The Complete Idiot's Guide to Person-to-Person Lending [Mass Market Paperback]

Curtis E. Arnold (Author), Beverly Blair Harzog (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: April 7, 2009

Forget credit card companies- make it personal!

The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Person-to-Person Lending fills readers in on what they need to know, such as how person-to-person lending works, who lends and who borrows, and the advantages and disadvantages of Virgin- Money, Prosper, Zopa, and Facebook's Lending Club.M

*Loans on Prosper and LendingClub rose to $100 million in 2007; by 2010, the online banking report forecasts $1 billion in person to- person loan originations
*Javelin Strategy & Research (Dec. 2007) predicts that the demand for person-to-person lending services may grow from $38 billion to $159 billion over the next five years.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Curtis E. Arnold, a nationally recognized consumer educator and advocate, has been educating consumers about credit cards since 1998, and is the author of How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line. Beverly Blair Harzog is a widely published freelance writer specializing in personal finance. She is a former CPA and has an MBA in public relations.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1 edition (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592578829
• ISBN-13: 978-1592578825
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #989,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Curtis Arnold is a nationally recognized consumer educator and advocate. He is the CEO/Founder of CardRatings.com, a website that provides credit card ratings and reviews of over 20,000 offers. Curtis has been educating consumers about credit cards since 1998. He is regularly interviewed and quoted by respected members of the national press regarding consumer credit issues.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good advice for a changing economy, July 13, 2009

By 

Ann Logue (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Person-to-Person Lending (Mass Market Paperback)

People are fed up with banks, for good reason: too many banks have behaved irresponsibly, looking to milk as much money out of customers in as short a period as possible rather than build a long-term relationship. And, in this economy, many people are finding themselves in need of a loan from family and friends. This book sets out all the different ways that people can lend money to each other to make money (anonymous peer to peer lending sites), help those in need help themselves (microfinance), and borrow money from relatives without destroying family relationships. This is a great guide.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative but Beware, August 4, 2011

By 

SuperheatedTricorder (South USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Person-to-Person Lending (Paperback)

I purchased the item from Amazon, arrived in great condition and timely. It is informative and details the various websites where you can purchase the notes and potentially earn more interest for your money. I would caution anyone to be very careful and understand exactly what you are buying. According to the book, each site has a bank that originates the loan, which the borrower pays the fee. Enter the retail investors who purchase the notes and earn interest. The bank makes money originating the loans, ALL the risk is passed on to the note buyers. I am not criticizing the method, but I think everyone should understand that the loan originators are making money and passing on the risk. Same thing banks that banks did with the mortgages.

The book is a good read and explains how the process works.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Higher Returns!, March 7, 2010

By 

D. Ogino - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Person-to-Person Lending (Mass Market Paperback)

Being someone that has a career in consumer lending, it is very stimulating to know that someone is finally thinkng outside the box. This book does a great job in teaching you the basics of lending and explaining how you can retrieve the same returns that larger banks do. It is very easy to understand if you are someone that has zero background in banking and consumer lending.

However some of the information in the book is outdated due to the nature of this niche product quickly growing and evolving. I do not blame the authors because they cannot predict the future and control the changes.