spyrogyra
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Post by spyrogyra on Nov 13, 2013 1:31:44 GMT
As lately I am a bit fed up with FC model (time consuming), Lend Invest looms on my investment horizons. I'll be grateful if someone who has already invested in L.I. share his/her experience. My concern is whether the projects are finished on time or it is a common practice for the borrowers to ask for more time. In such cases £10k will be on the back on my mind all the time!
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jhma
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Post by jhma on Nov 14, 2013 16:36:01 GMT
spyrogyraCan't answer your question but am in similar position re LendInvest. Had a chat with them, proceeding with registration and will probably view from the sidelines for a while. But the GBP 10k minimum per loan looks too high for me even if secured on property and paying back capital and interest monthly over relatively short terms. It has apparently recently reduced from GBP 50k per loan. And the GBP 1k minimum at ThinCats (excluding the 'lending club' deals) gave me a fright at first! So, indeed, with a history since May this year at LendInvest, any experience out there?
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Post by bengilbert on Nov 16, 2013 17:45:34 GMT
I've invested on a couple of their deals. I can't say much about their track record since the loans aren't due for repayment for several months yet, so I've yet to be repaid. All I can say is -the interest has been paid monthly on time (the loans are interest only, which is usual for bridging loans) -I went to their office in London to drop off copies of my documents (easier for me to cycle over than do copies and send them!) and had a chat when there. They seemed professional, it's a proper office, and I felt they knew what they were talking about. -If you don't know, they are part of Montello who have been doing bridging loans since 2008. You are basically buying parts of loans Montello have already made. They told me they haven't had a loss since they started out. (Though property hasn't been doing badly more or less throughout the time they've been making loans).
Hope that helps - let me know if you've got any questions about my experience with them.
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Post by lendinvest on Nov 18, 2013 10:06:58 GMT
spyrogyra and others. Thank you for your comments here. Now we're registered, we'll be monitoring and participating in conversations. Most of the properties our loans are secured against are not development projects, but in fact completed properties (i.e. it is bridging finance, which is short term, maybe while being renovated - but not while the property is being built). The bridging loan is typically required to acquire the property to secure the development opportunity for the borrower. Development finance is then usually sort by the borrower which will refinance the bridging loan. As bengilbert alluded to, they are all completed loans on the Montello loan book which LendInvest is acting as a facilitator to on sell these loans. Please take a look at a few of Montello's case studies (www.gettingthedealdone.co.uk). In early to mind 2014 LendInvest will be originating loans via the platform with the same due diligence and underwriting that Montello have developed over the past 5 years. Hope this helps, however we are available to clarify any further matters.
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Post by mrclondon on Nov 18, 2013 20:47:24 GMT
The £10k minimum is beyond my risk threshold (and I suspect that of many on this forum) , so it is perhaps not surprising to see this in the FAQ: To be an lend on LendInvest you must be over the age of 18 and either self-certify yourself as a High Net Worth individual or a Sophisticated Investor.
Or perhaps since I'm "a lender" and not "an lend" this doesn't apply !
I wonder if there is any plan to allow retail investors onto the platform in the future with a lower minimum ?
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Post by bracknellboy on Nov 18, 2013 22:10:37 GMT
To be an lend on LendInvest you must be over the age of 18 and either self-certify yourself as a High Net Worth individual or a Sophisticated Investor.
Or perhaps since I'm "a lender" and not "an lend" this doesn't apply !
I have no idea whether I'm a "Sophisticated Investor" or not, but I am a fan of Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
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Post by lendinvest on Nov 19, 2013 14:58:30 GMT
LendInvest is continually reviewing it's minimum investment threshold and it may be something we lower in due course. It is however extremely unlikely it'll ever be as low as some of the other "unsecured" p2p lenders out there. We are specialist mortgage lenders and have the benefit of being able to launch with an inherited 5 year track record through our association with Montello. Therefore our loans are of superior quality compared to some other p2p lenders which are starved for deal flow.
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Post by tybalt on Nov 25, 2013 12:26:59 GMT
To be an lend on LendInvest you must be over the age of 18 and either self-certify yourself as a High Net Worth individual or a Sophisticated Investor.
Or perhaps since I'm "a lender" and not "an lend" this doesn't apply !
I have no idea whether I'm a "Sophisticated Investor" or not, but I am a fan of Eats, Shoots and Leaves. The government either dreamed up or adopted sophisticated : www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1529/schedule/5/madeI do not understand why for instance I cease to be sophisticated two years after I resign as a company director or acquire a veneer of sophistication if I establish Tybalt Investments Limited
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Post by tybalt on Nov 25, 2013 12:37:52 GMT
LendInvest is continually reviewing it's minimum investment threshold and it may be something we lower in due course. It is however extremely unlikely it'll ever be as low as some of the other "unsecured" p2p lenders out there. We are specialist mortgage lenders and have the benefit of being able to launch with an inherited 5 year track record through our association with Montello. Therefore our loans are of superior quality compared to some other p2p lenders which are starved for deal flow. ThinCats has a £1,000 minimum which I am not uncomfortable with as a fair balance between two much admin dealing with splitting interest etc for the loan facilitator and a lender's need or diversity. At a £5,000 minimum I would probably be in, at £ 3,000 I would definitely be in. I would also be in at a £30,000 minimum investment but split over 10 deals.
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jimbo
Posts: 234
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Post by jimbo on Nov 25, 2013 13:35:04 GMT
LendInvest is continually reviewing it's minimum investment threshold and it may be something we lower in due course. It is however extremely unlikely it'll ever be as low as some of the other "unsecured" p2p lenders out there. We are specialist mortgage lenders and have the benefit of being able to launch with an inherited 5 year track record through our association with Montello. Therefore our loans are of superior quality compared to some other p2p lenders which are starved for deal flow. If you were to drop the minimum to £1000, I'd be happy to participate. I invest in quite a wide universe beyond P2B, so would say I have a pretty good understanding of the risks involved. However, £10k is far too high for me. That's the sort of sum I'd feed into a fund or investment trust over a period of 12 - 24 months I'd certainly want it to be spread over more than a single investment. A number of the people posting on this forum have been involved as P2B lenders since the inception of Funding Circle, and a seemingly not insignificant proportion also lend on Thincats, so I don't think I'd be amiss to say we understand the risks. However, I suspect £10k per loan would be a bit rich for most of us. Just my tuppence worth...
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Post by lendinvest on Nov 25, 2013 18:43:39 GMT
Thank you all for your feedback which are all valid points. As previously mentioned, the minimum threshold is under review and it is likely that it will be reduced in the new year, if not sooner. Please bear with us and also keep an eye on our platform for new deals and announcements. Please get in touch if you'd like to understand more about us. contact@lendinvest.com or 02074672310.
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Post by mrclondon on Nov 25, 2013 20:37:15 GMT
The government either dreamed up or adopted sophisticated : www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1529/schedule/5/madeI do not understand why for instance I cease to be sophisticated two years after I resign as a company director or acquire a veneer of sophistication if I establish Tybalt Investments Limited Thanks for providing the link, I've been meaning to refresh my memory on this subject for a few days now. The sophisticated investor option "(b) I have made more than one investment in an unlisted company in the two years prior to the date below" is interesting when considered in the context of crowdcube. If I remember correctly the signup to crowdcube required either a declaration of being a sophisticated investor or a relatively simple multiple choice questionaire to prove you understood the risks involved. Presumably the completion of the questionaire followed by two (small) investments on crowdcube would then enable the truthful self declaration as being a sophisticated investor. Frighteningly easy.
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Post by bracknellboy on Nov 25, 2013 22:21:42 GMT
Yes that was a good link. Do we know whether that is the current and likely to be embedded in stone position viz a viz declarations ? There was discussion on TC as I recall that signficant investment already in P2B would cause one to be automatically classified as "sophisticated": however this would appear to be contrary to that, unless sign up on a platform on which you already have a position is to be waived.
mrc: Interesting point: does this mean I wonder that if i dribbled someting out on crowd cube (no idea what the minimum's are there) I could automatically qualify....
The idea that being a director of a company with >£1m t/o somehow makes you a "sophisticated investor" is mind boggling. I now directors who would fit that bill but would not know one end of a financial instrument from another. Not that I'm an expert by any stretch. And as someone else noted: the idea that after 2 years of ceasing to be such a beast you have sufficient brain fade to no longer meet the criteria is equally staggering.
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Post by bracknellboy on Nov 25, 2013 22:26:37 GMT
Umm, I feel like I need to get setup to push £20 over to crowdcube.
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mikes1531
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Post by mikes1531 on Dec 4, 2013 2:41:03 GMT
The government either dreamed up or adopted sophisticated : www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1529/schedule/5/madeI do not understand why for instance I cease to be sophisticated two years after I resign as a company director or acquire a veneer of sophistication if I establish Tybalt Investments Limited Looking at the other part of the web page, I see that anyone with at least £250k in banks or building societies would qualify as a HNWI. I also see that if they sign the form to declare themselves to be a HNWI, they "may have no right to seek compensation from the FSCS." That seems rather harsh!
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