, Kyle said, "why is she still spending $79.99 a month on phone, cable and Internet?" he said. "And why doesn't Comcast offer me the $79.99 deal? It's $99.99 for me."
