Opinions on this P2P site.

FS, as with any other sites has its good and bad points. Originally it was mainly standard pawn (jewellery watches etc) but due to investor demand has gone into property lending. My losses have been minimal but the problem with FS is that they give the impression of being reticent with information and updates which makes it quite difficult for any new lender to judge their worth from this forum. The sometimes sparse information leads many forumites (including myself) to draw their own conclusions about the status of some overdue loans.

I have been drawing down FS holdings for some time, and intend to get to the stage where only profits from the site remain invested. Currently it is a case of investing in loans at a reasonable discount via the SM. This would only be for small investments, and first, not renewed, property loans. The fact that all FS loans pay interest at the end of their term is a major disadvantage compared to some other platforms especially where you might have loans that are some 12-18 months overdue (a certain hotel springs to mind). The value of the asset can get eroded very quickly.

There have been questions about the validity of some of the valuations used by FS and how this would affect the headline LTV of some loans. IMHO this is not exclusive to FS, similar questions have been asked about other platforms.

My own feeling is that the best days for lenders in FS have passed, but they can still be a profitable platform to invest in. Far more of my funds are invested in Collateral and Moneything though. Interest is paid monthly from both of these.

The 13% rates can look attractive, but they are 13% for a reason. FS is still a young platform and a track record of default recovery has not yet been established.

Good luck and hope this helps.

added... I should also say that communiction with FS regarding any account issues/problems has always been very good, and problems of that nature tend to be resolved quickly.

Hi oldtimez I started with FS a few months ago (December actually) having been with LendInvest for around 12 months funnily enough.

LendInvest gives you a very simple to understand proposition, Stick your cash into some fairly safe loans, get paid your interest every month and fingers crossed you get your cash back. My major gripes with LI are that there is very little communication regarding upcoming loans, existing loans or extensions. This gives me a few issues:

1. Distribution of risk. If I have £10,000, I have no idea to stick this into 1,2,3,4 loans as I have no idea what is on the horizon.
2. Extensions. No prior indication of whether loans are due to be repaid or extended.
3. Lower and lower returns. From a peak of 8.5% to now loans in the low 5%s.

FS has a more fluid SM, communications system (notification of new loans prior to them appearing on the platform) and the frequency of loans is a lot higher.

On comparing the two, I would say dip your toe. Spread your cash over plenty of loans (I aim for a minimum of 30) and see how it works for you.

Some loans may become "Unredeemed" or long term "Loan being renewed". For me, its currently at £38875 (66% of what I have in FS)

I don't like the SM because some parts can be sold for profit or a loss, and you you have less than 30 days remaining you have no way to sell.

So only invest if you don't need the money in the next 2 years.

Not all loans are like this, many repay/renew promptishly.

If the underwriters could back out of such a commitment, then it's not worth anything at all.  I do hope that's not the case.

I think there are two circumstances that underwriters can be used in.  I asked about underwriters who are called in, in the event of a default - they will pay the capital and 6 months interest for the asset.  This is distinct from property where underwriters are used to fill a loan by taking a capital chunk (and accept the 'same' risks as us P2P lenders - 'same' because I'm sure they get better terms?).