Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Person-to-Person Lending

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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.

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.

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However some of the information in the book is outdated due to the nature of this niche product quickly growing and evolving.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.

Social lending is an amazing alternative to big bankers! Why not avoid the high fees and rates of banks and save by borrowing money from family and friends? Plus, if you want to loan money, you can typically earn a much greater rate of return than you can with CDs. It's a win-win!

This book is a must read for those who want to stay current on the emerging trends in finance today. Social Lending has been declared as one of the most socially innovative ideas in 2009 by Harvard Business Review.
I recommend this book to every consumer affected by this economic climate. Curtis and Beverly provide a wealth of wisdom in this Complete Idiot's Guide.

No complicated language or complex diagrams. A simple and straight forward explanation of how Person-to-Person lending works.

The author provided a clear and concise review of the topic. She delivers the info in easy-to-understand language and obviously did her homework. It's so much clearer and informative than other personal finance books on the shelves.