"I am a financial intermediary and had a…"

I am a financial intermediary and had a fantastic experience dealing with Katie Wild and the Crowdproperty team. They are patient, responsive and have an extensive appetite to make a development deal work for the client.

"Poor service provided to lenders - Phone constantly engaged - Be wary about lending money through CrowdProperty"

I got shafted to to tune of £35k when Ablrate went into recievership last year, £12k of that was capital due back to me as part of £700k myself and other lenders lent to a reputable borrower that ran it's term and the borrower paid Ablrate back to distribute it back to us. Ablrate stole this money, we never saw our money again. P2P lending at it's most corrupt.
Seems to have been brushed under the carpet and forgotton. If this is not classed as theft, you tell me what it is then?

My first £1k of lending on this platform is due to complete in a few days time (8th June 2024 - East Hookers Farm)

No actual notification if it going to return my money lent and the interest due to me on the specified date. The only notifications I have received is on the loan's info are 'project updates' (latest one on the 8th May2024) and these just state the progress of the project (reading through the lines is behind schedule).

I've tried 6 times in two days to speak to someone there, the phone is always engaged.

I am coming to the conclusion that P2P lending is almost criminally operated with the companies taking our money to lend to people with what it seems with very little due diligence, and is doing way too little in checking on how our money, us the lenders, is protected if the borrower screws up, Collateral seems to regularly put forward and accepted that is never going to be able to be drawn upon.

I just hope I'm wrong on CrowdProperty, but I have a gut feeling that they are more in support of the borrower rather than the protection of the lenders because I guess they get paid up front with a cut of the money we have lent. So us the lenders live in hope that we will get our money lent and the promised interest due... on time or within a few weeks of the stated date.

"Terrible investment loan provider"

Terrible investment loan provider. Outright thieves the whole bunch of them.

Crowdproperty has followed up by providing a contact number that is not in service. Appalling!

"What to expect (real-life example)..."

I thought I would post my own experience investing with CrowdProperty to give people a real-life example of what to expect.

In June 2020, I invested £3101 with CrowdProperty to try it out. Four years later (it's almost June 2024), I have received £3019 back, so I am down £82.

I have £435 in my portfolio (loans not paid back) which is illiquid, so if this ever gets paid out, I stand to be £353 up (after 4+ years), which is very poor - I would have earned more putting it in a savings account at 2% per year.

Whilst most loans were paid back, the ones that do have issues negate the profitability of the others and make CrowdProperty (for me, anyway) an unviable investing opportunity.

Of 63 loans made between 2020/2021, seven of them have not yet been paid back. The process for recovering the money is long-winded and, although CrowdProperty do send out emails to explain what is happening, the length of time already passed makes me less and less confident of ever seeing my money again.

I've not really interacted with them too much, but the times I have, I found them to be helpful. However, I found the web interface to be very unintuitive and difficult to navigate.

I'm not complaining - I knew the risks and CrowdProperty were very clear about it at the beginning. I'll write off my losses to experience (and be thankful I didn't invest more). But, based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend investing money with them.

"Avoid, loan repayments overdue by years"

I have invested in multiple development projects over the years and have never encountered the high rate of loan repayment delays experienced with this business, many repayments overdue by several years.

Dismissing these issues as a byproduct of the complex nature of development misses the point entirely. CrowdProperty should be conducting thorough due diligence before granting loans to prevent this problem. Other companies in the industry manage this effectively, so why can't CrowdProperty?

The returns are insufficient for the level of risk involved, and given the high loan-to-value ratios, many investors are unlikely to be repaid if enforcement action is required, despite the first legal charge.

In light of these issues, I advise potential investors to avoid CrowdProperty.

"Over-stretched and overwhelmed"

Perhaps too much focus attracting investment, and insufficient time on due diligence when awarding loans, then not enough involvement in projects and and their financial plans to ensure on time repayment. Now you seem to be overwhelmed with overdue loans (perhaps between 40% and 70%, from feedback on the internet). Yes, we understand that managing default can be a lengthy process, but what extra is being done to avoid it in the first place? It looks like you have over-stretched. (I have called the number given in your standard reply to other feedback, no need to send me a copy of this letter too).

Regards your reply, as with everyone else leaving feedback, you seem intent on proving your customers wrong, but you only present data that suits your purpose. Data can be presented in many different ways. You are deliberately misleading. What you dont address is the fact that over 50% of repayments are overdue (with no guarantee of resolution) and the amount of capital held in reserve generating no return at all, unlike a savings account which delivers interest on your money all of the time, without interruption. The total annual return on total money made available for investment is very much smaller than you claim, and your total % return does not equate to an annual return. They are two very different things! Nor do you address or answer the issues and questions raised. You continue to respond to genuine feedback with propaganda that is not at all helpful and most likely contradicts the standards set out by the FCA.

Please also send me details of your calculations via email, demonstrating how you arrive at the numbers you claim below. I can then forward this to the FCA with a copy of your statement below, and they can determine if you are being completely transparent or misleading in the way you present your statistics. Thanks.

"Least transparent P2P to invest with"

Least transparent P2P to invest with. No documentation provided to back up the waffle. They could tell investors anything and we would be none the wiser. No secondary market. Woeful customer service. Unable to answer the questions asked.

"CrowdProperty is an excellent P2P site"

CrowdProperty is an excellent P2P investing site. Their communication with investors is good and they take responsible decisions that balance the interests of those borrowing with the investors. Their website is good and allows you to keep good track of your investments and the occasional blogs on the market conditions are informative. Recommended.

"Delays but overall a good return"

I’ve invested in CrowdProperty loans for a few years, post covid I have been exiting my position due to the delays in payback. However the overall return when looking at the entire portfolio is positive with circa 7% overall return with an outstanding capital of less than my interest already paid out. I’ve moved away from investments into savings for the money previously allocated in CrowdProperty. Updated based on latest repayments exiting more of my positions.

"Don't waste your time and money"

I keep looking in the hope that overdue loans are being repaid. It seems that this company cares little for investors, they would rather keep finding lots of new "investment opportunities".
Just don't do it, otherwise you'll be another posting your frustrations on here!

Just a quick update. Seems like many of us here have had a pretty similar reply about how you use due diligence before giving out any loans. If that was the case, then how come there are so many in the same boat?
Some have loans overdue stretching many, many years.
I have numerous investments with various peer to peer businesses and all of them look after investors far better than you do.

I will be keeping an eye on my account. If after another two months there's still no good news, I will be posting again.