Why Doesn’t 4thWay List LendInvest, Brickowner or PropertyCrowd?

Some 4thWay users asked us about three P2P lending sites missing from the 4thWay comparison tables, and about a fourth P2P lending site that has been proving frustrating.

Here are their questions and our answers.

S Smith, 4thWay user:

I think your website is very helpful. Well done. However, I cannot find any information on the Propertycrowd. What is the reason that you do not cover it?

4thWay responds:

The only reason you see nothing about PropertyCrowd on 4thWay is that it hasn't supplied our experts with anything like enough information to assess the risks, let alone given them access to talk to key people.

For example, to be listed in our comparison tables they should give us over 100 pieces of data and information. We have only got a fraction of that information about them.

D Coehlo, 4thWay user:

Firstly can I say what a great job I think you are doing with your website service I’ve found it an invaluable guide through the plethora of P2P platforms out there.

I’ve come across Brickowner a P2P platform which differs a little from the norm and wondered if you have come across it or intend to do a review of this company.

4thWay responds:

I just had a look at the Brickowner website. It looks vaguely familiar to me, so I think I've seen it before. The thing is, it's not a lending investment product. Investors using Brickowner are more like a crowd of buy-to-let landlords or even owners of properties being developed. It's an interesting idea, but please research carefully before you use it and, if you have any doubts at all, don't invest.

W Banham, 4thWay user:

Who copied 4thWay into this email to P2P lending site Proplend…

Investing in your property loans is becoming extremely frustrating and time wasting. It goes that fast that the website doesn't even show it as ‘in funding'.

1) There is a vague prior notice of when a property is likely to go live and then an email once it has gone live, providing no time to prepare or react. How about setting an actual time of when the property will go live.

2) It's pretty obvious from previous and recent new loans that large investors are getting priority and grabbing the bulk of the investment to the detriment of the small investors. How about setting a maximum bid amount of £1000 for 24 hours to giving ‘all' investors a chance.

4thWay responds:

I got in touch with Proplend* after you copied us into this email. They said a few big investors recently came in and started buying up large chunks of loans.

Proplend said it would trial a limit on the amount investors can lend so that this doesn't happen any more. It followed through with it: the loan that went live on Monday 6 November had limits of £5,000 in Tranche A loans (with 50% loan-to-value), £2,000 in Tranche B and £1,000 in Tranche C for the first 24 hours. I hope you were able to take part before the loan parts sold out.

Proplend also stated the precise time that the loan would go live in an email to registered lenders.

W Banham, 4thWay user, writes back to 4thWay:

They did seem to heed some of my advice and yes it worked out fine for me with the last 2 loans. It's in their interest if they want to grow given all the competition.

I actually like Proplend and I'm assuming most other people do as there are never any loans on the exchange for long unless it's a big investor selling up.

They still have one issue with their website, if you're logged in before the loan goes live, you don't see it when it does go live unless you log out and back in again, bit of poor software design but it had me fooled!

 L Hatton, 4thWay user:

I just came across your website, it looks very informative.

I was hoping to see some information on Lendinvest but don't see anything.

4thWay responds:

The reason you see almost nothing about it on 4thWay is that it is not P2P lending.

We define P2P lending as lending platforms that help investors lend directly to borrowers. With LendInvest, investors lend to LendInvest (or associated companies) and then LendInvest lends to property borrowers. This can greatly increase what's called “counterparty risk”. That doesn't mean that LendInvest is a risky investment; it's just outside 4thWay's remit.

I've heard the experts here discussing LendInvest and generally they've been very positive about it, although I don't think they know as much about it as the P2P investments that they focus on.

Read the wonderful testimonials we get from 4thWay users.

Independent opinion: 4thWay will help you to identify your options and narrow down your choices. We suggest what you could do, but we won't tell you what to do or where to lend; the decision is yours. We are responsible for the accuracy and quality of the information we provide, but not for any decision you make based on it. The material is for general information and education purposes only.

We are not financial, legal or tax advisors, which means that we don't offer advice or recommendations based on your circumstances and goals.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not held by 4thWay. 4thWay is not regulated by ESMA or the FCA. All the specialists and researchers who conduct research and write articles for 4thWay are subject to 4thWay's Editorial Code of Practice. For more, please see 4thWay's terms and conditions.

*Commission, fees and impartial research: our service is free to you. 4thWay shows dozens of P2P lending accounts in our accurate comparison tables and we add new ones as they make it through our listing process. We receive compensation from Proplend and other P2P lending companies not mentioned above either when you click through from our website and open accounts with them, or to cover the costs of conducting our calculated stress tests and ratings assessments. We vigorously ensure that this doesn't affect our editorial independence. Read How we earn money fairly with your help.