LinkedFinance - new website

Squall Leonhart

sceach16 wrote:

Did anyone keep count of the number of times this loan has been extended?

To be honest I've kinda stopped even looking at the site Sceach. Are you still investing?

sceach16

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

To be honest I've kinda stopped even looking at the site Sceach. Are you still investing?

I look but have not bid since the change and am starting to withdraw cash.

Dream123

Similar here, keep an eye on it but haven't bid in about a month and intending to withdraw cash


It seems there was very quick take up on the new loans at fixed rates initially, several filled up in a few hours, but I think this has slowed, not sure why, perhaps its because they seen to be putting more loans up and the volume of lenders isn't there to support it

Strettie11

Anyone else here having questions on Q&A not passing moderation ?

PanAC

Strettie11 wrote: »

Anyone else here having questions on Q&A not passing moderation ?

I've been left in limbo too. It's just another nail in the coffin of my relationship with LF.

Tested the new landscape a couple of times since the change, but I am now withdrawing my funds and heading for some of the many better crowdfunding portals out there. Too many errors & mistakes, too little information & communication on LF, too much LF contempt for lenders.

I might consider a few Borrowers in the 12-24 month range until I'm fully weaned off LF.

sceach16

sceach16 wrote: »

I look but have not bid since the change and am starting to withdraw cash.

I have bid 100 on each of the last 2 "y" loans but am still geared to withdraw most cash returned to me.

Strettie11

Someone ring LF fast they have forgotton to extend Gleesons bar

time left by another day:D:D

tomwaits48

I haven't placed any bids since the new regime. Might chance a 12 month loan but no way am I locking myself in to any more 3 year loans, I'm having a great oul time with mintos' 3 month term buyback Garuantees loans

Tar.Aldarion

What's said guarantee?

I've not done any since the new system, I hate it and will withdraw

sceach16

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

What's said guarantee?

I've not done any since the new system, I hate it and will withdraw

Mintos (P2P Lending Platform) ....another forum on boards worth looking at.

scheister

I see premier irish golf tours had a 15k loan funded in 28 minutes. It also marks the first time i have seen a group that was funded on Grid finance move to linked finance.

PanAC

FYI - There is up to a 26 hour delay before LF start activating a withdrawal request. I lodged a request at 10:30 Monday for the cash then available. I phoned Bernadette Tuesday morning, she assures me the transfer is due to start Tuesday about lunch-time. Also, she says she can adjust the amount to withdraw the max available, though you can't specify "Max Available" when you put in the request. Need to phone her.

The free 4 withdrawal rule seems to apply on a calendar Jan-Dec basis. It tells you when you make a request on line, how many requests you have made in that year.

Now, where's my Mintos and Bondora accounts!

tomwaits48

A lot of current LF loans like they are struggling to be funded, I wonder has the initial succesful round of funding under the new structure died off and maybe LF will re consider the rates on offer?

Squall Leonhart

tomwaits48 wrote: »

A lot of current LF loans like they are struggling to be funded, I wonder has the initial succesful round of funding under the new structure died off and maybe LF will re consider the rates on offer?

One can only hope! 10-11% average loan rating just isn't attractive enough for the risk involved. Need 13+

Strettie11

I notice a number of large lenders who were investing in the majority of loans up to a couple of weeks ago are either fully invested or have stopped investing.

Also think there is a growing frustration with the non answering of questions by some lenders

TheSheriff

I have completely stopped investing in Linked Finance,

I have about 60 active loans* but have not invested in any since the new system was put in place.

I just wish I didnt have to wait three years to free up my money now and the 4 free withdrawals means I cannot remove money each week.

If only they had a secondary market I could sell them on.....

*me plus the other half

sceach16

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

One can only hope! 10-11% average loan rating just isn't attractive enough for the risk involved. Need 13+

Need better returns but also need transparency and useful financial information. Q/A is nonsense at this stage.

darragh0000

I started lending just before they changed to fixed rates. Everything has been ok so far with repayments but dont really understand the ratings. What do others think of the loan to thedealer.ie? cant see how its a grade B

Dream123

darragh0000 wrote: »

I started lending just before they changed to fixed rates. Everything has been ok so far with repayments but dont really understand the ratings. What do others think of the loan to thedealer.ie? cant see how its a grade B

I've noticed a couple of loans rated as a 'C' recently which I decided not to bid on when previously auctioned and had the potential for a higher rate than the 10-11% on offer now.so in terms of my appetite it would need to be a 'B' before I would consider.having said that my general plan is to withdraw cash as loans mature but I guess I may bid on some short term loans instead of having cash sitting around.

Generally I would be uncomfortable relying on the rating without any insight on how its assigned.

darragh0000

Dream123 wrote: »

I've noticed a couple of loans rated as a 'C' recently which I decided not to bid on when previously auctioned and had the potential for a higher rate than the 10-11% on offer now.so in terms of my appetite it would need to be a 'B' before I would consider.having said that my general plan is to withdraw cash as loans mature but I guess I may bid on some short term loans instead of having cash sitting around.

Generally I would be uncomfortable relying on the rating without any insight on how its assigned.

Is it correct to assume if net assets is a positive number (eg. 136,000) and the company stops trading, this should be the amount which will be left for the owners after everyone else is paid?

tadcan

I wonder how many loans since the fixed rate was introduced was from LF themselves and employees. Would that have pushed up the initial investment number by much.

sceach16

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

One can only hope! 10-11% average loan rating just isn't attractive enough for the risk involved. Need 13+

darragh0000 wrote: »

Is it correct to assume if net assets is a positive number (eg. 136,000) and the company stops trading, this should be the amount which will be left for the owners after everyone else is paid?

I would like to think so but balance sheets published generally lack sufficient detail to rely on this assumption. The crucial thing is profitability...losses will rapidly erode equity/net assets. I am afraid that recent loans and the (few) answers to questions have reduced my confidence in linked to the level that I will only bid at 15% in bids of 100 or less. The new rating system is appears to be virtually random and Linked have consistently declined to explain the basis for ratings.

tomwaits48

would it put you off investing in a company if the main director has consumer judgements registered againts them?

Leedsfan123

"would it put you off investing in a company if the main director has consumer judgements registered againts them?"


Saw that, but the company seems to be completely separate from the debt. I think a company with financials like that looking for a one year is a gift. Already over 75% funded

Strettie11

darragh0000 wrote: »

Is it correct to assume if net assets is a positive number (eg. 136,000) and the company stops trading, this should be the amount which will be left for the owners after everyone else is paid?

darragh0000

No is the simple answer.
I will detail below how the actual liquidation position can be very different from the net asset position as per balance sheet

Always remember a balance sheet is a listing of the assets and liabilities of a company at a particular point in time prepared in accordance with the companys accounting policies and general accounting principals.
So immediately we lenders are at a disadvantage as LF do not publish the notes that are filed with the accounts to the Companies Registration Office which will detail items like depreciation policies

Lets walk through some balance sheet headings as per LF Financial summary to give examples of how the numbers can vary
FIXED ASSETS
Always remember with fixed assets the value in the balance sheet is typically the cost less depreciation not the value if sold tomorrow


LAND & BUILDINGS, Fixtures & Fittings
1. the issue with this is LF lumps these 2 very different fixed asset classes together in the financial summary. We are given no details of how much of each category this number comprises of for example 500,000 of land & buildings will in general have a higher sale value than 500,000 of fixtures and fittings which may have a resale value alot lower.

2. Land & Buildings could be worth significantly more or less than stated in balance sheet. Buildings are typically depreciated at 2% a year in accounts
So take 2 companies both with 500,000 of buildings on their balance sheet, are they not the same ?
No. Company A purchased their building 1 month before balance sheet date so is likely to be worth 500,000 if liquidated but Company B purchased their building 25 years ago for 1 million have depreciated by half ( 25 years X 2% ) to give 500,000 figure in accounts but could be worth significantly more if sold today
3. Fixtures and Fittings are usually depreciated at 10% a year but companys can have different depreciation polices which we as LF lenders have no visibility of. Also if the fixtures and fittings are specialised they could have zero cash value on a liquidation


EQUIPMENT, MACHINERY & VEHICLES
4. Number on balance is only reflective of fixed assets net book value ( cost less depreciation ) not of their actual worth. In fact a company could have many more assets under this category that already been fully depreciated to zero but may actually have a value if sold. Again notes to the accounts would have both cost and accumulated depreciation

CURRENT ASSETS
STOCK
This is supposed to be valued at lower of cost or net realisable value . You will see though some lenders question borrowers if this number represents a very high portion of cost of sales ( stock divided by cost of sales X 365 = days stock on hand )

For example if a company has Stock 50,000, cost of sales 100,000 this would mean it would take a 182 days to sell that stock, if this was a food retailer you would question if the stock would have to be discounted significantly below balance sheet figure in order to sell stock before best before dates

TRADE DEBTORS
Surely this number is an accurate reflection on balance sheet !!! again are there very old debts in this number it might never actually be collected and could actually be classed as bad thus reducing net profit number and net assets.

The best way to determine this is compare

Days debtors outstanding ( debtors / sales ) X 365

compare this to what the borrower says their normal payment terms are

So if the above calculation gives 180 days outstanding and the borrower says their customer payment terms are 30 days then there has to be debtors that have not paid for a significant period of time and may ultimately have to be written off reducing the net asset number.

I hope these examples show you the net assets figure is not what is left if a company stops trading.

ChrisDub7

very good explanation strettie!

Strettie11

Is FixMyI the first borrower to accept a loan that was not fully funded ?

ChrisDub7

If a loan is at least 90% funded at the end of the auction period, LF can fund the loan.
There were some loans not 100% funded in the past, but still considered as "successful" as far as LF was concerned

darragh0000

great explanation/answer to my question about net assets Strettie11!

darragh0000

"would it put you off investing in a company if the main director has consumer judgements registered againts them?"

Do you pay to get this extra information on directors or is it available free?